Big Sky 2025- Expanding & Improving America’s Third Largest Ski Resort

With a population of 2,500 (and counting), a medical center that offers emergency services and inpatient care, numerous shops and restaurants, and an accessible 5,800 acres of public skiing, both the community of Big Sky and the resort itself are turning heads as expansions to the area continue every year.

Already the third largest ski resort in America, and consistently seeing more skiers every winter season, the resort’s Big Sky 2025 plan is well underway. First announced in 2016, this plan will cost the resort upwards of $150 million in costs related to Mountain Village renovations, installations of new chairlifts and upgrades to existing ones, and preparing Andesite Mountain for night skiing.

So far, Powder Seeker (a high-speed, six-seater lift with bubble covers and heated seats) has been installed, and the Challenger lift was replaced with a triple fixed-grip and a conveyor load, which shortened ride time by 25%. Next on the agenda is the installation of North America’s first eight-seat, high-speed chairlift. Named Ramcharger 8, the lift will feature extra-wide heated seats, bubble covers, and an LED screen at the bottom terminal with up-to-date guest information. While there are other eight-seater chairlifts worldwide (majority being in Europe, two in South Korea, and one in Australia), Ramcharger 8 will be the world’s most technologically advanced lift ever built, and will be open in time for skiers to enjoy during the 2018-19 ski season.

Next steps in the plan include:

  • Replacing the Shedhorn double chair with a high-speed quad
  • Transforming the upper level of the Mountain Mall (addition of indoor fireplaces, an elevator, a coffee bar, traditional apres ski bars, and new food options)
  • Expanded snowmaking coverage
  • Night skiing on Andesite Mountain
  • Gondola installation

Further down the road in the late stages of the plan, several additional lift upgrades, hotel renovations, and Montana Club developments are scheduled to take place.

Making preparations and expansions now is a proactive approach to the inevitable growth and increased volume of traffic that both the community of Big Sky and its resort are bound to see in coming years. Bozeman’s population is expected to nearly double in size in the next few decades, the Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport is currently preparing for increased airline traffic, and Gallatin County as a whole is expected to gain 55,000 new residents by 2045. It’s clear that although once considered a hidden treasure, Montana (and more specifically the Bozeman/Big Sky area) is garnering more attention over time as we see more tourists in the area, and more visitors deciding to Montana their permanent home.

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