It doesn't happen often, but Big Sky Resort delayed the opening of the mountain this morning due to extreme weather conditions.

I spoke with Big Sky Public Relations Manager Chelsi Moy this morning regarding the closures, and this is what she had to say:

Every chairlift is open except one. You can check out which ones by going to our lift status page on our snow conditions report. This morning, we delayed the opening of some of our chairlifts because it was -24 degrees at the base at 7:30AM. An hour later, the sun started to rise and temperatures began to increase to the point where we were able to slowly turn on some of our chairlifts and let them warm up slowly. By 10AM nearly every chairlift was operating. Temperatures colder than -20 is hard on anything - including people. So, as a matter of safety for our guests and best-practices for the operation of the chairlifts, we waited until it warmed up to turn them on.

 

There's a slight inversion at Big Sky, so temperatures on the mountain are warmer than they are in the Big Sky town center - which has not been uncommon this season. It's not often that we delay openings because it's not often that temperatures dip to these degrees. Wind used to be a factor that caused the chairlift in the Bowl and Challenger to temporary delay. But both of those chairlifts are brand new this year. Powder Seeker, a six-seat chairlift with heated seats and blue bubble covers that replaced the old Lone Peak Triple in the Bowl, is the most technologically advanced chairlift built in the country this year. Both of these brand new chairlifts have bigger haul ropes, which means they are heavier and far more resilient to wind.

To stay updated on conditions at Big Sky, click here.

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