Big Sky Resort

Special Olympics Winter Games–-Montana athletes are greeted with glad cheers from adoring fans wielding cowbells, clackers and kazoos, with songs like “Eye of the Tiger” blaring from giant speakers.

I had heard tale of a mysterious group of do-gooders in Big Sky, initially thinking they were linked to another volunteer organization within the community. I was wrong. There’s no name for the group. No scheduled meetings. No 501c3 status. No minutes.

When Boyne Resorts President Stephen Kircher first set eyes on the completed Ramcharger 8, he said it blew his mind. Sure, Kircher was well aware what the eight-seater would be like – he was the one who decided to pull the trigger and bring the state-of-the-art chairlift to Big Sky.

Bozeman based nonprofit Big Sky Youth Empowerment has raised over $1.8 million in expansion funding from a small group of generous donors to address the growing demand for its compelling programs.

Looking at the Big Sky housing market, the fundamentals are fairly easy to understand. Supply is low, demand is high. And with the ski season on the horizon, property management companies are again seeing an influx of people unsuccessfully in search of housing.

There were ski tracks on the steep stretch of road leading down to the Upper Beehive Basin Trailhead on Sunday, Nov. 4. From there, skin tracks ran from the parking lot up into higher elevations and deeper snow. A Subaru parked in the lot had a bumpersticker summing up the current season with a mixed message.

Before announcing Big Sky Resort’s official upcoming moves in its 10-year plan, Taylor Middleton, Big Sky Resort general manager and president Taylor Middleton touched on another recent milestone - for the first time in its 45-year history, Big Sky Resort will exceed 500,000 skier visits by the end of this season.