Montana Backcountry Adventures, 3/21

Tony Crocker

Administrator
Staff member
The snow conditions, to be candid, sucked as it had rained to 9,500 feet two days before, resulting in a breakable crust over what would otherwise have been 5-day-old powder. This was unexpected as the snow level had been 7,500 feet while driving over Teton Pass during the same storm where it rained at Big Sky.

The cat skiing was a free advance sign-up at a ski journalist convention, so a fair evaluation should discount the rain, which is probably as rare at Big Sky as any ski area in North America.

Big Sky's lifts service the east and south sides of Lone Peak, while the cat skiing is on the north side between 7,500 and 9,200 feet. Higher elevation cliff bands prevent access to the north side via the Lone Peak tram at 11,166 feet. With Big Sky's latitude and normal weather, the north facing terrain would remain powdery for several days after a storm. In this case the north exposure worked against us because the rain crust never softened.

The snowcat terrain has a nice pitch with about 500 vertical above tree line. The trees close out fairly quickly, so some skiable lines have been cut to extend the runs. Big Sky's lifts will expand into this area in a few years, but the cat skiing will move farther west and continue to offer 1,000 acres of similar north facing terrain.

Service and food were excellent (they also offer outstanding moonlight dinners in the same yurt used for cat skiing lunches) and the cat ski price of $225/day is about average for U.S. operators.
 
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