As the weather in Montana continues to fluctuate while fall sets in, it's time to start thinking ahead to this year's ski season. With three ski resorts within an hour of Bozeman, it can be a tough decision to narrow it down to only one resort for the winter -- and that doesn't even have to be the case with options such as the Lone Peak Pass.
From the big, wide open couloirs and glades at Big Sky Resort, to the Headwater funnels and tight, ripping tree runs at Moonlight, to the intricate, steep terrain at Bridger, the Gallatin Valley is a central hub for skiing in Montana.
Bridger Bowl:
Twenty minutes northeast of Bozeman up the Bridger canyon lies Bridger Bowl. The big news at Bridger this year is the installation of a new triple chair Bridger Lift, which replaces the old Bridger and Deer Park lifts. The new Bridger Lift begins above the Deer Park Chalet and goes to the old unload location above Bronco. There is also a midway unload at the the bottom of Bronco for beginners to hop off and for racers to make quick training laps.
Bridger boasts 2,600 vertical feet of lift-served terrain and receives an average of 350 inches of annual snowfall. With 71 runs, Bridger has something for skiers of every ability: from long, from mellow groomers through the trees off Alpine lift, to the Schlasman's lift, which requires an avalanche transceiver, and a partner and shovel are strongly recommended.
Bridger offers a range of season pass options: An adult season pass is $565 until Oct. 12, when the price goes up to $665. A midweek season pass starts at $365; the 10-time pass is a fixed $350; and Bridger also offers a MSU Student RIDE-ON! Pass, which costs an MSU student $30 at first, and then day passes are just $39, as well as a number of other weeks with $29 ticket prices and one free day on Dec. 23.
Big Sky Resort:
At southwest end of the Gallatin Valley is the mouth of the Gallatin Canyon with route 191 winding along the river. When the canyon begins to open up after about 30-40 minutes of driving, the turn to Big Sky, and Moonlight, highway 64, is on the right and heads straight back up into the mountains.
As it's name suggests, Big Sky and Lone Peak offer up massive Montana ski lines such as the Big and Little couloirs, and the A to Z chutes. Big Sky sits on 3,812 acres with 4,350 vertical feet of skiable terrain. And with over 400 annual inches of snowfall, a powder stash is not hard to find. The Lone Peak Triple chair takes riders to The Bowl, a superb powder play land, and is also the chair that accesses the Lone Peak Tram, which takes skiers and boarders all the way to the top of Lone Peak, elevation: 11,166 feet. The Challenger lift also provides fairly quick rides to some fun, steep lines with a periodic cliff drop followed by trees back to the lift.
Not surprisingly, Big Sky passes are the most expensive, and unfortunately the cut off date for the pre-season price is Thursday, Sept. 30. The regular season price for Big Sky's Gold Unlimited pass is $1,399, the Gold College pass is $899. The Silver Midweek pass is $729 for adults and college students.
Big Sky also offers an interesting Bronze Budget Pass for $449, which is valid early and late season and one week in January; and the Big Sky Frequency Card, at $89, gets a rider two weeks of free skiing, one in the beginning and one in the end of the season, and $20 off the regular season day lift ticket price.
Moonlight Basin:
About 15 minutes beyond Big Sky, on the northern aspect of of Lone Peak, is Moonlight Basin. With superb tree skiing and the ridiculously fun Headwaters chutes, Moonlight has plenty to offer in the shadow of the older, larger resort. And, Moonlight has by far the best terrain park out of all three resorts. With tons of boxes, rails, tower tubes and plenty of jumps, Moonlight Basin's terrain parks -- the larger Zero Gravity Terrain Park and the smaller Zero Gravity Pony Park -- have plenty of jibs for riders of every ability.
For the 2010-11 ski season, Moonlight Basin offers the cheapest passes. An adult season pass is only $555 until Oct. 17, and only $640 after that. Moonlight also has a college season pass for $470, and after Oct. 17 it's still only $545. And Moonlight's midweek pass is $390, and goes up to $450.
The Lone Peak Pass:
When Moonlight was born, it was inevitable the two resorts would end up offering a pass for the entire Lone Peak Mountain. Dubbed "The Biggest Skiing in America," the Lone Peak Pass gives riders free roam of every lift at Big Sky and Moonlight, a combined 5,512 acres with easy access to the infamous North Summit Snow Field.
The price for The Lone Peak pass is currently set at $1,554 for an adult and $1,269 for a college student; however, that is the pre-season price, which ends Sept. 30. And as of Sunday, the regular season price is "TBA."
With so many pass options to choose from, the only thing to worry about is not deciding before the price goes up.
