The Start
How we reached to the point of Skiing at Big Sky, Montana? We drove from Idaho Falls, which is about a three hour drive to West Yellowstone. We decided to stay in an inn there as it was an hour drive from Big Sky resort. The inn was very nice! And upon entering, the animals had Christmas hats on, which was adorable!
One could also stay at Big Sky town itself or Bozeman, the capitol of Montana, which is a 40 minute or less drive. But since Bozeman is on the other side of Big Sky, it wasn’t practical for us and eventually skiing at Big Sky was too expensive.
Parking
Like other resorts, the closest parking lot is paid. There is a huge free lot, the closer section of the free lot is reserved for Gold pass members.
There is a free shuttle, but it is open air. Meaning that it is a truck that pulls a wagon. They are supposedly timed to be spaced evenly, but how it always goes, they get bunched out.
The truck will stop when they see you to board. To disembark, simply wave when the truck approaches the section of the lot (separated by letters) your car is parked.
Set Up
As the name implies, Big Sky is Big. There are so many lifts and each lift has a pass scanner. Like the other resorts, you can leave your pass in your pocket as it is automatic.
For Ikon pass holders, such as ourselves, you can go straight to the lift with no problem.
For those who don’t know, the Ikon is an international pass that lets you skiing at Big Sky and all the resorts under its jurisdiction.
What is interesting about Big Sky, is that one of their chairlifts, one of the biggest ones, has heated seats and a “lid” to keep the heat in and the cold wind out when riding the lift. One woman referred it to a “bubble.”
Once you reach the top, it automatically opens for you to get out.
The Environment
The drive from West Yellowstone is not an easy one in the Winter since it is covered in snow and ice. Dad and I did spin out one time on the way back. So please drive carefully. However, the view is beautiful!
The resort have runs for everyone and because it is so big, I didn’t feel like I was going to be run over. There is one particular run that is quite long, an intermediate run, but it had a variety of formats- steep, not so steep, bumps, lots of powder, groomed, etc. I don’t remember the name anymore- but it was a lot of fun.
In our two days here, we didn’t get to explore the whole mountain, but the parts we did see, I am so happy we got to experience it.
Food
There are plenty of food options on the mountain and in the village. We ate chili at one of the lodges on the mountain. It is self-served, and I made sure to have as much as possible. One because it is a bit expensive, or rather normal price for a ski resort. And the other reason, because skiing makes you hungry!
Moving Forward
I enjoyed Big Sky and I would love to come back. I can’t say it is my favorite out of all the resorts out West that I have tried, but it is very close!
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