6/15/19, Beartooth Basin, WY-Different and Fun!

If you are planning a June family trip to Yellowstone, be sure to sneak your skis, boots, pole and skins into the Rocket box like I did. No one will even notice. Opening day was June 15 at Beartooth Basin, Beartooth Pass just NE of Yellowstone, which apparently is the only ski area in North America open ONLY in the summer. Arrived at 10:00 and they were not yet open. Eager skiers from all over the country as well as kids in the race training program were getting excited (maybe 100 people?) but we had to wait for the state tow inspector, an engineer of some kind, and the forest service to inspect them and give the green light on operation of the two platter tows, which run off a bio-diesel generator in the parking lot.

The scenery is unbelievable up there. I've never driven on a pass with such dramatic views. The snow was sun-softened and a bit sticky, but I was fine with that since the place is upside down compared to the usual area, where the easy stuff is at the start. Here, to get started you dive off what feels like a vertical wall into the gradually flattening bowl. If it was icy, I'd want two tools and crampons!

A friendly place, and truly something different!
There are also some easy to figure out car-assisted backcountry runs in the area, which I will post about in the backcountry section soon.

When we were at Beartooth  Basin in early June 2015, the lifts were not open yet. Did you buy the day, half day or hourly ticket. Or the senior discount. 

I figured you and Jill would have been there. Did you ski? That would be a tough skin out of the place! I'm all for getting deals, but clearly this place needs and deserves the money, so I sprang for the $45 all day ticket, though I skied only 2 1/2 hours, and I bought some stickers too. Perlin noticed that they have a gofundme campaign to stay in business (www.gofundme.com/beartooth-basin-uphill-battle). Turns out I really lucked out hitting this at the beginning rather than end of our trip, since the pass closed with heavy snow for three days recently. I'm trying to ski every area in WA, OR, ID, MT and Utah, and for some reason I thought this place was in Montana, but it is actually in Wyoming, so now I think I better add that state to my list. Dang. The panel truck is the ticket window, customer service, food court and gift shop. The trailer I think is the administrative offices.

Cool, I never heard of this area.
We are doing a Wyoming trip this summer.  What do you all think are the chances it will be open in August...?
AHA I went to the website and found their open dates are June 15-July 7.
Maybe there will be hike-able snow on August 9? That's when we might go by.

Looks like they have a very short season. Their website says they close July 7!

Very cool!

I kind of forgot about this place.  I came across the area while driving over Beartooth Pass in August 2011 when I was moving to Seattle. I walked up to the edge of the start of the run (looked like a cornice, in retrospect...) in Crocs... a slip there would've made for a very long slide.  I came to my senses and backed away just about when it started hailing as a thunderstorm rolled in.

I recall passing a cyclist who'd biked over the pass and was ripping the descent in the hailstorm.  Looked like quite the ride!

July 2018 I cross countried and AT'd  - asphalt toured - over Beartooth. We saw the lifts and and the trailer but I don't remember seeing skiers.  I'll be there again soon on another east to west asphalt tour - this time on four wheels and debating whether to bring along snow sliding gear.

Back to Beartooth for a July 2019 check in.  This time in a car and a better chance to pull over, see and take pics of the incredible scenery and talk to other travelers and be protected from intermittent wind gusts and hail.. 

The poma lift was closed after a short 4 week season wrapped up; skiers and boarders were riding the Gardner (Gardiner?) headwall.