Skiing in a winter wonderland at Big Sky Resort

I was that lucky the first weekend of February as I packed my bag and flew from St. Louis to my hometown of Bozeman, Montana, to spend a few days skiing with my girlfriend and a few friends.

Traveling during the pandemic isn’t something I take lightly. Copious amounts of sanitizer and high-quality face masks were, of course, required to try and limit exposure as much as possible. I count the mitigated risk worth it to see my girlfriend who currently lives back in Montana finishing up her nursing degree. Getting to ski for a few days is a bonus, and those days coinciding with the biggest storm of the year, the cherry on top.

For most of the season the snow report at Big Sky Resort, like many ski areas in the country, left something to be desired. In the week leading up to my trip, snow began to appear on the forecast. Boy, did it snow, with 14 inches from Thursday to Saturday reported and much more actually on the ground. What had been a very rocky mountain, by many accounts, transformed into a winter wonderland just as we arrived.

There is something magical about heading up to a ski hill in the middle of a storm: the snow falling around you, clinging in big clumps to the branches of the evergreens lining the roadway. The energy is electric, smiles stretch across faces and the exhaustion from getting up early after catching a red-eye is forgotten in anticipation of what awaits.

Masked and suited up we caught the open-air trailer that serves as a shuttle from parking to the base area, which was bustling with people. Masks are required at the base areas and in all lift cues, but you are allowed to remove them once on the lift and and while going downhill. The resort encourages social distancing and only riding lifts with your party, but it does have a lift cue for people willing to ride with others. As we made our first ride up the hill on the Swift Current lift, known as Swifty to locals, the snow continued to fall. The downside to this is that it limits our view to the immediate runs. On a sunny day there is a stunning view of Lone Peak towering above the rest of the resort. Big Sky even boasts that you can see the Teton Mountain range down in Wyoming from the peak.

Friday was filled with too many good runs to count. Meandering all over the mountain hitting a variety of terrain from the steep and windy Challenger lift, to the long a diverse Six Shooter, to the more mellow Thunderwolf, and new, high-tech Ramcharger. The snow was soft everywhere we went and we even spotted a few of the 72 different smoke shacks tucked away in the trees around the resort.

After a soak in the hot tub back at the condo, a delicious steak dinner and several surprisingly fierce games of Jenga!, Friday wrapped in preparation for more snow and fun on Saturday.

We anticipated larger crowds on Saturday so we opted to park at the Madison Base Area on the Moonlight side of the mountain, which proved to be the right move. We were able to hop right on the lift rather than wait in the 15- to 20-minute lines we experienced at the Mountain Village Base Area later in the day. Saturday was colder, which wasn’t a big deal until we were standing in line to ride the tram … for an hour and a half … in 10 degrees … with a biting wind pelting us with snow. Totally worth the wait and the suffering, but it was a low point for sure.

The Lone Peak Tram, currently celebrating its 25th season, is a marvel of engineering, transporting you from the base of the bowl to the 11,166 foot summit of Lone Peak. It operates with two identical gondolas, which on a normal year would be crammed with 15 people with their skis and boards. With COVID-19 protocols in place the cabins are slightly less crammed with 10 people and their equipment.

The snow and wind were so fierce we could barely see around the summit while we kicked into our skis and boards. The visibility got worse as we made our way down to Liberty Bowl, other than green dots they position down the bowl to help you navigate, nothing was visible. The snow was deep, and the bowl was long and wide, allowing for some glorious, fast and floating turns down the mountain. The best turns came after we left the bowl and ducked into the Bavarian Forrest, a wide-open glade run. We appeared to be only the second group down this area since the storm hit, with one lone set of tracks off to the side of the run. These were, absolutely, the best turns of the trip. It was like floating on one of those big puffy clouds you see out of the plane windows, as my skis popped into and out of the snow on mellow turns. The snow was so good I didn’t even stop to take photos until the bottom of the run, just wanting to savor every moment.

We barely stopped either day, choosing to snack a little on the lift or sneak a few bites in the tram line rather than grabbing lunch somewhere on the mountain. My normal go-to eatery on the mountain is the Hungry Moose Market and Deli at the Mountain Village base area. The hot bar always offers something to warm you up, and the sandwiches are delicious after a morning on the mountain.

If you catch Big Sky on a bluebird day and want to just checkout the views from the peak, without skiing the peak, you can just hop back on the gondola to head down.

I have spent so many days of my life skiing in Montana, creating memories with family and friends. Nothing quite compares to the excitement of heading out for a ski day whether you are grade schooler begging your parents to let you skip school or an adult taking vacation days to fly 1,400 miles back home; the days on the mountain are always something to cherish.

If you go

Lift tickets • Big Sky has a variable price system, so it is best to buy tickets in advance rather then when you get to the mountain. Ticket prices range from $79 (at the time of writing) at the end of the season to $193 during peak season. Big Sky is limiting ticket sales for the rest of 2021 to reduce mountain capacity, so it is best to buy early. bigskyresort.com/lift-tickets

Lodging • There are multiple hotels and condos operated by the resort: bigskyresort.com/packages-promotions. Airbnb rentals are also available in the town.

More info • bigskyresort.com

Beyond skiing • The West entrance to Yellowstone National Park, where you can catch a guided snowmobile or snow-coach tour through the park to Old Faithful Geyser, is an easy drive from Big Sky. There are also snowshoeing and cross country ski options throughout the area.

Where to eat • The town of Bozeman offers some great local shops and restaurants as well. Try Western Cafe (thewesterncafe.com) for a western diner breakfast and some remarkable cinnamon rolls. Bozeman also has a wealth of local breweries, including Mountains Walking (mountainswalking.com), which features a constantly changing small batch beer selection, and Bridger Brewing (bridgerbrewing.com), which is on the Montana State University campus. The also have stellar homemade root beer for the kids.