Big Sky

Big Sky's summit reaches 11,165 feet, dropping 4,364 vertical feet to a base at 6,801 feet across 317 runs spread over 5,850 acres in Montana. Terrain splits 35 per cent advanced, 25 per cent intermediate, 22 per cent beginner and 18 per cent expert, with average annual snowfall of roughly 400 inches. The resort carries Ikon Pass and Mountain Collective access and markets itself as America's biggest skiing by acreage. Forty lifts, including an aerial tram, a gondola, seven quad chairs and nine triple chairs, serve the mountain alongside five double chairs, an eight-person chair, three six-person chairs, eight surface lifts and five t-bars.

Big Sky's 4,364-foot vertical drop and vast 5,850-acre terrain footprint place it among the largest ski resorts in North America, with the Lone Peak Tram providing access to some of the most dramatic expert terrain in the country. Its Ikon Pass and Mountain Collective access has transformed the resort from a Montana curiosity into a genuine national destination. The sheer scale of the lift network, forty lifts across the combined terrain, reflects decades of expansion since the resort's modest 1970s origins.

Big Sky was founded by Montana native Chet Huntley, the recently retired co-anchor of NBC's Huntley-Brinkley Report, who returned to his home state to develop the resort after leaving broadcasting. Big Sky opened for its first winter season in 1973, but Huntley died of lung cancer on 20 March 1974, just three days before the resort's official dedication. Ski industry pioneer Everett Kircher, owner of Michigan-based Boyne Resorts, purchased Big Sky in 1976 for 8.5 million US dollars.

The resort's most significant recent expansion came in October 2013, when Boyne Resorts purchased neighbouring Moonlight Basin, including the terrain of Spanish Peaks, bringing the combined resort's total acreage to more than 5,850 acres. Adult daily tickets run from 98 to 222 US dollars using dynamic pricing, reflecting Big Sky's position as one of the premier destination resorts in the American West.