Montana, Usa
Maverick Mountain
450 acres, 22 runs near Polaris. Remote, uncrowded skiing in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest.
Season 2025 - 2026
Opens
13 Dec 2025
Closes
13 Apr 2026
Days open
121
Annual snow
13ft
The Overview
Michael Fulton
Melbourne-based skier and snowboarder with 50+ resorts across 5 continents. Specialises in Australian resorts and international resort comparisons.
Maverick Mountain's summit reaches 8,520 feet, dropping 2,021 vertical feet to a base at 6,499 feet across 22 runs spread over 450 acres near Polaris, Montana. Average annual snowfall runs to roughly 250 inches across the resort's compact but genuinely varied terrain. The resort carries no major multi-resort pass affiliation. Two double chairs serve the mountain alongside one surface lift.
Maverick Mountain sits within the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest along the Pioneer Mountain Scenic Byway, roughly 40 miles from Dillon, in a genuinely remote corner of southwestern Montana. Its origins as a community-built facility for the Grasshopper Valley area give the resort a distinctly grassroots character that persists in its modest, uncrowded operation today. The mountain's proximity to Bannack State Park, site of Montana's first territorial capital and an 1862 gold rush boomtown, adds historic interest to the surrounding region.
The ski area opened in 1946 to serve the small Grasshopper Valley community, beginning with nothing more than a single rope tow. In a detail that speaks to the resort's resourceful, do-it-yourself origins, the lift's early support posts were reportedly dragged into place by draft horses given the lack of mechanised equipment available in the area at the time.
Randy Shilling ran Maverick Mountain for roughly 25 years, guiding the resort through decades of steady, unglamorous community operation. In 2015, Erik and Kristi Borge purchased the ski area, continuing its tradition as a small, independently run mountain. Specific current adult daily ticket pricing is not confirmed in available resort information.
2,021ft
Vertical
22
Runs
450 acres
Skiable
13ft
Annual snow
The Terrain
22 runs across 450 acres skiable
Maverick Mountain spreads 22 runs across 450 acres skiable of terrain. It leans intermediate at 40%, with 7 beginner runs to find your feet and 7 advanced or expert runs when you want to push.
Terrain split
22
runs
22 runs across 4 grades
Beginner7 runs · 30%
Intermediate9 runs · 40%
Advanced7 runs · 30%
Expert0 runs · 0%
Time it right
When to visit Maverick Mountain
The 2025-26 season at Maverick Mountain ran through the winter months, supported by average annual snowfall of around 250 inches across the resort's compact terrain. Specific opening and closing dates for the 2025-26 season are not confirmed in available resort information, though the mountain typically operates through the core winter period given its elevation and snowfall totals.
Midwinter, from December through February, typically brings the most consistent conditions to the resort's varied 450-acre terrain. Given Maverick's remote location roughly 40 miles from Dillon along the Pioneer Mountain Scenic Byway, the resort draws a genuinely small, dedicated skier base from the surrounding Beaverhead Valley region rather than national destination traffic.
As an independently operated resort without major pass affiliation, Maverick's visitor base skews heavily toward locals and regional skiers specifically seeking out its uncrowded, community-focused character. Weekend visitation draws primarily from Dillon and the broader southwestern Montana region, with the mountain's remote setting naturally limiting crowds throughout the season.
Specific event programming beyond standard operations is not confirmed in available resort information. Since Erik and Kristi Borge's 2015 purchase, following Randy Shilling's roughly 25-year tenure, the resort has continued its tradition as a modest, independently run community mountain. Maverick's proximity to Bannack State Park's gold rush history remains a distinctive point of regional interest for visitors throughout the winter.
Season 2025 - 2026
13 Dec 2025
Opens
13 Apr 2026
Closes
121
Days open
13 ft
Annual snow
Getting there
Getting to Maverick Mountain, and where to stay
Maverick Mountain sits near Polaris, Montana, within the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest along the Pioneer Mountain Scenic Byway, with a base elevation of 6,499 feet and a summit at 8,520 feet across a 2,021-foot vertical drop over 450 acres. This remote southwestern Montana setting places the resort roughly 40 miles from the nearest larger town.
Dillon, the nearest town of any size, provides lodging, dining and services within a considerable drive of the resort. The historic Bannack State Park, site of Montana's first territorial capital and an 1862 gold rush boomtown, lies within the same broader region, adding a notable historic attraction for visitors to the area.
The Pioneer Mountain Scenic Byway provides access to the resort, a route valued for its scenery but requiring careful winter driving given the remote, mountainous terrain it traverses. Snow and ice are common on this route during winter months, and traction tyres or chains are often advisable during storms. There is no direct public transport service to the resort.
Bert Mooney Airport in Butte is the nearest airport with commercial service, a considerable drive from the resort. This distance reinforces Maverick Mountain's identity as a genuinely remote destination reached deliberately by regional skiers rather than a convenient fly-in resort.
Where to stay
Search all stays →Hotels and lodges near Maverick Mountain, powered by Stay22.
Latest News
From the SnowStash desk
Maverick Mountain's Only Chairlift Destroyed as Sand Creek Fire Tears Through Montana Ski Area
Firefighters saved every base building at Maverick Mountain, Montana, but the resort's sole chairlift didn't survive the Sand Creek Fire. Owners Erik and Kristi Borge say the lift is "most likely" out for the 2026/27 season after flames tore through the mountain on August 8. The wildfire has since grown past 27,700 acres with zero percent containment. It's a gutting result for the tiny, one-lift operation near Dillon - though the lodge, groomers and equipment all made it through untouched.
15 Aug 2026
Spain Moves to Ban Smoking at Ski Resorts Under New Tobacco Law
Spain's government has approved a draft tobacco law that would ban smoking across a wide range of outdoor spaces, including sports venues - a category Spanish winter sports media expect to cover ski resorts, potentially extending to slopes and lifts themselves. The rules would also apply to e-cigarettes and vaping devices, even nicotine-free ones. The bill still has to clear the Spanish parliament before any ban, signage, or fines can take effect.
22 July 2026
South Tyrol Approves New 16-Person Ciampinoi Gondola in Val Gardena
South Tyrol has approved a full rebuild of the Ciampinoi cable car in Selva di Val Gardena, replacing the current 12-person gondola with a 16-person cabin and a new mountain-station restaurant. Capacity is capped at 3,200 people an hour rather than the 3,600 the operator wanted, and 250,000 euros must go toward compensatory measures. No construction or opening date has been set, though the upgrade is partly aimed at clearing bottlenecks before the 2031 Alpine Ski World Championships.
22 July 2026
Resort Spotlight: Hoshino Tomamu - Corporate Japan's Mountain Playground Revisited
Hoshino Tomamu is the ski resort equivalent of a conference hotel that happens to have excellent powder. Built for corporate retreats and package tourists, it offers genuine Hokkaido snow on surprisingly limited terrain - 29 runs spread across 585 vertical metres.
21 July 2026
La Thuile's New Cable Car Replaces Two Ageing Chairlifts
La Thuile is spending 38.7 million US dollars on a new 10-person cable car linking Les Suches to Chaz Dura, replacing the La Combe and Chaz Dura chairlifts after nearly forty years of service. Built by Leitner, the new cable car runs 1,950 metres to a top station at 2,576 metres, carrying up to 3,000 people an hour with a six-minute ride. It also improves the connection to La Rosiere in France via the Petit-Saint-Bernard Pass, and is on track to open for the 2026/27 season.
21 July 2026
The Remarkables Adds Scarpa Bowl to Its Inbounds Terrain
The Remarkables is adding new inbounds terrain for winter, bringing the Scarpa Bowl - known locally as the Toilet Bowl - into its lift-accessed network after years as backcountry-only ground. The roughly 500 metre run is reached by bootpacking from the top of the Sugar Bowl chairlift, with a shuttle picking skiers up from the road at the bottom. It's a smaller, faster addition than the resort's planned Doolans expansion, though the new terrain hasn't opened yet due to a lack of snow this season.
21 July 2026
Ski Portillo Cut Off After Storm Dumps More Than 4.5 Metres of Snow
Ski Portillo remains isolated after an extended storm buried the Chilean resort under more than 4.5 metres of snow, with both ground and air access suspended since Tuesday while crews monitor avalanche hazards and worsening weather. Resort officials say further snowfall is expected in the coming days and haven't set a timeline for reopening the mountain road. Once access resumes, the scale of the snowpack could set up a strong season at one of the Southern Hemisphere's most historic ski resorts.
21 July 2026
Resort Spotlight: Lotte Arai - Japan's Corporate Ski Anomaly With 22 Metres of Annual Snowfall
Lotte Arai receives 22 metres of annual snowfall - exceptional even by Japanese standards - but its corporate ownership model and limited terrain create an unusual cost-benefit equation. Here's what the numbers actually mean on the ground.
19 July 2026
Current conditions
Snow Report
Updated 18 Aug 2026
8,520ft
summit
+0in
new snow · last 24 hours
Clear47°F / 66°F · NW 15mph
Snowfall
24 hours
0in
48 hours
0in
7 days
0in
Base depth
0in
Season total
0in
Total lifts2
Live open status isn’t available right now.
13 Dec 2025 - 13 Apr 2026
Hour by Hour
Next 37 hours· Updated Aug 18, 2026 at 6:02 AM
Scroll for the full outlook · Open-Meteo
7-Day Outlook
8,520 ftUpdated Aug 18, 2026 at 6:02 AMOpen-Meteo
Days 1–7
0.0"
Days 8–14
0.0"
Tue, Aug 18
Light Drizzle
Temp66° / 47°°F
Snow0.0"(10%)
Wind15 mph NW
Live snow from the resort feed; forecast from Open-Meteo, via Supabase.
Understanding the Maverick Mountain snow report
Planning a day at Maverick Mountain? Our snow report combines official mountain data with live weather so you know exactly what conditions look like right now, from the 1981m base to the 2597m summit.
Snow measurements
Base depth, summit depth, and recent snowfall are the core numbers to watch. At Maverick Mountain, summit conditions (2597m) can differ noticeably from the base, so we break both out separately rather than showing a single average.
Weather conditions
Snow quality tracks closely with temperature and wind. We surface both alongside the snowfall data so you can judge whether conditions at Maverick Mountain are holding up or starting to soften.
Data sources
Maverick Mountain snow data is collected through a combination of on-mountain reports and weather forecasting services, giving you both official resort updates and independent forecast data in one place. The mountain is served by 2 lifts in total.
When to check
Snow reports are typically updated early morning and late afternoon. For the most current conditions, check back regularly, especially if a winter storm is approaching.