By Ellyn Lapointe Imagine, for a moment, that you’re riding the Tram. You look down and see figures in the Big Couloir. But instead of skiers, they’re a pair of mountain goats, booting—er, hoofing—straight up the 50-degree slope. The operator opens the tram doors at the top, announcing, “Liberty, Marx, Lenin, and the Dictators are all open for skiing. Sign out for the North Summit Snowfield with patrol. The Big Couloir is temporarily closed for goats.”  Yes, that’s right: Big Sky is one of the few ski resorts in the United States where you can see mountain goats while skiing. On occasion ..read more

By: Emily Stifler Wolfe Spring is a critical time for wildlife of Big Sky and the Greater Yellowstone A moose calf wades across the Gallatin River behind its mother. Bear cubs pop up behind sagebrush, ears alert, then tumble into each other in play. Bighorn lambs nurse their mothers, who are themselves exhausted after a long winter. A spotted elk calf curls up in the grass, lying still where its mother has hidden it.  Big Sky is home to an astounding array of wildlife, from elk and deer, to foxes, coyotes, wolves and bears, and the surrounding Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem has the largest ..read more

Photos & Story By: Emily Stifler Wolfe What it Takes: on any given day, it takes approximately 935 people with a wide array of skills and knowledge to make Big Sky Resort run. Together, these individuals form a complex, agile human machine that is constantly adjusting to changing conditions. This series chronicles “what it takes” to operate the resort through the eyes of some of these people. Laurel Blessley planned to spend a winter working at the resort. 23 years later, she’s managing a department.  Laurel Blessley pulls on her ear protection and then starts the tram’s auxiliary eng ..read more

Photos & Story By: Emily Stifler Wolfe What it Takes: on any given day, it takes approximately 935 people with a wide array of skills and knowledge to make Big Sky Resort run. Together, these individuals form a complex, agile human machine that is constantly adjusting to changing conditions. This series chronicles “what it takes” to operate the resort through the eyes of some of these people. Stuart Fuke combines his Hawaiian upbringing and military background to create family in the kitchen. Directly below the giant bear statue in the Huntley lobby, there’s a place you’ve probably never e ..read more

By: Dan Egan For skiers and riders looking for an adventure that is a uniquely Big Sky experience, dropping into the Big Couloir is on top of the list. The mystique associated with this classic North American ski descent abounds far beyond the resort, as skiers worldwide have “The Big” on their bucket list.  The question most asked about the Big Couloir is: “How hard is it?” and “Am I good enough to try it?”  These are wise questions to ponder because one bad turn off the top or anywhere on the descent could mean a fall and potentially a slide down the sometimes-slick surface to the ..read more

Photos & Story By: Emily Stifler Wolfe What it Takes: on any given day, it takes approximately 935 people with a wide array of skills and knowledge to make Big Sky Resort run. Together, these individuals form a complex, agile human machine that is constantly adjusting to changing conditions. This series chronicles “what it takes” to operate the resort through the eyes of some of these people. Whether she’s running a chairlift or a chainsaw, Kassi Jaskolski is always smiling It’s 3 p.m. at the top of the Six Shooter Chairlift, and Kassi Jaskolski is hustling. Hustling is pretty much Jaskols ..read more

Photos & Story By: Emily Stifler Wolfe What it Takes: on any given day, it takes approximately 935 people with a wide array of skills and knowledge to make Big Sky Resort run. Together, these individuals form a complex, agile human machine that is constantly adjusting to changing conditions. This series chronicles “what it takes” to operate the resort through the eyes of some of these people. After 34 years, Ed Seth is the “Zen-like father-figure” of Lone Mountain grooming The headlights reflect off the snowy mountainside and falling flakes, bright white against the inky black night. With ..read more

By: Dan Egan I often get asked how I ended up making my wintertime home in Big Sky, Montana. The answer is simple and complicated all at the same time. In my new book “Thirty Years in a White Haze,” I try to tie the entire tale together and it all starts with being lost in a mountain storm for thirty-eight hours, during which fifteen people perished. The following are excerpts from the book rewritten to fit this format. In May of 1990, at 18,500 feet, I was in the belly of Mount Elbrus, a dormant volcano just west of the Black Sea and north of Russia’s border with Georgia, the highest peak in ..read more

By: Zoe Mavis Big Sky has a reputation for challenging terrain. Lone Peak has an impressive presence, even from a distance. An assumption often made, mistakingly, is that expert terrain is all Big Sky has to offer. Big Sky has something to offer for all ability levels – and can be one of the best places to improve your skiing. Whether you are cruising groomers or getting after it in the trees, Big Sky has all the terrain you want, with the snow to make it fun.  Endless Terrain Big Sky offers more than 2,300 acres of beginner and intermediate terrain – that’s about 40% of the entire mounta ..read more