Wyoming — While it was a below-average winter for the American West, there’s still one ski area that plans to spin its lifts starting next month.
Last week, Beartooth Basin shared a post showing recent photos of the ski area. Prep work is underway on getting the lifts ready to operate. While they haven’t officially given the green light on this season, it’s a good sign that there could be operations.
However, we’ve seen season cancellations in the past during low-snow years, so we’ll see if Beartooth Basin opens next month. The ski area relies on the opening of the Beartooth Highway, which is currently getting cleared. That typically opens near Memorial Day Weekend.
About Beartooth Basin
Operations at Bearooth Basin, situated in the Shoshone National Forest, began in 1962. Austrians Pepi Gramshammer, Eric Sailer, and Anderl Molterer began running ski camps at various locations along the Beartooth Highway to train athletes during the warmer months. In the 1970s, they settled on the current location of the ski area, which became known as The Red Lodge International Ski and Snowboard Camp. For decades, it was a private ski area for campers. In 2003, it was sold to new owners, who made it a public ski area and renamed it Beartooth Basin. The ski area was previously listed for sale in 2024. However, the listing no longer shows up on its website, making it unclear whether it was sold or taken off the market.
The setup of Beartooth Basin is modest. The ski area features 9 trails, a terrain park, 2 lifts, and plenty of backcountry terrain to explore. It’s an upside-down ski area, meaning guests park at the top and then ski down to the lifts. At the top are some trailers to get tickets and merchandise, but there’s no actual lodge. If they do open up, Beartooth will try to be open daily from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Image/Video Credits: Beartooth Basin, Ben Eminger
