If you find yourself at an uncrowded mountain, surrounded by stunning wilderness and polite Argentinians, don't be surprised that you're vacationing at Big Sky in Montana. It seems avid skiers and riders from the Andes have discovered a resort that many of us in North America have never visited. Maybe it's time to put this resort on your must-visit list.

From the moment you land at Bozeman's Gallatin Field, which feels more like a private rancher's massive lodge than an airport, you know you're in for a different kind of vacation. Here you can expect lots of friendly employees in cowboy hats holding open doors for you, a genuine laid-back atmosphere, spectacular scenery and plenty of challenging terrain.

Big Sky, with its impressive Matterhorn-shaped peak scraping the heavens at 11,166 feet, is a serious skier's mountain from the summit, yet it has excellent cruisers closer to the base. Indeed, the intermediate groomers are such a delight that experts who wear themselves out on the tougher terrain still have plenty to grin about as they swoop down the lower trails with friends and family.

An aerial tram with two 15-passenger cars whisks you up to the 11,150-foot mark on Lone Peak that gives you a stomach-in-your-throat close-up of the craggy mountain just before coming in for a landing. If you get to the top and find that the chutes, couloirs and steeps are more than you can handle, no problem—admire the views of the nearby Spanish Peaks Wilderness area and ride back down. Only 15 people per tram, so you'll have a marvelous feeling of privacy as you descend, either in the capsule or while attempting the steeps beneath it.

Big Sky attracts about 300,000 skier visits each season; however, they're all swallowed up by the 3,600-acre terrain. A big daily turnout is 4,000 people, meaning short lines for the lifts and roughly one skier per acre. With about 400 inches of snowfall, powder days are frequent and last much longer than the first run. Most visitors don't consider their vacation complete until they've spent at least a day in Yellowstone, only an hour away (see Other Activities).

The resort's 10-year master plan calls for more than $400 million in development, including a pedestrian-style village with shops, restaurants and conference facilities and more high-speed lifts. Big Sky Resort and Moonlight Basin, which border each other on Lone Peak, offer the Lone Peak Pass, a joint lift ticket that allows guests access to 5,300 acres and a vertical drop of 4,350 feet. It's a serious thrill to ride Big Sky's tram to the top and ski down the chutes of Moonlight Basin on the other side. The only requirements are that you carry a transceiver and a shovel, and get the ski patrol's permission. Oh, you can't go it alone—you must ski with a buddy.

Dining: +++
Apres-ski/nightlife: ++
Other activities: ++

Address: P.O. Box 160001, 1 Lone Mountain Trail,
Big Sky, MT 59716
Area code: 406
Ski area phone: 995-5000 (hotel guest calls and switchboard)
Snow report: 995-5900
Toll-free reservations:
(800) 548-4486
Fax: 995-5001
Internet: www.bigskyresort.com

Number and types of lifts: 19—1 aerial
tram, 1 four-passenger gondola, 4 high-speed
quads, 1 quad, 3 triples, 5 doubles, 1 surface lift,
3 moving carpets
Skiable acreage: 3,812 acres
Snowmaking: 10 percent of trails
Uphill capacity: 23,000 per hour
Parks & pipes: 2 parks, 1 superpipe
Bed base: 4,250
Nearest lodging: Slopeside, hotel and condos
Resort child care: Yes, 6 months and older
Adult ticket, per day: $63–$69 (06/07)