Montana Snowbowl is an alpine

ski area A ski area is the terrain and supporting infrastructure where skiing and other snow sports take place. Such sports include alpine and cross-country skiing, snow boarding, tubing, sledding, etc. Ski areas may stand alone or be part of a ski resort. ...

in the

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United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, located in the

Lolo National Forest __NOTOC__ Lolo National Forest is a national forest located in western Montana, United States with the western boundary being the state of Idaho. The forest spans 2 million acres (8,000 km2) and includes four wilderness areas; the Scapegoat a ...

of western

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

, northwest of

Missoula Missoula ( ; fla, label=Salish language, Séliš, Nłʔay, lit=Place of the Small Bull Trout, script=Latn; kut, Tuhuⱡnana, script=Latn) is a city in the U.S. state of Montana; it is the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, Missoula Cou ...

. It is known for long expert runs such as West Bowl and its throwback operations; there is no significant base development; the access road is significantly improved as of 2011, but still unpaved. Its lift system includes four

chairlifts An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs. They ...

; three vintage

Riblet The Riblet Tramway Company of Spokane, Washington, which operated from 1908 to 2003, was once the largest ski chairlift manufacturer in the world. The company was founded by Byron Christian Riblet, who was born in Osage, Iowa, in 1865 and earne ...

doubles, and one Skytrac triple chair; and two surface lifts, a vintage Doppelmayr T-Bar, and a beginner rope tow. Montana Snowbowl is also known for its steep runs and a vertical rise. The Grizzly Chair ascends from the base area and the midmountain LaValle Creek Chair tops out at , below Point Six summit. When the resort first opened in December 1962, it was promoted as having the most vertical in the Pacific Northwest.

Geography

Montana Snowbowl's base is centered on Butler Creek, a tributary of the

Clark Fork River The Clark Fork, or the Clark Fork of the Columbia River, is a river in the U.S. states of Montana and Idaho, approximately long. The largest river by volume in Montana, it drains an extensive region of the Rocky Mountains in western Montana and ...

west of Missoula. The west side of the Butler Creek valley includes Television (TV) Mountain. topping out at . To the west of TV Mountain runs La Valle Creek, which is also tributary to the Clark Fork River. Access to the Montana Snowbowl begins at exit 101 of

Interstate 90 Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...

on Grant Creek Road which parallels Grant Creek, one valley to the east from Butler Creek. Grant Creek's source is on the west flank of Murphy Peak (which is just north of Point Six Peak).

Park Expansion

In the spring of 2011, the area and the Lolo National Forest released plans to greatly expand the area by adding several chairlifts, more parking, and a new mountain restaurant. Part of the expansion would be on to slopes on TV Mountain which were home to the original Snow Park ski area, but later abandoned. The Snow Park expansion opened in January 2020. The ski area often opens with weekend skiing in early December, with more regular lift operations in mid-December and extending into the new year. From late June to early September the area operates one lift on the weekends for hikers and downhill mountain bikers.

References

External links

* {{Missoula, Montana Buildings and structures in Missoula County, Montana Ski areas and resorts in Montana Tourist attractions in Missoula County, Montana Missoula, Montana