Big Sky Resort is giving beginner skiers and snowboarders an entirely new experience this season with the completion of its new learning center near the mid-station of the Explorer Gondola. The project, more than a decade in the making, moves the resort’s primary beginner area away from the crowded base area and into the middle of the mountain.
The new learning center follows the completion of the Explorer Gondola last summer, representing the next phase of Big Sky’s investment in improving mountain access and the beginner experience. Previously, the resort’s learning area was located near the base, where beginner traffic mixed with skiers accessing several of the mountain’s busiest lifts.
Moving the learning area uphill should help alleviate congestion while giving newcomers a more scenic place to learn.
“By moving this learning area up here, mid mountain, we’re going to pull away all those people from the base area. So that’ll improve skier access and flow down around Ramcharger and Swift Current.” – Adam West, VP of Mountain Operations
At the center of the new learning area is a 540-foot-long double bubble carpet lift. Building the infrastructure required significant earthwork, with crews moving more than 30,000 cubic yards of dirt and reshaping Whitewing Ski Run to accommodate the new lift.
Big Sky designed the carpet’s slope around what it has learned works best for beginner skiers. According to the resort, a 12% grade is the ideal angle for learning to ski, and the new conveyor was constructed with that specification in mind.
The surrounding terrain has also been designed to accommodate different stages of the learning process. Beginners will have a wide-open space on one side of the carpet, while the other side will feature additional terrain features for skiers looking to continue developing their skills. Big Sky also preserved some of the area’s trees to maintain a natural mountain setting.
Perhaps the biggest selling point is the location itself. Instead of learning at the busy base area, newcomers will now get to experience the middle of the mountain with views of Lone Mountain in the background.
“This has been probably a decade in the making to get our beginners to experience the middle of the mountain up in the alpine with the incredible views of Lone Mountain behind them.” – Christine Baker, VP of Mountain Sports