America's Lone 'Summer-Only' Ski Area to Re-Open This Year

A full day lift ticket runs riders $50, while a ticket from noon to 3 p.m. will cost $40. A season pass is $395. In a throwback move, visitors must pay with cash or check. The Shoshone National Forest oversees management of the land, according to the Bozeman Chronicle, and the ski area features two high-speed surface lifts, three snowcats, seven trailers, and a portable diesel generator.

Two lifts were installed back in the 1980s by a Red Lodge ski instructor. A training ground was established at the site, which catered to wealthy ski racers from the east coast. Once the Beartooth Highway was constructed, the area was explored by skiers on foot. It was finally opened to the public in 2003 by Rob Hart and Kurt Hallock.

The website states that the ski area is for sale for “partial or full investment.”

“We will continue to operate the business until we find the right group that shares our vision for independent community-based ski operations,” the website says. “Come take a lap at the Basin this summer to generate your interest!”

Beartooth’s co-owner and operations manager elaborated on that message in an email to the Chronicle.

“We are a dynamic ownership group, each with separate careers and businesses that we manage in addition to Beartooth Basin,” he said. “We would like to see our operation reach its highest potential, which we currently don’t have the resources for. We feel that we have improved this operation and left it better than when we started, and we would be happy to extend that opportunity to future owners.”