Industry News
Beartooth Basin ski area, North America’s only summer-only ski area, announced yesterday that they would be closing today, June 15th, before summer has even officially begun.
The ski area, which opened for the season on May 29th and usually stays open into July, cannot compete with the heatwave currently blazing down on the US. Ten days ago multiple days of hot temperatures followed by rain caused a large cornice to break and trigger a nearly ten-foot deep wet slab near the area.
DUE TO THE HEAT WAVE JUNE 15, 2021 WILL BE OUR LAST DAY OF OPERATIONS.
– statement on Beartooth Basin website
Beartooth Basin is not your average ski hill. On the border of Wyoming and Montana, Beartooth Basin is a summer-only ski operation with soul. North America’s only summer-only ski area. You could describe it as backcountry skiing with a lift. Like traditional lift-served ski facilities, the Basin is staffed with professional ski patrollers and skillful lift attendants. And just like other ski areas, it faces extreme economic challenges – aging infrastructure, high equipment costs, expensive insurance policies, and rigorous engineering inspections. These obstacles are made even more difficult with the access issues experienced due to its remote location at the whim of multiple surface owner-operators of US Hwy212.
