ON THE SLOPES IN BIG SKY

Ever heard of Big Sky? Probably not so let me tell you a few things about a resort whose motto is BIGGEST SKIING IN AMERICA!

Big Sky is in Montana and more precisely the world-famous Yellowstone National Park. It is a ski-in/ ski-out village, it has mile upon mile upon mile of sick terrain, it gets absolutely hammered by snow and it has the second largest vertical drop in the USA.

Interested? Thought so…!

SNOWFALL

400 inches is the average annual snowfall. For those of you who don’t do inches, I’ll give you a minute to stick that into Google. Ready? OK, we’re talking more than 35ft of snow each winter. With a ski season lasting about 21 weeks, that means that Big Sky gets an average of almost 10cm every day! Every day! And it’s very good snow. Being far from the nearest Ocean, the snow is very dry and light and fluffy. Rubbish for snowballs, ideal for skiing/ riding.

TERRAIN

Three separate mountains make up the Big Sky area and, in total, it offers almost 4000 acres of skiable terrain. Linked into Big Sky is Moonlight Basin which offers an additional 1700 acres giving you more than 5500 acres on one lift ticket. And the best thing is that you are likely to find twice as many acres as you will skiers/ snowboarders!

Big Sky is an excellent training mountain for an instructor course - of the on-piste terrain, 20% is classed as expert, 40% as advanced, 26% as intermediate and 14% as beginner. The resort offers a wealth of opportunities for you to push your skiing/ snowboarding to the limit. Many have commented before that Big Sky is a bona fide Alaskan training ground. Beyond the 150 named runs, there is plenty for the more experienced skier/ rider – there are tree runs throughout the lower part of the hill with tight, steep tree runs that require caution to shallower, more spaced-out tree runs that allow you to rip. For the freestylers, there are three parks at Big Sky – Swifty Park for the hardcore shredders, Swifty 2.0 for those building their confidence and the Explorer Park for those just starting out.

Further afield, there is some insane backcountry at Big Sky particularly in Beehive Basin and Middle Basin. But proper avi gear and a guide are essential if you want to come back in one piece! We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it!

THE SKI & BOARD SCHOOL

At Big Sky, we promise that you will only be taught by PSIA and AASI Level 3 instructors. This is the highest level achievable in the US systems. These guys & gals will take care of your on-snow development but also be the instructors you will be shadowing for the one week of work experience that all SnowSkool Big Sky students will undergo.

"We’re super-excited about training the next generation of ski & snowboard instructors with SnowSkool. And Big Sky is the perfect teaching hill for us to deliver that program – we have the biggest ski hill in the USA which offers a diversity that is incomparable. Everything from the beginner training area to some steep & deep couloirs and awesome backcountry. Come for a week and you’ll like Big Sky, come for a season and you will love Big Sky!”

- Troy Nedved, Ski & Board School Director, Big Sky Resort.

Interested in finding out more ...

• SnowSkool ski instructors course
• SnowSkool snowboard instructors course