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America’s only summer-only ski area, Beartooth Basin, Montana, is preparing to open for the season after already receiving 29 inches of snow this spring. The ski area is planning to open between Friday, May 22, and Monday, May 25, depending on weather conditions. The Beartooth Highway opens May 22, and the ski area is scheduled to open May 25 (weather permitting). For background, the Beartooth Basin relies on the Beartooth Highway, a scenic route that connects Red Lodge to Cooke City, reaching nearly 11,000 feet in elevation. When the roadway opens, they can access the mountain for safety checks to make sure it is safe to open. This season will be the resort’s 64th summer ski season — a tradition dating back to the mid-1960s. Situated in the Beartooth Mountains in Montana along the border to Wyoming, Beartooth Basin offers 600 acres of summer skiing serviced by two lifts.
The Beartooth Highway, which connects Red Lodge, Montana, with Cooke City, just outside the northeast entrance to Yellowstone National Park, is typically open from late May until mid-fall, depending on snowfall. The route has been recognized both as an All-American Road and a National Scenic Byway for its dramatic switchbacks and panoramic mountain views. Once open, the highway will provide access not only to Beartooth Basin, but to sweeping alpine vistas. However, it is common in past years for summer snowstorms and snow drifts that sometimes reach three to five feet high to close the road.
Beartooth Basin operates without a traditional lodge or winter season. Instead, it opens for a short but intense period from late May through June, catering to skiers and snowboarders chasing high-elevation snowpack well after most U.S. resorts have closed. With a pair of surface lifts and steep terrain, the area draws a mix of freeriders, race camps, and backcountry enthusiasts each year.
- Related: [VIDEO] “Montucky Madness” — An April Splitboarding Adventure in Montana’s Beartooth Mountains
Beartooth Basin’s History
The ski area was established in the mid-1960s by three Austrian-American race coaches as an alpine ski racing summer training ground. The founders, Pepi Gramshammer, Eric Sailer, and Anderi Molterer, established what was to be known as the Red Lodge International Ski and Snowboard Camp. In the late 90s, the trio decided to sell the ski area to its new owners, who opened it up to the public. The newer ownership group has changed a bit over the years, but is now majority-controlled by Austin Hart, Justin Modroo, Kurt Hallock, and David Leuschen.
Beartooth Basin has been plagued by four consecutive bad seasons, which saw the ski area not open at all in 2022. In the 2023 season, the mountain was only open for two and a half weeks, and again not open at all in 2024. In 2025, the ski area opened on May 28 but remained open only until June 15.
With 29 inches of early snow and 64 years of stubbornness, this might finally be the year Beartooth Basin gets its full season back.
Basin Ski Resort Stats:
- 10,900 feet peak elevation
- 9,900 feet base elevation
- 1,000 vertical feet
- Two high-speed platter lifts
- Skiing terrain that varies in pitch from 15° to 50°
- 3,000 vertical feet of shuttled or hike-in backcountry skiing and riding
