It’s easy to be fickle in the snow world. When you visit a resort on a bluebird powder day it’s bound to be come your favourite, right? Or when you fall in love with your new partner-for-life then surely that destination sits in your heart, until it all falls apart.
The most common question I get asked in my role as a ski journalist is “where’s your favourite ski resort?” It’s a tough one to answer for I’ve had so many best days ever for so many different reasons.
But one that sits at current top of mind is Big Sky Resort, Montana. Why? It could be because it’s the most recent international resort I visited, but it could also be because of the impression it made while I was there. And for the record, yes I’m a hardcore Beth Dutton of Yellowstone fan (if you know, you know).
I couldn’t ski powder or big lines or anything really above a groomed black while at Big Sky, due to a compromised knee at the time. But this meant I could “take in” the resort as the average skiing or snowboarding family would. I’ve also spent enough decades in my role to be able to witness terrain and judge how good it would or wouldn’t be, even when I’m not skiing it. Hello, Lone Star Peak (more on that below).
Here’s my reasons for my Big Sky crush.
The terrain
Yes, there’s 5850 hectares of skiing terrain at Big Sky with 320 named runs. But what really struck me is the transition from each level. The resort has 21% beginner, 14% intermediate, 15% advanced intermediate, 31% advanced, 11% expert and 8% extreme.
Translated? It is the ideal mountain to progress your skiing and riding. Unlike other resorts that may have a large step from beginner to intermediate or intermediate to advanced, Big Sky has a gentle transition from one to the other. Making it the ideal place to run a ski improvement confidence camp as you gain skills through each transition.
If you know someone then you can also ski the Yellowstone Club, a private members only ski resort with the likes of Justin Timberlake, Taylor Swift and friends alongside the one percenter captains of industry. Just don’t tell anyone.
The tri-village set up
There are three distinct “villages”, or rather bases, at Big Sky.
At one end you’ll find The Montage, opened in 2021, this purpose built ski-in ski-out hotel will pluck you from your limo transfer and embrace you with warmth from the quiet-western-luxury decor designed to soothe weary urban souls to the complimentary coffee and muffins before first lifts, the s’mores round the fire at last lifts and intuitive service others could learn from. If you’re not staying here you can still ski in for lunch at the cafe or restaurant or bar and we suggest you do.
The other end of the resort, a half hour drive away (that’s how big the terrain is) sits the One & Only Moonlight Basin. A short gondola ride will take you to the restaurant with a view and après deck. The Beignet (and trust us it is The Beignet) is a must dine dish, a southern style donut the size of a moose’s head and slathered with a jug of poured Huckleberry Bourbon coulis.
We visited last season so the full resort wasn’t open yet (though we did get a sneak peak of the lush residences up for sale and nightly rental this coming season) but when it fully opens this season it will be the first One & Only ski hotel for the luxe brand.
You’ll find The Summit at the resort base between the two. This is considered the main village with a series of condo accommodation (if you haven’t nabbed yourself a slope side mansion with ice rink on Moonlight ridge), dining establishments and retail.
The no-crowds lift system
The resort has invested $150million in the last five + years and it shows. The lift system alone is one of the most well thought out in North America with 40 lifts capable of moving 42,000 skiers and boarders uphill per hour.
I was there during peak season, and part of my sojourn was a weekend, and I did not stand in a lift line for longer than a couple of minutes at any time. The lift placements have been designed to disperse skiers and boarders across the mountain so that you never feel you’re overcrowded.
There were times, especially on the Moonlight Basin north side, that I thought I’d stumbled upon a closed run by mistake. Nope, I was on open runs, all by myself. Soul-oh skiing at its best.
The most recent chair, the Madison 8 (2024), offers the world’s longest 8 seater lift with heated seats and weather bubbles and there’s a new gondola this coming winter which will cost 10 person cabins (heated seats of course) and connect with the lower terminal of the tram.
The Lone Peak tram
This is Euro style thrills in big mountain terrain. Definitely worth the ride, even if you don’t intend to ski the black, double black and triple black runs at the top. The views on the ride and from the peak alone will give you a thrill.
This is the first new tram to be built in North America since 2008 and takes just four minutes from base to peak, carrying 75 high energy passengers.
I’m not ashamed to say I rode it numerous times, alighting at the top for the most spectacular views, while watching fellow skiers hit the runs back down.
The subliminal branding
Big Sky Blue, the joyous colour permeates everything in such a way you don’t even realise the high end details that bring the resort together. Look up while on the lift and you’ll see the chair attachments are blue, the bull wheel for the tram is blue, the seats, the bubbles, they’re blue, the terrain park, it’s blue.
The food
If you’re Australian then you’ll find decent coffee, no word of a lie, at The Montage Wildflower Market. You’ll also find a mammoth seafood tower at Everetts 8800 on mountain, thriving après DJs at the Umbrella Bar at the base, sleigh ride dinners at nearby Lone Mountain Ranch (though we opted for apps and cocktails in the ranch bar instead, well worth it).
Coming this season is the Experience My by The Alinea Group – a four month culinary residency helmed by three-Michelin-starred chef Grant Achatz. Bookings will be required well ahead of time.
The town
Take a moment for the nearby Big Sky town and a wander through the retail, brews and dining dens and new The Wilson Hotel. I found a pair of earrings, as worn by Beth Dutton, at the Montana Supply Store, and coveted a stunning Shoreditch Ski Club jacket at Bluebird Big Sky and some fun home decor at Homestead Design & Goods.
With the new Gravity Haus hotel now open downtown and rumours of a The Limelight Hotel and a free shuttle to the resort, town centre is a bustling option for skiers and boarders.
*the writer was a guest of Big Sky Resort
