Montana Snowbowl Is Open For The Season
The good news is that Montana Snowbowl, the popular ski area located near Missoula, is open for the season. They operate on Lolo National Forest land under a special Ski Area Term Permit. One of the terms under the permit requires Snowbowl to conduct an annual inspection of all lifts to ensure that all applicable engineering requirements are met, which has been done and approved.
The Forest Service tramway engineer and Lolo National Forest staff spent several days, independently, inspecting the lifts, reviewing Snowbowl's quality assurance program, training curriculum, and proctoring training sessions, which was in response to an incident regarding one of their chairlifts last winter.
Just a quick half-hour drive from Missoula the ski area offers area residents a nice collection of challenging slopes that appeal to all level of skiers and riders. They routinely receive around 300 inches of snow annually, which is spread over 1,200 skiable acres of terrain. It's known as one of the most visually stunning ski areas in the Treasure State offering striking mountain views.
It has a very respectable 2,600-foot vertical. A new triple chair was added last season offering additional capacity to move visitors more quickly to the popular challenging upper mountain trails and beginner terrain for the Snowpark runs. It also now allows for downloading, which is a great benefit at the end of day for tired skiers who have been hitting the upper terrain all day.
Starting in January Snowbowl offers For Women Only, which is designed for female skiers and riders and runs through mid-February. It takes place on Friday afternoons where you can take the afternoon off to ski and ride with female friends to become a better skier. It's a social meeting of like-minded women..
A couple of popular places to stay near the area for out of town skiers is the slopeside Galandesprung Lodge and nearby Missoula C'mon Inn. The European-style Galandesprung offers discounted lift tickets for guests. The C'mon Inn offers five hot tubs, a swimming pool, a baby pool and waterfalls set in a tropical courtyard to unwind after a day on the slopes.
