In the Hunt: Last best ski place

By Nick Gevock - 12/31/2008

It's pretty easy for anyone who loves the outdoors to love Montana.

The list of outdoors opportunities is almost endless, from hunting and fishing to hiking, wildlife watching and cycling.

But I would add as a skier and snowboarder that Montana is the among best ski states in the country.

I can already hear skiing snobs in some other Rockies states scoffing, but I'll stand behind the Treasure State as "The Last Best Ski Place" any day.

Now I'll concede that there are some better ski resorts located in Colorado and my particular favorite Utah, with its legendary deep, dry powder.

The difference is when it comes to comparing the lift ticket prices and what you get for your money.

Dollar for dollar, Montana has them buried. By a long shot.

We live in an era in which some resorts have made their elitism a matter of pride, with lift tickets pushing the $100 per day barrier. At Vail, Colo., a day tickets runs $97, Aspen charges $92 and Jackson Hole, Wyo., is now $87 per day.

So what do you get for that hefty fee?

Well, the lodges are a little swankier and there's more shopping, although that has nothing to do with the actual skiing. Yes, there's more terrain and more chairs too. And there's certainly a lot more attitude.

But with those amenities, flash and proximity to urban areas comes something else: crowds.

Seriously, how many runs can a skier get in when forced to wait 10 minutes every run in a lift line? I've had days at Colorado resorts when the wait was pushing 20 minutes. That makes for a frustrating day on the slopes.

Compare that to Montana's ski hills. Here we rarely wait at all and when we do, it's usually for a minute or two, certainly nothing to get agitated about.

As for the ski hills we have, they're nothing to scoff at.

Let's start with Butte's local ski hill, Discovery Basin. What Peter Pitcher has built out there is a truly great local ski resort.

Kids can enjoy the wide, long cruiser runs on the front side. Their parents can too, but if they're more advanced skiers they won't get bored, with the backside runs that are incredibly steep and challenging.

Skiing at Discovery also offers the reward of a view of the Anaconda Range from the top of the mountain that I'd say is as breathtaking as any ski hill in the country.

Of course the great skiing in Montana goes well beyond that.

Maverick Mountain west of Dillon is the epitome of the mom-and-pop ski hill with a single double chair. But it accesses 2,000 feet of vertical and has several steep runs.

Lost Trail Pass is a great hill and consistently has the best base in the state. Bridger Bowl is legendary for the "cold smoke" powder snow and the ridge that so many of the mountain jocks hike to.

The list of great ski resorts with relatively affordable lift tickets goes on. Snowbowl, Blacktail Mountain, Showdown, Great Divide, Red Lodge and several more make up great skiing. And they range in price from roughly $20 to $47 per day, which in today's world is a pretty good deal.

These places, to me, are the heart and soul of skiing. They're places where no one cares how in vogue your ski suit is, or how expensive your skis are.

It's simply about the skiing. And a family can actually still afford to go.

I'd say Montana is clearly the best skiing state in the union.

Reporter Nick Gevock may be reached at nick.gevock@mtstandard.com.