Big Sky, MT (+ COVID Recovery), Mar. 22-25, 2023

Big Sky's new tram will be open for 2023-24. It remains to be seen how much the extra capacity and pay-by-the-ride format mitigate the wait for it.
F6_EIxBWMAAgD4x?format=jpg&name=900x900.jpg

The realigned new tram is 2,100 vertical and can be lapped without an extra ride on the Powder Seeker 6.

The 2023 trip detailed in this TR had some limitations due to weather and the partial day skiing recovering from COVID. My other visits in 2001, 2006 and 2013 had very high quality skiing.

Several years ago I got to the bottom of Big Sky's 400-inch "brochure quote" snowfall. It took some time for me to hunt that down; it seems logical to have that link here in a Big Sky thread.
 
Last edited:
Tony Crocker said:
The 2023 trip detailed in this TR had some limitations due to weather and the partial day skiing recovering from COVID. My other visits in 2001, 2006 and 2013 had very high quality skiing.
Click to expand...

Questions about the new Big Sky Tram. Here

How many people will fit on the new Tram?
The new Lone Peak Tram will have a total capacity of 75 people. During the winter season, the capacity will be restricted based on the mountain and operating conditions to preserve the experience of skiing and riding the Tram. Ski patrol will determine a safe capacity based on open terrain, conditions, and weather.

How much will Tram Access cost?
The per-ride cost will be set separately for skiers/snowboarders and scenic rides. Rates will be set on a daily basis, dynamically based on volume, conditions, and other factors. Our current estimate is that the per-ride cost will range between $10 and $40+. Rates are posted daily and do not change throughout the day. There will be no difference in pricing for different age groups.


Considering you can yo-yo four amazing trams at Verbier all day for about $70 USD.... $40/ride at Big Sky at weekends/holidays??!!


Completely ridiculous. Just let people wait in line. That's what we did in the 90s/00s. You do not necessarily need to institute a draconian pricing plan.

Nonetheless, it is impressive engineering work. Jackson thinks they are special for simply rebuilding the tram. (In Europe, it's called maintenance and barely brought up). Big Sky tram is a true improvement.

IMHO: A Funitel is 50% of the cost of a tram and can carry more people if desired. It's a little depressing watching half a Jackson tram car get filled up with private lessons, guides and VIPs.
 
Last edited:
Interesting to read the concerns of others about skiing Big Sky. I share many of them. I only went there once for 3-4 days in Feb 2019. It snowed like crazy the whole time so conditions were superb, but I never got to ride the tram and that was a disappointment. It was closed much of the visit due to low viz and the few hours it was open it was 1-2 hr waits.
I guess I am allotted five days there on my Ikon base pass, but between restricted tram access and pricey accoms I doubt I'll visit any time soon.
Photo of my son in Pinnacles area of Big Sky:
pinnacles big sky feb 2019 V.jpeg
 
jimk said:
Interesting to read the concerns of others about skiing Big Sky. I share many of them. I only went there once for 3-4 days in Feb 2019. It snowed like crazy the whole time so conditions were superb, but I never got to ride the tram and that was a disappointment. It was closed much of the visit due to low viz and the few hours it was open it was 1-2 hr waits.
Click to expand...

Big Sky, without the tram, is not a terribly interesting place. Lots of ho-hum cruising that extends for miles. It's a glorified Keystone CO in Montana. With more trophy homes slopeside.

Yes, the Headwaters and Pinnacles are fun, but do not make the destination. A few hikes - sure. Great skiing. But not a reason to travel to Bozeman.


I have only experienced incredible conditions when skiing Big Sky: 40" in March 2004 and 12" in February 2019. Both times, the resort was reporting over a 100" base. I was able to ski Big Couloir in 2004, the North Summit Snowfield in 2019, and lots of tram laps in 2004 focusing on Gullies and Dictator Chutes.

Also, Big Sky has to be one of the rockiest mountains in the USA. With a 125" base, you could easily find rocks. Also, it is a lone mountain (hence the name Lone Mountain) standing by itself, so I am sure the wind strips a lot of snow away.


With the new pricing scheme, I no longer find Big Sky a compelling place to ski. For five days, you could ski off-piste in Courmayeur/Chamonix and do a day of heli for the same price as Big Sky and some tram rides. Plane tickets to Bozeman vs. Milan/Geneva are not too different mid-winter.
 
Thanks for the informative link on plans for the new tram. I noted the stat that it averages being open 90 days per season. That means closed about 1/4 of the time.
Completely ridiculous. Just let people wait in line. That's what we did in the 90s/00s. You do not necessarily need to institute a draconian pricing plan.
Click to expand...
But back then the lines were in the 30 minute range. Once you get to over an hour, I vote for the pricing plan. Ski time is valuable. I'm not willing to spend that much of it waiting in lines.
ChrisC said:
IMHO: A Funitel is 50% of the cost of a tram and can carry more people if desired. It's a little depressing watching half a Jackson tram car get filled up with private lessons, guides and VIPs.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure if funitels can handle the extremely long spans between lift towers that trams can. Those spans create more wind vulnerability. I have heard that Jackson's tram can run when it's too windy to open the Sublette chair.
ChrisC said:
Also, Big Sky has to be one of the rockiest mountains in the USA. With a 125" base, you could easily find rocks. Also, it is a lone mountain (hence the name Lone Mountain) standing by itself, so I am sure the wind strips a lot of snow away.
Click to expand...
That is surely why the skier capacity up there has to be much lower than at Jackson, where Rendezvous Bowl can spread people out easily. Nonetheless I find the idea that tram might often be limited to less than 75 skiers obnoxious.
ChrisC said:
I have only experienced incredible conditions when skiing Big Sky: 40" in March 2004 and 12" in February 2019. Both times, the resort was reporting over a 100" base. I was able to ski Big Couloir in 2004, the North Summit Snowfield in 2019, and lots of tram laps in 2004 focusing on Gullies and Dictator Chutes.
Click to expand...
It is interesting that ChrisC and I have both had very positive ski experiences at Big Sky. Yet both of us see Big Sky as probably the most vulnerable ski area to increased crowd pressure upon expert terrain.
ChrisC said:
Big Sky, without the tram, is not a terribly interesting place. Lots of ho-hum cruising that extends for miles.
Click to expand...
This is the advanced intermediate gap that sbooker noticed right away.
ChrisC said:
With the new pricing scheme, I no longer find Big Sky a compelling place to ski.
Click to expand...
When I heard about the 2+ hour lines during pandemic 2020-21 (entirely predictable IMHO) I said I wouldn't go back to Big Sky until the tram got upgraded. But Ski Hall of Fame Induction lured us there last year. I am curious how the new tram works out but inclined to let others be the guinea pigs on that. I'd check Big Sky out for a couple of days if I had another reason to make a trip into the region. But a longer dedicated trip is unlikely, especially if the lodging options remain as expensive as last year.
 
Last edited:
ChrisC said:
The new Lone Peak Tram will have a total capacity of 75 people. During the winter season, the capacity will be restricted based on the mountain and operating conditions to preserve the experience of skiing and riding the Tram. Ski patrol will determine a safe capacity based on open terrain, conditions, and weather.
Click to expand...
In a lot of ways this is potentially a huge red flag. Given the new alignment with its much longer ride time, I recall estimating that the new tram is only going to be ~2-3x real world capacity compared to the beer can tram. Not exactly a huge increase. If Patrol then further limits the number of riders then it will be a cooler looking ride, and theoretically lap-able, but no better capacity than what they had before.
 
EMSC said:
Given the new alignment with its much longer ride time, I recall estimating that the new tram is only going to be ~2-3x real world capacity compared to the beer can tram.
Click to expand...
Tony Crocker said:
Good point on the ride time. That makes an even more compelling case that most of the time they should load to full 75 person capacity.
Click to expand...
Actually the new Lone Peak tram runs 50%+ faster (6 m/s vs. 10 m/s). and will take LESS time. Had to look this up. Ski Resort Info

So it’s a well thought out improvement. And you cannot just put 3x skiers on a rocky Liberty Bowl. However, I noticed mid-day that almost 1/3-1/2 were sightseers.

Old Tram Stats
IMG_2252.jpeg
IMG_2251.jpeg





New Tram stats

IMG_2249.jpeg
IMG_2250.jpeg
 
Last edited:
Not sure where Ski Resort Info gets their data.

I trust Lift Blog more. Lift blog currently has the new tram as ~12 seconds longer ride time (essentially the same) and capacity expectation moving up from 200/hr to 850/hr. So roughly the same 4x increase in capacity from ski-resort info. If patrol limits things though, it will quickly drop back to 2-3x I would think.
 
Lift Blog guy. He's visited so many resorts - most in summer to take photos of lifts and their motors. (Like me and flying - no interest in the plane, and skiing - no interest in the lift manufacturer).

Looks like approximately the same ride times. It will be interesting to see ski patrol-imposed capacity limits, but I assume no full capacity until Feb 1st. There are so many snow fences up at the top tram station.

I have no idea where SkiResortInfo gets info, but it's the best worldwide database. Press releases? Doppelmayr?

Here are the original stats of the 1995 Tram Promo:

IMG_2246.jpeg




856.8m / 6m/sec = 2 min 23 sec

1700756582563.png
 
Last edited:
I saw a report on the new Lone Peak tram opening over Christmas:
  • One run was available off of Lone Peak (Liberty Bowl?)
  • 75-person capacity restricted to 10 people
  • The lift line - even with the new egregious pricing structure - was typically 30 minutes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top