Big Sky, Montana Big Sky’s newest bubble chairlift is now operating.

On Friday, Big Sky Resort opened up the Madison 8 bubble chairlift. The festivities included a ribbon-cutting ceremony and Doppelmayr bell ringing, as is tradition.

This past offseason, the Six Shooter chairlift was replaced by a Doppelmayr D-Line detachable high-speed eight-pack bubble chairlift. The new chairlift has double the uphill capacity and is 30% faster than its predecessor. The eight-pack chairlift will fittingly have a ride time of eight minutes. Big Sky now has three Doppelmayr D-Line chairlifts and two eight-pack chairlifts, making it arguably the ski resort with the most modern lift infrastructure in North America.

“Since Big Sky 2025 was announced nine years ago, we’ve had an ambition to create North America’s most technologically advanced lift network,” said Troy Nedved, the president and COO of Big Sky Resort. “Madison 8, our twelfth new lift installed since 2016, certainly makes this a reality.” 

Yesterday also saw the opening of the One & Only Gondola. This new gondola connects the One & Only Moonlight Basin hotel and residences to the Madison base area.

Next season, the Explorer Gondola will open, which will connect the Mountain Village to the Lone Peak Tram.

The 2024-25 Big Sky trail map.

Image Credits: Big Sky Resort

Correction 5:30 p.m.- This article previously stated that Big Sky has three bubble chairlifts, but they actually have four.