Beartooth Pass (US-212) on the Montana and Wyoming border has closed for the winter. The pass has been temporarily closed since September 30th due to wintry weather and was scheduled to close for the season today, October 9th, 2023.
The pass closed on September 22nd while crews cleared five-foot high snow drifts before reopening on the 25th. Further winter weather closed the pass on September 30th and it will remain closed until spring 2024.
“One last ride on the Beartooth Highway before it closes on October 9 for the season. What a glorious ride and season it has been!”
The high-elevation Beartooth Highway, US 212, connecting Yellowstone National Park with Red Lodge, Montana, opened for the season on May 26th. Beartooth Basin ski area, the nation’s only summer ski area, opened the following day. The pass closed on June 24th for 24 hours after a summer storm dumped four feet of snow.
The 68-mile road, which peaks at 10,947 feet, typically closes from early Fall through April or May due to deep snow. After opening for Memorial Day last year, the road had to close for 5-days at the end of June due to snow. It then closed on September 11th for the winter.
The road was cleared on the Montana side on May 22nd, but a blizzard at the summit caused it to be reclosed. Crews work tirelessly through the spring to clear the highway, often encountering snowdrifts over 20 feet deep.
The Beartooth Highway is an All-American Road on a section of U.S. Route 212 in Montana and Wyoming between Red Lodge and the Northeast entrance of Yellowstone National Park, passing over the Beartooth Pass in Wyoming at 10,947 feet (3,337 m) above sea level. It has been called “the most beautiful drive in America” by late CBS correspondent Charles Kuralt. Because of heavy snowfall at the top, the pass is usually open yearly from mid-May through mid-October, weather permitting.
Beartooth Basin Ski Area is a cash-only ski area located at Beartooth Pass in the Shoshone National Forest on the Montana-Wyoming border in the United States. It is the only ski area in North America that is only open in the summer, generally from late May through early July, since U.S. 212 is closed in winter. It opened in 1962 and totals 600 acres at 10,900 feet. The area is served by two platter lifts.
Every year from late May to early July, the mission of Beartooth Basin is to keep the spirit of skiing alive with two surface lifts atop the iconic 10,000-foot elevation Beartooth Pass, MT-WY. Formerly known as Red Lodge International Summer Racing Camp, Beartooth Basin is one of North America’s oldest alpine ski training areas.
Ownership changed in 2003 when an adventurous group of Red Lodge locals invested in the race camp and opened the door to a younger generation of skiing enthusiasts – freestyle skiers, big mountain riders, terrain park jibbers, and anyone keen for summer skiing.
Beartooth Basin is not your average ski hill. You could describe it as backcountry skiing with a lift. Like traditional lift-served ski facilities, the Basin has 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. All of 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.
