Articles Tagged With: Travel & Outdoors
Blacktail Mountain ski area opened in December of 1998 built on over 1000 acres of Flathead National Forest. On the west shore of Flathead Lake, the resort’s top elevation is 6700’ and overlooks Lakeside with views from Flathead Lake to Glacier National Park and of the Mission, Whitefish and Cabinet Ranges. Easy access is from Highway 93 turning west in Lakeside and following the Blacktail Road 14 miles to the mountaintop. Blacktail Mountain Ski Area is 45 minutes from Kalispell and two hours from Missoula.
In driving to the mountaintop, regardless of ability, everyone starts at the top on Blacktail Mountain.
www.blacktailmountain.com
Big Sky Resort consists of three mountains covering 3,812 acres, providing plenty of room to explore and have fun. From the easiest greens to white knuckle black diamonds to wide-open powder fields Big Sky has something for everyone.
Big Sky Resort’s interconnect with neighbor Moonlight Basin provides access to the most skiable terrain anywhere in the United States. The Lone Peak Pass offers over 5,500 acres of riding at your board tips. Lone Peak’s 11,166-foot elevation makes it a haven for powder and steeps and the 4,350 vertical drop will have your legs screaming for mercy.
www.bigskyresort.com
Majestic mountains and vast plains. Western life and small-town hospitality. Cowboys and Indians. Experience the diversity of Teton Pass near Choteau, Montana, where these seamlessly blend into an affordable, family fun experience that will lighten your heart (plus your pocketbook) and put a smile on your face.
Situated just east of the Bob Marshall Wilderness area in the Rocky Mountain Front, Teton Pass’s pure powder -- 300 inches a year -- comes solely from Mother Nature. The 26 trails -- 5 beginner, 9 intermediate and 12 advanced -- seem to reach the sky at 7,200 feet, especially when contrasted against the vast plains of central Montana.
Wandering spirit? Need some direction for your adventure, but crave some homespun hospitality? Get “lost” at Lost Trail Powder Mountain in Western Montana. Located less than 100 miles (or 1 ½ hours) from Missoula and Butte, MT and Salmon, ID, this family owned ski area is known for its dependable snow (over 300 inches), down-to-earth attitude and breathtaking beauty of the Bitterroot range. Combine this with uncrowded slopes, a friendly smile and great prices; you’ll discover several new “trails” to follow.
To begin your adventure, explore www.losttrail.com for details on our unbelievable powder at unbelievable low prices.
Montana Snowbowl is located 12 miles northwest of Missoula. Deep, powdery bowls and 2,600 feet of continuous vertical drop make Snowbowl an extremist's dream. There's plenty of skiing for other skill levels, too. Fly Delta, Horizon Air, United and Northwest to Missoula. Car rentals are available at airport. From I-90, Reserve St. Exit (Exit 101), north on Grant Creek Road, then left onto Snowbowl Road. Open daily 9:30am - 4:00pm (closed Tuesdays early and late season).
www.montanasnowbowl.com
Bridger Bowl is located 16 miles northeast of Bozeman on MT Highway 86. As a private, nonprofit ski area with no owners, all profits are reinvested into the area, enabling Bridger Bowl to provide a high quality ski experience for a low price. Be sure to check out our "What's New" section at BridgerBowl.com to view the progress on our new lift installation (scheduled to open for the '08-'09 season) serving 300 acres of new terrain in the Slushman's area south of our current boundary.
www.bridgerbowl.com
Lookout Pass is the #1 Powder Place in the Northwest Rockies with easy I-90 access at the Idaho/Montana state line. Our new “Timber Wolf” and “North Star” chairlifts are an exciting addition that provide expanded access to over 34 named trails and acres of prime powder glade skiing and riding with a 1,150-foot vertical drop and two terrain parks. A new three-story lodge addition includes “The Loft” pub and grub with a great selection of brews and panoramic mountain views. A new food court enhances our commitment to providing you and your family with a great skiing experience.
But here’s the number that matters: 400 inches of annual snowfall.
Located in the heart of the Little Belt Mountains of the Lewis and Clark National Forest, you’ll find Montana’s oldest and friendliest ski area -- Showdown Montana. Topping out at 8,200 feet, and offering 1,400 feet of vertical drop on 34 runs, Showdown offers a variety of terrain for skiers and riders of all abilities and ages.
The unique geography surrounding Showdown makes for some of the best dry, all natural powder you’ll find anywhere in the West. That’s right, there are no hoses, snow guns, condos or lift lines here -- just a great family area that has been providing some of the best skiing and riding in Montana for over 70 years.
What $58 per night gets you at the Gunther Motel in Choteau, Montana, out on the plains just east of the Rockies: two double beds, a television, a phone, an alarm clock, a full-sized refrigerator, a dish of butter in the refrigerator, a yellow formica table, a couple of mismatched plates, a microwave oven, an actual hot plate, and a coffee maker. What it does not get you: those little one-pot pouches of coffee you may have grown accustomed to at the Super 8s along the highway, nor any other kind of coffee, nor cups, coffee or otherwise, disposable or otherwise. No coffee filters, either.
The Elusive HutteritesThe further we drive down the gravel road, the stupider I feel about the whole thing. We have no idea if it's even the right road, but, if it is, the fact that there was no sign back at the highway suggests that these people are not exactly eager for drop-in visitors. Three miles, four. We haven't seen a single vehicle or person, just ranch fields full of cattle to either side of the road and then the occasional house. Like some ghostly overlay, older houses often stand crumbling somewhere off to one side of the newer ones, co-generational with the rusty pickups subsiding gradually into the earth in the front yards, the past rubbing shoulders uneasily with the present and everyone's back turned on a future that has not looked good for small ranchers and farmers for quite some time.
