An expert skier trails fresh powder as he descends through The Gullies, a challenging section of Lone Mountain accessible only by the summit tram. Big Sky’s vertical drop is 4,350 feet, one of the greatest of any resort in North America. (Jeff Engerbretson/Big Sky Resort, submitted photo)

BIG SKY, Montana —

There are some giant ski resorts in this country. Park City (Utah), Vail (Colorado), and Squaw Valley, Heavenly and Mammoth Mountain (all in California) each exceeds 3,500 acres in size. Bend’s own Mount Bachelor, at 3,683 acres, is the largest in the Northwest. But they all pale in comparison to Montana’s Big Sky Resort.

I had no concept of Big Sky’s size until I stood beneath The Gullies on the flank of the South Wall, just below the 11,166-foot summit of Lone Mountain in Montana’s Gallatin National Forest, and scanned my surroundings. It was hard to see where the resort began and ended.

Big Sky promotes itself as “The Biggest Skiing in America.” It’s hard to argue with the facts. Other resorts may have more vertical drop (here, the number is 4,350 feet), but with its mountaintop tram, 23 chair lifts and 12 surface lifts, there seems never to be any waiting. On a typical winter’s day, Big Sky will host no more than about 3,000 skiers — leaving each and every one of them two full acres of crisp Rocky Mountain powder in which to play.

Big Sky claims acreage of 5,800 acres, including the smaller Moonlight Basin ski complex on its lower slopes that it absorbed five seasons ago. And it has a direct on-slope link to the 2,700-acre Yellowstone Club ski resort, giving it a total terrain of 8,500 acres. That is even more than Canada’s massive Whistler-Blackcomb complex.

The frontier boundary of Yellowstone National Park is 20 miles southeast as the crow flies. Big Sky doesn’t reach quite that far. But the ski area does extend for more than 12 miles east-west in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. And it incorporates not only Lone Mountain, but four other peaks: Andesite, Flatiron, Spirit and Pioneer mountains, each over 8,000 feet in altitude.

Chances are you won’t have an opportunity to run your boards on 9,860-foot Pioneer Mountain. It’s part and parcel of the fore-mentioned Yellowstone Club, a private residential ski and golf resort for the rich and/or famous. But there’s so much to see and do at Big Sky, you won’t be missing a thing.

Lone Mountain

I skied Big Sky in late March of this year, just before the end of the last ski season. The resort is 40 miles south-southwest of Bozeman, a drive mostly on U.S. Highway 191. A city of 38,000, home to Montana State University, Bozeman is served by several major airlines, including Alaska Airlines (from Portland) and Delta Air Lines (from Salt Lake City). There are easy connections from the Redmond airport.

Conceived by famed NBC broadcast newsman Chet Huntley, Big Sky Resort was five years in development. It opened for skiing in 1973, just a year before Montana native Huntley died. Bought in 1976 by Michigan-based Boyne Resorts, whose other ski hills include Brighton in Utah and Crystal Mountain and the Summit at Snoqualmie, both in Washington, it was expanded to its advanced upper slopes in 1988 with the opening of the Challenger lift.

The Lone Peak Tram was fully operational in 1995. The view of this dizzying feat of engineering, as seen from the upper terminal of the Powder Seeker chair, is intimidating indeed. Rising 1,450 vertical feet in just over a half mile without a single mid-station, it is a vertigo-inducing ride that provides access to expert-only terrain — as well as an observation area for summer visitors.

Lone Mountain towers like an ancient pyramid above the other peaks of the Madison Range. Higher than any mountain in Oregon except Mount Hood (which tops it by fewer than 100 feet), this glacial horn was shaped 160 million years ago by massive blocks of ice and rock. The triangular summit is just large enough for the tram landing. But skiers beware: The downhill options are almost entirely double-black-rated chutes, with the only exception being the south side’s single-black Liberty Bowl.

Big Sky’s five distinct bowls are separated by a series of sharp ridges, or arêtes, which hold the snow and build a sense of isolation on different sides of the mountain. If one area, say the north-facing Headwaters Bowl, is being buffeted by chilly winds, the tree-shrouded, east-facing runs of the Swiftcurrent section will offer respite, while the south-facing Shedhorn and Dakota lifts may be getting sun. The lift system has been designed to move skiers easily between ridges and bowls.

From the resort’s Mountain Village, hub of most visitor activity at 7,500 feet elevation, the Ramcharger lift climbs 8,800-foot Andesite Mountain, its runs catering mainly to intermediate skiers. Backside runs from the Southern Comfort chair lead to the isolated Lone Moose chair, on Flatiron Mountain, and to additional chairs on Spirit Mountain, mainly serving a residential area.

Indeed, there are hundreds of mostly seasonal homes across the lower slopes of Lone Mountain. Many of them are at ski-in, ski-out Moonlight Basin, on the northeast side of the mountain; the Iron Horse quad lift links it to the Challenger triple and other parts of Big Sky.

On the snow

Chelsi Moy, Big Sky’s public relations manager, apologized for end-of-season snow conditions when we headed out together on a mountain tour. The winter’s 400 inches weren’t reflected in fresh spring powder, and as daytime temperatures warmed into the 40s, the snow on runs that had been left unpacked was getting heavy, forcing leg muscles to work harder.

We started our day on Andesite Mountain, where Moy introduced me to the mountaintop Everett’s 8,800 restaurant, offering fine dining for lunch and dinner by reservation. We took a warm-up run through the broad glades of Elk Park Meadows, then returned on the Thunder Wolf quad to the top of Andesite before tackling Hangmans, an intermediate cruiser.

Back at Mountain Village, we took turns down Lobo, via the Swiftcurrent quad, then followed Jaywalk to the Powder Seeker chair, where I was introduced to what Moy promised is “the most technologically advanced chair lift in the country.” New in 2016, the Powder Seeker seats six skiers side by side under a translucent blue bubble cover, providing protection from weather. All riders have heated seats, foot and head rests, and they travel uphill at twice the speed of an earlier chair.

Boyne Resorts, said Moy, has prioritized development of terrain and lift technology at Big Sky. As part of a $150 million investment last year, a new fixed-trip triple chair was installed on the Challenger lift, a ridgetop ride for expert skiers. Improvements in the 2017 off-season have included increased glade runs and more surface lifts.

From the top of Powder Seeker, we studied the Lone Peak Tram terminal. My quadriceps were already aching and I wasn’t wearing my big-boy pants, so I opted to skip unnecessary double-black tests on this day. And as I gazed in awe at the twin, 15-passenger cabs passing one another high in the sky above me, Moy gave me another reason for trepidation: The tram is constructed above a massive rock-and-ice glacier that moves several inches a year, a fact that engineers had to take into serious consideration when the lift was built.

There are other geological nuances on this mountain so close to the Yellowstone caldera. Thermal vents sometimes appear in the middle of ski runs. If you see ski patrollers marking a bare spot with crossed bamboo poles, it’s likely that hot steam has melted the snow to rock.

Besides taking the tram, we had two other choices from Powder Seeker. First, we traversed The Bowl, beneath The Gullies, and tackled the black-diamond-rated South Wall to the foot of the lift. Returning again to Powder Seeker’s upper terminal, we followed the blue-rated Upper Morning Star to access Challenger.

Challenger led to down the double-black Headwaters Bowl, served by the short-but-steep Headwaters double chair. Then I relaxed into a long cruiser to the base of the Six Shooter six-pack chair at the Madison Base Area, which tends to be frequented by Bozeman-area locals. After one more trip up Six Shooter, we took the Fast Lane traverse back to Mountain Village — and I called it a day after 10,000 feet of vertical.

Mountain Village

Mountain Village is the hub of lodging, dining and shopping at Big Sky. Its original luxury accommodation, still popular today, is the Huntley Lodge. Always part of Chet Huntley’s vision for Big Sky, this hotel is linked to underground parking, the Yellowstone Conference Center and a set of private condominiums.

Most activity, it seems, revolves around its heated outdoor swimming pool, its spacious dining room and Chet’s Bar and Grill, which offers a full meal menu and entertainment several nights a week. A roaring fireplace warms the spacious lobby, from which guests can readily visit the Solace Spa and Salon.

I stayed slope side, just across the village plaza, at the Village Center condominiums. Rooms are lovely, and the condos have their own pool, hot tub and ski storage. On property is the Andiamo Italian Grille, whose southern European food may be the best on the mountain. Nearby, in the Summit Hotel, my favorite spot at Big Sky is the Carabiner, a lounge with a full dinner menu and nightly solo guitar music.

The Mountain Mall, where shops also have plenty of ski equipment for sale and rent, has two good food stops: Montana Jack has rock bands and plenty of beer to entertain the younger crowd, while the Lone Peak Cafe offers cafeteria-style breakfasts and lunches on the upper level.

Most live music comes to an end by 8 p.m. in the Mountain Village, however. Skiers looking for later nights can head downhill seven miles to Big Sky’s Town Center and Meadow Village. Here, more dining and après-ski options are offered to resort guests and to mountain employees who are among the village’s 3,000 permanent residents.

Out and about

In the Town Center, braided streams, flowing gently downhill toward the Gallatin River, share the broad meadow area with winding residential streets. Not only is this Big Sky’s hub of dining, shopping and civic activities, with its schools and churches, hospital and Warren Miller Performing Arts Center; it is also the center for such seasonal events as the Music in the Mountains summer concert series, the Vine and Dine wine-and-food festival and the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival.

In winter, nordic skiers find their nirvana at the Lone Mountain Ranch, about a mile uphill from Town Center toward Mountain Village. Other winter activities include snowshoeing and zip-lining. Warm-weather highlights for hardy athletes include the early-summer Lone Peak’s Revenge endure-bicycling race and, in late summer, The Rut, an extreme high-altitude foot race with several distances up to 50 kilometers.

Summer or winter, there are few bigger visitor attractions than Yellowstone National Park. Its nearest entrance, at West Yellowstone, is a mere 48 miles (an hour’s drive) south of Big Sky. During the peak months of the winter season, guided snowmobile and snow-coach tours extend to the Old Faithful Snow Lodge. Bison frequent the geyser basin at this time of year.

An alternate entrance is at Gardiner, 80 miles south of Bozeman and very near to the Mammoth Hot Springs, a magnet for elk. This is the only entrance open year-round to automobile traffic, which is restricted in winter to the north side of the park. While it doesn’t run past any of Yellowstone’s most famous attractions — not geysers, nor canyons, nor colorful hot-springs pools — the highway does yield stunning wildlife watching in the Lamar Valley. On one winter visit, I stood on the road, armed only with binoculars, and watched a herd of elk hold off a pack of circling wolves.

You don’t see that sort of thing every day. Then again, you don’t see a summit like Lone Mountain, nor a resort like Big Sky, every day either. This is one hill that is worthy of its marketing slogan: “The Biggest Skiing in America.”

— John Gottberg Anderson can be reached at janderson@bendbulletin.com

If you go

INFORMATION

Big Sky Resort. 50 Big Sky Resort Road; bigskyresort.com, 406-995-5000, 800-548-4486. Lift tickets $79 to $130.

LODGING

Big Sky Mountain Village lodging. 44 Big Sky Resort Road; bigskyresort.com, 855-231-7242. Huntley Lodge rates from $264; Village Center rates from $288.

Whitewater Inn. Highway 191; bigskyresort.com, 855-231-7242. Rates from $184.

DINING

Big Sky Mountain Village dining. 50 Big Sky Resort Road; bigskyresort.com. Andiamo Italian Grille (Village Center; 406-995-8041; dinner nightly; expensive). Carabiner (Summit Hotel; 406-995-8078; lunch and dinner daily; moderate); Chet’s Bar & Grill (Huntley Lodge; 406-995-5784; dinner nightly; moderate); Lone Peak Cafe (Mountain Mall; 406-995-5876; breakfast and lunch daily; budget); Montana Jack (Mountain Mall; 406-995-5786; lunch and dinner daily; budget to moderate).

Lone Peak Brewery. 48 Market Place (Meadow Village), lonepeakbrewery.com, 406-995-3939. Lunch and dinner every day. Budget to moderate

Olive B’s Big Sky Bistro. 151 Center Lane (Meadow Village), olivebsbigsky.com, 406-995-3355. Lunch Monday to Friday, dinner Monday to Saturday. Expensive

Ousel & Spur Pizza Co. 50 Ousel Falls Road (Meadow Village), ouselandspurpizza.com, 406-995-7175. Dinner nightly. Moderate