Big Sky, Montana — One of the funniest running jokes in the ski industry involves a missing ingredient in the terrain parks at Big Sky Resort.

Over the past few years, Instagram commentators, led by Caimen Nelson (also known as @bidbodyjimbo), have begged Big Sky to install a rope tow in the park. They echoed the same phrase for years: “Put a towrope in the park.” Such a reaction may have surprised a mountain that has rapidly modernized its lifts over the past decade, but rope tows have become a favorite among the terrain park crowd.
Big Sky Resort, no stranger to adding new lifts, decided to submit to peer pressure. Last Saturday, Big Sky announced that it has installed a rope tow in the park. Currently situated in the middle portion of Swifty Park, this rope tow is roughly 500 feet long and services a variety of big rails. However, the rope tow is portable, meaning that they could move it anywhere, depending on snow conditions. It’s not open daily, as they are operating it on weekends for now. With this addition, Big Sky now has forty lifts.
Instagram user @bigbodyjimbo gave a succinct response to the addition: “🤝🏽🖤”
The rope tow has become a staple in Midwest ski culture. Some examples of ski areas with rope tows that access the terrain park include Trollhaugen, Hyland Hills, and Wilmot Mountain. This season, Snow Trails in Ohio added a rope tow to their lift network.
As Big Sky’s addition shows, the rope tow is becoming a national trend in the ski industry.

Image/Video Credits: Big Sky Resort (Ethan Schumacher), Big Sky Terrain Parks