Showdown Ski Area : Review

The base area of Showdown Ski Area

Showdown has a surprisingly wide variety of terrain. Expert skiers and beginners skiers alike all have a wide variety of runs to choose from. Combine that with good grooming and some nice tree skiing and you have a recipe for a good day on the slopes.

For beginner skiers and snowboarders, Showdown is an excellent place to learn the basics. Two dedicated surface lifts service terrain for brand new snowriders, while several beginner runs also traverse down from the summit of the mountain. As such, beginner skiers and snowboarders will have a fun time learning the basics at Showdown. Additionally, several of the intermediate runs are wide and are not real steep in most spots (such as Quicksilver and Silverhorn) – allowing for more advanced beginner skiers to hit some additional terrain.

The intermediate blue runs at Showdown are excellent, comprising some of the better intermediate skiing in Montana outside of the big and expensive resorts. The intermediate runs are generally well groomed, have many twists and turns and also have some pretty nice steep spots thrown in for variety.

Some of the blue runs are also spared from the grooming machines – allowing for some great bump terrain to develop. These intermediate bump runs have a nice but not too steep of a pitch – and can also of course have some sizeable bumps. If you want to learn how to ski bumps on less than death defying terrain, these runs are a good place to start. Upper Ripley in particular is a good place to learn the basics of bump skiing on provided the grooming machines haven’t flattened them out.

Looking up at the steeper terrain at Showdown

The expert skiing at Showdown is primarily located off the Prospector Double Chairlift, which is located on the southern portion of the ski area. In this area of Showdown, the top half of the mountain is quite steep, while the lower half has a gentle – and at times almost flat gradient.

A word needs to be said about the double chairlift that serves this terrain. First, the chair is very long – from top to bottom it is a twelve and a half minute voyage. As such, it can take a while to make it to the top. Happily, this chairlift also has a mid-station. For expert skiers, the general plan should be to ski down the trails located on the upper half of the mountain which are steep, then hopping on this chairlift at the mid-station. Doing so will save you a fairly long and gradual ski run to the bottom while also saving you about 7 minutes of ride time on the chair as well.

Secondly, and maybe it is just me, but the design of the actual chairs on this lift is less than spectacular. For whatever reason, every time I rode this chair I felt like I was on the verge of falling out of it – as the chair seemed to have a slight tilt forward and also lacked a safety bar (which is not uncommon in Montana, by the way).

About to head down a bump run

Well, enough about the chairlift. For experts, the terrain on this side of Showdown ski area is excellent and is all accessed off the Silverhorn trail (an intermediate trail that forms the ski areas boundary on that side of the mountain). The Dynamite and Gun Barrel trails are excellent ski runs for those who like to ski or snowboard in the trees. Right next door to these two trails are the Glory Hole, Geronimo and Good Luck trails, which are equally steep (if not steeper) and loaded up with bumps.

These are the primary expert runs at Showdown, and they are good ones. A few other expert ski trails are also found at Showdown although they are relatively short. Two of these trails, Muley and Speculation, drop down from the summit on the north side of the mountain – just off the Payload Triple Chairlift. These two trails are nice ski trails – but once down them it requires a pretty long, flat voyage to the bottom of the mountain to get back on the triple chair.

Summary

Overall, Showdown ski area may never become a destination ski resort. Its location out in central Montana well away from the popular winter gateway towns and its smaller size in relation to more well- known resorts probably means Showdown will continue to receive the bulk of its skiers from nearby Montana communities. And for me, that is just fine. I personally love skiing in Montana for just this reason.

Yet, for the more adventurous skiers from out of state, visiting Showdown ski area is a very worthwhile trip. Showdown has a nice variety of terrain, a scenic setting and makes for a great place to learn how to ski or snowboard. And, while Showdown does sort of lie out a bit from other popular winter areas in Montana, Showdown itself is quite close to Great Falls – giving anyone visiting Great Falls a great excuse to hit the slopes.

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