BY ANDY JAMESON
Located a two hour drive from downtown Missoula, MT, Lost Trail Powder Mountain offers up a lot of skiing and that’s all that really matters. You won’t find any fancy restaurants, shopping villages, or real estate offices here. Instead, you will find a wide variety of terrain including long cruisers, glades, a few steeps, a couple of terrain parks, and backcountry access. In the lodge, you’ll find Coldsmoke Ale, burgers and fries. You may even be handed a trail map printed on a dot matrix printer (clearly glossy water proof paper is reserved for fancy pants resorts over in eastern Montana).
What makes Lost Trail special is the no frills laid back atmosphere. Whether you are a family of five getting into the sport, a group of friends with mixed abilities, or an avid backcountry skier, you can find what you’re looking for while feeling comfortable. If you live in the area, or are simply passing through, give it a try. With a full day lift ticket priced at $40 you don’t have much to lose.
If there is a map, is it really a lost trail?
Random Facts
- Lost Trail is located on the boarder of Montana and Idaho. You can ski in two states on one run!
- In past years, Lost Trail has offered $5 single ride lift tickets allowing speedier access to the backcountry.
- On June 17, 2014, a vintage WWII airplane got caught in a snow squall and crashed in Lost Trail’s parking lot.
Mountain Stats
Location: Sula, MT
Chairlifts: 5 double chairs
Surface lifts: 3
Vertical Drop: 1,800ft
Stores in Shopping Village: 0
Trails: 69
Skiable Terrain: 1,000 Acres
Snowmaking: None
Rentals: Yes
Adult Full Day Lift Ticket: $40
Website: http://losttrail.com/
About the Ski Hill Shout Out: Few skiers have the privilege of learning in amazing destination resorts such as Jackson Hole, Whistler, or Squaw Valley. Instead, most of us fell in love with the sport shredding local hills. We came to these (often smaller) local hills because they offered easy access, low prices, and accessibility. Sadly, many of these local hills have either died or are struggling to survive. At Unofficial, we understand that these hills are the life blood of our sport. Through this feature, we hope to raise awareness of smaller ski areas, and if possible, direct a few readers their way.