The US ski resort set to rival Aspen and Jackson Hole
A decade of investment in infrastructure, amenities and terrain expansion has made this mountain a world-class snow-sports destination.
At risk of stating the bleeding obvious, I’ve always believed the best thing a ski resort can have going for it is a mountain. I appreciate that by definition ski resorts tend to be set amid lofty environs, but there’s a difference between being in the mountains and having an outstanding singular peak as a centrepiece.
Japan’s Niseko is plonked in front of the perfect cone of Mt Yotei. Lech-Zurs in Austria quivers under the mighty Omeshorn. Without the Matterhorn, Zermatt hardly matters. Even our own Mt Buller benefits from having what might be better called a prominent pimple poking up above the village.
And then there’s Lone Mountain, which could be the biggest thing in Montana. We drive an hour south from Bozeman, and suddenly there it is, a sky-piercing pyramid so captivating it silences all car chatter. Geologically, it’s a laccolith; a volcano that forgot to erupt, so just kept swelling. It seems to grow even bigger as we approach Big Sky Resort, where for the next week my family and I will see it from every possible angle. It’s impossible not to. It rises behind every ridge, photobombs every picture. It glows warm as a candle at sunrise, and becomes sharp-edged and blazing white at night, like an iceberg in the sky. But unlike the resorts previously mentioned, Lone Mountain is more than a stunning backdrop; it’s the central terrain feature. Expert-level runs, ranging in difficulty from mere black diamond to triple black diamond, otherwise known as “high-consequence terrain”, spill from its 3404m summit. Skiers wanting to drop into the Big Couloir (earning ultimate Big Sky bragging rights) must sign in with ski patrol, carry an avalanche beacon and nominate a loved one to manage their posthumous affairs. I spend days staring at the peak, thinking: “Could I?”
Despite all this, Lone Mountain doesn’t define Big Sky, or at least no longer does. A decade of investment in infrastructure, amenities and terrain expansion has made it a world-class resort for every type of skier and winter adventurer. Take its location, for a start. Yellowstone National Park is less than an hour away. The landscape is raw and beautiful, yet somehow word hasn’t spread. Less than 1 per cent of visitors come from overseas. In Aspen, by comparison, it’s about 20 per cent. That will surely change, and soon. The time to go is now.
“None of this was here 10 years ago,” says our shuttle driver, waving his arm at Big Sky’s burgeoning town centre, 10 minutes from the ski resort. “We used to party round a bonfire.”
You still wouldn’t call Big Sky a party town, although you can’t say you’ve truly been to Montana until you’ve danced to the Honky Tonk Badonkadonk at Tips Up bar’s Tuesday night linedancing lessons. The Waypoint movie theatre doubles as a very cool cocktail bar, and there are the requisite Western chic boutiques and ski-garb outfitters. But the town is still small, with the feel of a suburban greenfield development. You’ll know the evolution to swanky ski town is complete when art dealers catch wind of the wealth and every second building becomes a high-end gallery, as seen in glam resorts such as Aspen, Park City or Jackson Hole.
It’s a different story on the mountain, where the resort is already streaks ahead of most. Big Sky’s coming of age began in 2013, when it bought out neighbouring resorts Moonlight Basin and Spanish Peaks, seamlessly stitching the threads together to create the second-largest ski resort in the US. It then commenced a project called “Big Sky 2025”, a $US150m ($228m) investment that’s given the resort something not usually seen in North America: a network of high-speed, technologically advanced chairlifts. You’d almost think you were in Europe.
Our two-bedroom condo at the Summit Hotel in Mountain Village overlooks Ramcharger 8 and Swift Current 6, two of four chairlifts with weatherproof bubbles and heated seats. They clear the village base with remarkable efficiency, distributing skiers across 2347ha of every type of terrain imaginable, from gentle glades to loping blue cruisers to wide open bowls to the extreme alpine terrain accessed by the new Lone Peak Tram, an engineering marvel that opened late last year in celebration of the resort’s 50th anniversary.
The mountain is so electrifying, and the whole ski experience so satisfying, that it begs the question: where is everyone? During my January visit there are no queues for lifts, no jostling for space on the slopes. And the further you radiate out the emptier it gets. We head to the northern boundary and ski Horseshoe, a mellow blue that rolls on for miles on the edge of a vast wilderness. We have the whole run to ourselves. “Please don’t tell anyone about this,” my wife begs me.
Advanced skiers could spend days in the South Face glades or hiking the Headwaters, a series of ghastly looking rocky chutes that are apparently good fun if you’re mad. The Spanish Peaks terrain expansion is a boon for beginners, and perfect for progression. Our teenage son starts as a greenhorn, but is soon leading us on adventures off Andesite Mountain, site of Everett’s 8800, Big Sky’s premier on-mountain restaurant.
One of our favourite greens is Cinnabar, which trickles through an enclave of gazillion-dollar holiday homes. The run spits us out at Madison Base, which is next in line for a high-speed chairlift, set to be spinning by the start of the 2024-25 season. The following year will see a new gondola connect Mountain Village to the tram, allowing sightseeing from the village to Lone Mountain summit. Construction has also started on America’s first One&Only resort, with private residences now on sale, starting at about $US10m.
But ultra-luxury accommodation has arrived, in the form of Montage Big Sky, which opened in December 2021 in the Spanish Peaks enclave with 100 guestrooms and 39 lavish residences, ranging from two to six bedrooms. Our “vista view” king room overlooks the pool and hot tubs, an apres-ski noodle bar and a fun tubing hill. Although we frequently get lost trying to find our way back to our digs, we normally discover something as well, such as the Rivalry Room, a bunker-like bar and games den with golf-driving simulators and a putting green that tilts to replicate any green in the real world. One level up is Beartooth, where guests can replace lost carbs with pizza, bison burgers, baby back ribs and craft beer before hitting Big Sky’s only bowling alley.
If that all sounds a bit blokey, it’s not at all representative of the overall vibe, which is the epitome of contemporary cowboy chic. Pique Boutique is stocked with handmade Canty Boots – refurbished vintage cowboy boots jazzed up with designer fabrics – and custom hats by Montana Territory Hat Company. More than a million dollars’ worth of curated art lines the walls, much of it evocative black and white photography by artist in residence Kene Sperry. These become signposts to aid our navigation (turn left at the buffalo in the snow).
Soaring gables, a stone fireplace and a marble bar set off Alpenglow, the lobby apres bar, from where a logical evening progression leads to Cortina, an Italian chophouse doubling as a slightly fussy a la carte breakfast restaurant. We gravitate instead to the grab-and-go treats at Wildflower Bakery & Cafe most mornings, lured by the unlikely Montana combo of a French pastry chef and a real coffee machine. Hitting the slopes couldn’t be easier. The Lewis & Clark chairlift is metres from the ski concierge door, where our skis are ready and our boots warmed and waiting each morning.
There’s one more angle I need to see Lone Mountain from before I leave. I’ve been working up to it all week, and on our last morning I take the plunge – riding the tram to the summit and plunging 1325 vertical metres back to the village, where I kick off my skis and pat myself down, disbelieving that I’m still in one piece. I turn and look back at that crazy, crystalline mountain, perfectly piercing the big sky, and almost cry.
In the know
Big Sky Resort is an hour’s drive from Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport, serviced by direct flights from the main US entry points of Los Angeles, Dallas Fort Worth and San Francisco. Winter season runs from November 27, 2024-April 27, 2025. Big Sky is on the Ikon Pass and Mountain Collective Pass. Summit Hotel has rooms from $US279 ($420) a night. Montage Big Sky from $US1050 a night.
Ricky French was a guest of Big Sky Resort and Montage Big Sky.
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