Big Sky, Montana
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How Big Sky is tackling growth.
Still a relatively new place, Big Sky Resort
was founded in the early 1970s by famed NBC broadcast newsman Chet Huntley and purchased by Boyne Resorts in 1976 after Huntley’s untimely death. It was a pretty quiet ski area until the Lone Peak Tram was installed in 1995. Beyond a bit of seasonal work bumping chairs or teaching skiing, there weren’t enough jobs to create an employee housing crisis. In the early 2000s, new development projects sprung up around Big Sky Resort including the Yellowstone Club, Spanish Peaks, and Moonlight Basin, but the financial crisis of the late 2000s slowed growth considerably in the area for a time.
As is the nature of things, Big Sky was “found”—slowly, and then seemingly all at once. Stable ownership of the larger development projects created accelerated demand for the area. Winter visitation was further accelerated by Big Sky Resort’s popularity with IKON passholders and the resort’s significant investments in lift infrastructure as part of the Big Sky 2025 vision. Today, Big Sky resides amongst the pantheon of North American destination ski resorts alongside Jackson Hole, Aspen, Vail, and Whistler Blackcomb. And Big Sky is no longer just a ski town. In summer, nearby Yellowstone National Park has seen annual visitor increases top 10 percent over the past five years. There’s nothing quite like this region in North America—and that’s no longer a secret. The demand for visitation has impacted the local housing market, with over 1,000 units having been converted from employee and community housing to short-term rental housing over the last four years.
While Big Sky has a “Town Center,” it is not a town. Big Sky is still an unincorporated area straddling two different counties, creating both unique challenges and opportunities for addressing local issues. Big Sky isn’t immune to the struggles facing other mountain towns and ski resorts of North America, including housing, environmental and other community concerns. But challenges can also be seen as opportunities. And nowhere is that more true than in Big Sky, which still has time to shape its future.
In late 2019, community members and leaders throughout Big Sky came together with funding from the Big Sky Resort Area District (BSRAD) to draft “Our Big Sky,” the community vision and strategy for articulating the needs and priorities of the community’s growth —focusing on “Our People, Our Character, Our Recreation, and Our Natural Environment.”
Backcountry Skiing 101Backcountry. Ski touring. Alpine touring. Earning your turns.
Whatever you call it, more folks than ever are seeking fresh snow, new terrain, healthy exercise, and fewer crowds beyond the boundaries of ski resorts. And while climbing for turns isn’t for everyone, the barriers to entry have never been lower. Today’s lightweight backcountry gear maximizes comfort and efficiency while skiing uphill (called “skinning”), and sacrifices little in downhill performance (so you can shred like you always do). Backcountry education and information is also now readily available: guides and educators have developed safe, fun programs to introduce new users to the sport.
But it’s not all high fives and face shots. As the past two years have made tragically clear in Southwest Montana, the backcountry can be a deadly playground. Unstable snowpacks are endemic to this part of the Northern Rockies—and beyond. Thirty-six people died in U.S. avalanches last winter. Before you consider heading out into avalanche terrain there are skills to master. There’s no ski patrol out there. And when there’s no guarantee of help, self-sufficiency is key. But if you’re up for learning and have a modicum of fitness, the backcountry holds a lifetime of adventure and untracked snow. Here’s how to get started safely.
Do Some Research.
Before you invest your cash in new gear, talk with a reputable local shop, guide, or experienced backcountry skier about what you really need.
Read Everything.
A great primer is Backcountry Skiing: Skills for Ski Touring and Ski Mountaineering, by guides Martin Volken and Margaret Wheeler. Another is the descriptively-named Staying Alive in Avalanche Terrain, by Bruce Tremper. There are also a number of excellent introductory avalanche awareness tutorials online, including Know Before You Go, (kbyg.org). Practice on Safe Terrain. Try skinning where there’s no avalanche risk— inbounds on a groomer. Many ski resorts, including Big Sky, provide designated uphill skiing routes. Wear a pack, break-in your gear, and get used to how everything works in a controlled environment. Later, head to a beacon park (there’s one on the hill and one in town) to get to know your avalanche transceiver.
Prepare Every Time.
Never enter the backcountry—even from a resort gate, or mellow trailhead like Beehive Basin—without a partner, avalanche safety gear (transceiver, shovel, and probe), and the practiced ability to use it. Take an eight-hour avalanche rescue course, and make your partner take it—they are your rescuer, after all.
Hire a Mentor.
Sign on with an experienced guide who can provide learning moments, keep you safe, put you in the best terrain and snow, and let you focus on the experience. Be honest with your guide about your abilities and goals, and don’t be afraid to ask for help.
Continue the Education.
If you plan to backcountry ski without a guide where avalanches are possible (on or adjacent to slopes steeper than 30 degrees— so most everywhere in the mountains), take a 24-hour Level 1 Avalanche course from a qualified course provider approved by the American Avalanche Association (americanavalancheassociation.org). This is a critical first step in understanding how to avoid avalanches, travel safely in the mountains, and find great skiing.
Keep at It.
The rewards of backcountry skiing are commensurate with the challenges!
Drew Pogge owns Big Sky Backcountry Guides and Bell Lake Yurt (bigskyback country.com), serves on the board of the American Avalanche Association, is former Editor-in-Chief of Backcountry Magazine, and explores remote peaks around the world on skis. He lives in Bozeman with his wife and a real-life powder hound named Waylon.
What’s in a Name? The Lone Peak CouloirsAn iconic tram, a rugged Rocky Mountain summit,
and a famously hairball ski line. Nope, not Jackson Hole. We’re talking Big Sky Resort, where the north and east faces of Lone Mountain (the official name) pack some of the most extreme lift-accessed terrain in North America. Here, the resort’s pièce de résistance—Big Couloir—drops more than 1,400 vertical feet below a 50-degree entrance and around a high consequence dogleg. “It’s so cool up there,” says Scot Schmidt, the father of American-style big mountain skiing and star of more than 40 films. Schmidt, who grew up in Helena, first explored Big Sky just after the resort opened in 1973. As a teenager he watched as a skier crashed in Big Couloir—and kept on crashing. “He cartwheeled down it, bouncing off the walls, and I thought, ‘Wow, that’s what happens when you fall on something like that.’ That left a mark on me.”
Man’s Best Friend
Early on, Big Couloir was, for a while, rebranded as “Smitty’s Couloir.” Despite some healthy conjecture, that’s not a reference to Schmidt. Rather, the name pays homage to a mutt, Smitty, who notched the first canine descent of Big Couloir in the late 1970s. A proper powder hound, the story holds that the dog dropped in first.
Go Little
Down the ridge from Big Couloir, a smaller, steeper, and spicier line hides out: Little Couloir. “Compared to the Big, the Little is like going from the freshman team to varsity,” says Dave Stergar, a retired teacher from Helena who’s been skiing Lone Peak for more than three decades. If Little Couloir is open, it’s likely at the Apple Core, an alternate entrance to skier’s left that drops you into the main line. Stergar once fell twice during one descent of Little Couloir with patrollers and his wife watching. When she pointed out that he’d gone down, the patrollers told her it couldn’t be Dave because “he wouldn’t fall in there.” Stergar says: “I got up, skied down, and immediately skied it again because you gotta get back on the horse.”
Three First Descents
The skier—and Big Sky Resort employee—Mark Kalitowski was the first to shred Big Couloir. The date? June 23, 1973. Not long after, in 1975, Kalitowski and the alpinist and patroller Dougal McCarty notched the oblique entrance to the more technical Little Couloir via that near hanging face dubbed the Apple Core because they’d shared an apple before dropping. They followed the fall line traced by the apple core they tossed down the chute. In the winter of 1981, Kalitowski and Jon “Yunce” Ueland (who started with ski patrol in 1979) claimed the first descent of Little Couloir’s direct entrance.
Why the Lone Face?
Why the heck is Lone Peak so solitary? Known as a laccolith, the mountain is a volcano that never erupted. Instead, magma rose between layers of sediment and solidified into dacite, an igneous rock slightly darker than granite. The intrusion process also baked the surrounding sandstone into a harder form: shale. So as the softer sedimentary mass eroded around it, the dacite-shale formation emerged as a promontory. If you clip a piece of dacite on your way down Big Couloir, you’ll notice something. It doesn’t move.
Fire and Ice
Although it looks like an act of divine intervention, Big Couloir wasn’t etched by Ullr. Erosion and glacial ice carved the accents, couloirs, and cirques into Lone Peak. In fact, a rock glacier—talus and ice—underlies about a mile of terrain below the tram, including the lower tram house. Evidence? The seemingly random pile of rocks below Big Couloir, known as “the Cue Ball,” is actually part of the Lone Peak Rock Glacier. The talus insulates the ice while gravity pulls them both downhill.
Watch the Mountain
You need avalanche gear, a partner, and a check-in with ski patrol to descend Big Couloir and the adjacent North Summit Snowfield. To set yourself up, keep a constant eye on the weather and take a good look at the line to see what the snow’s doing. That way, you’ll be ready to nail that steep, exposed first turn—or go somewhere else. Schmidt recommends watching the sastrugi to follow snow deposits. If you feel dialed, enter Big Couloir uphill and skier’s right of the common entrance to milk it for three extra-smooth, wind-buffed turns.
The Best New Hotels Opening in 2022As we continue to work our way through the 150+ great new hotels that opened last year, we’re getting distracted by the newcomers on the horizon for 2022. Can you blame us?
Montage Big Sky had its soft opening in mid-December in time for the winter ski season at Big Sky near Yellowstone National Park. Adding a luxurious lure to Montana, a state so blessed by Mother Nature, special hotel features include a terrific spa with an indoor lap pool, a sports stimulator, and a bowling alley. But get outside! In addition to skiing, winter is for snowshoeing, ice skating, and dog sledding, while the action in warmer climes centers around biking, hiking, and fly-fishing. (January)
13 Haute Mountain Hotels That Make a Case for Stylish Winter GetawaysWhether you’re a seasoned heli-skier in pursuit of the city’s tallest peaks or a spa-goer adhering to a treatment-heavy itinerary, there are plenty of ways to spend a cold-weather vacation. After all, ski towns are nothing if not charming streets flanked by Michelin–star eateries, designer boutiques, and renowned art galleries. Plus, there’s hardly a better way to unwind than with a hot toddy in front of a crackling wood-burning fireplace in a luxurious hotel’s lobby.
Less than an hour outside Yellowstone, one of the United States’ most popular national parks, the recently-debuted 139-room Montage Big Sky, whose rugged surroundings inform the classic North American chalet, is about as idyllic as alpine retreats get. It may not be a massive resort with hundreds of guest rooms, suites, and residences, but the new Montage property does have a whopping six dining outposts, including the rustic Italian–inspired Cortina and The Living Room, a cozy après-specific spot with a tableside raclette cart. There’s also a full-service 11,000-square-foot spa that encompasses 12 private treatment rooms, an indoor pool, relaxation lounges, heated plunge pools, a massive fitness center rivaling the world’s most renowned workout studios, and a bowling alley.
Big Sky, Montana, is a winter sports mecca — and it just got its first luxury ski-in/ski-out resortSouthwest Montana has long attracted skiers and snowboarders; now, with the arrival of the ski-in/ski-out destination Montage Big Sky, which started welcoming guests near the Spanish Peaks and Big Sky Resort’s mountain village last month, it’s about to become even more of a hot spot for travellers of all types.
The backstory: This is Big Sky’s first luxury hotel, and California-based Montage Hotels & Resorts invested $400 million (U.S.) into the alpine development. Surrounded by wilderness, it’s also just a 20-minute drive from Big Sky Resort, where you can access 5,850 skiable acres and a 4,350-foot vertical drop.
The space: There are 100 rustic yet elegant rooms and suites (from $1,785), ranging from 530 to 2,735 square feet. Drawing on the state’s timber and mining history, locally sourced wood and stone are used throughout, including in wall-to-wall shelving and cabinets, and striking black marble countertops and soaker tubs in the bathrooms. Select rooms also feature fireplaces and private balconies; you’ll get a stunning view in each, but the most exceptional is the panorama you’ll see from the Spanish Peak Suite.
The dining: After you’ve worked up an appetite on the slopes, head to one of the six on-site restaurants. At Cortina, dine on Italian dishes (like handmade pastas) with a Montanan twist (a hearty bison filet, for example), or sample Buffalo wings and other classic bar fare at Beartooth Pub & Rec, where you’ll also find a bowling alley and vintage arcade games. Stop by Alpenglow for après-ski craft cocktails and comfort food (like a cheesy shepherd’s pie or baked brie with truffle honey butter), or warm up at the Living Room, a cosy lounge space with bourbon high-tea service and board games.
The extra amenities: If you’re here for skiing and snowboarding, Compass Sports is on hand for fittings and gear rentals. For less rigorous outings, try the family-friendly tubing hill or ice rink. In warmer months, guests can access the Spanish Peaks Mountain Club’s 18-hole golf course, designed by former pro player Tom Weiskopf, as well as rivers for fly fishing, and trails for mountain biking and hiking. If you’re the indoorsy type, head to the 10,000-square-foot Spa Montage, where the menu includes a massage meant to help you adjust to the high altitude. You’ll also find an indoor lap pool, heated plunge pools, steam rooms and a fully equipped gym.
Surrounded by the Spanish Peaks, the resort’s guest rooms offer mountain views.
The nearby sights: Yellowstone National Park is less than an hour’s drive away, so make time for a guided tour. Take a private car through the landmark, where you can see the famous Old Faithful geyser, gaze out from the picturesque Artist Point overlook and stop at the Grand Prismatic Spring, the world’s third-largest hot spring. Keep your eyes open: you may even spot bison, moose and bighorn sheep.
Montage Hotels and Resorts has unveiled a luxury all-season alpine resort in Southwest Montana, complete with a signature Spa Montage. Developed in partnership with Lone Mountain Land Company, Montage realised the 139-key ski-in ski-out resort with an 11,000sq ft spa, six dining venues, 39 residences and 12,000sq ft of meeting space.
The destination is situated 7,000sq ft above sea level and is set against the backdrop of Montana’s alpine region of Big Sky Country. Spa Montage Big Sky delivers wellness rituals from Valmont, Arcona Facials, HydraFacial and Oxylight in an alpine-inspired space. Design touches include surfaces appearing like alpine rocks, angled millwork that mimics the angles of snowy mountaintops and calming cove lighting.
The best new hotels to book in 2022
(CNN) — Though 2021 was not exactly the year of jet-setting travel that we’d hoped for, we have our fingers crossed for 2022. From cool urban hideaways in Oslo, Sydney and New York to far-flung island escapes in Mozambique, Indonesia and the Maldives, there’s an exciting array of hotels opening across the world.
We’ve handpicked 22 incredible hotels with openings in 2021 and 2022 for you to stay at — or dream of — in the new year.S tarting rates are included where available.
Montage Big Sky, United States
Just opened in December, Montage Big Sky is Montana’s first luxury five-star resort.
The $400 million resort has 150 plush guest rooms and suites and 39 residences in a sleek mountain modern design featuring regional wood and stone finishes.
While the main draw is the ski-in, ski-out access to Big Sky’s world-class slopes, the Montage is also a destination unto itself, with its 10,000 square foot alpine spa, a bowling alley and multiple eateries, including a barbecue restaurant and smokehouse.
Where to Travel in 2022For a certain subset of the population, the luxury western ranch trip has become a near-obligatory rite of passage in recent years. Montage is just the latest to seize on this opportunity—on December 15, it officially opened the doors to a sprawling new resort in Big Sky, Montana, becoming the first luxury ski hotel to ever be built in this picturesque region.
And just like that, another extraordinary year nears its end. In between wrapping up the rest of 2021 with subdued holiday gatherings and quiet champagne toasts at home, the mind inevitably wanders. To what could be in 2022. To the trips we may finally get to check off that bucket list, whether it’s to see the Scottish countryside from a sumptuous train fit for a royal, or to soak in the same ochre-hued New Mexico landscape that so captivated Georgia O’Keeffe for many years.
15 Best Winter Wedding Venues Across the U.S.While many flock south for a winter wedding with their toes in the sand, there are those who dream of creating a wedding wonderland that rivals a scene from a shimmering snow globe. If you’re warming up to the idea of a wintery milieu, we’ve called in wedding expert Jennifer Allen to share her tips for cold weather location scouting. Her first word of advice: “Since ‘wedding season’ is typically over by the winter, be sure to ask if your venue offers a winter discount.”
Set against the stunning backdrop of the Spanish Peaks Mountain range is Montage Big Sky, the city’s first-ever luxury ski hotel set that opened in December 2021. Featuring three outdoor event lawns, two ballrooms, expansive promenades, and vista-rich terraces, the resort has over 12,870 square feet of space to choose from to create the perfect wedding in the mountains.