Big Sky Resort unveiled its annual Locals Appreciation Week on Tuesday, a seven-day celebration of the people who keep the mountain running, provided those people can produce a pay stub, a utility bill, and a notarized letter from their landlord confirming they do not, in fact, own a timeshare in Cabo.
The promotion offers 40% off lift tickets for verified locals, which brings the daily rate down to $189. Resort spokesperson Brenda Whitaker called it “our way of saying thank you to the community that makes Big Sky special.” She added that the resort defines community as “anyone who has ever felt the wind off Lone Peak and thought, yes, this is where I belong, provided they also meet the income verification threshold.”
Longtime residents of the original Meadow Village condos watched the announcement with the quiet amusement of people who remember when a season pass cost less than a used Subaru. “Back in my day, locals appreciation was the liftie letting you load first because he knew your dog’s name,” said Dale Henshaw, 68, who bought his unit in 1994 for what is now the price of a single weekend rental. “Now you need a portfolio review just to get a discount on a hamburger at the summit.”
The verification process requires applicants to upload three forms of identification, a current lease or mortgage statement, and a brief essay explaining their relationship to the mountain in 500 words or fewer. Essays are reviewed by a committee that includes two resort executives, a real estate agent from the Yellowstone Club, and a barn owl that nests near the Challenger lift.
Service workers in the employee housing complex down Highway 64 did the math over lunch breaks. A lift operator making $19 an hour would need to work 10 hours to afford one discounted ticket, not counting gas, gear, or the emotional labor of explaining to guests from Dallas why the snow is “different here.”
“I’ll just hike Beehive Basin instead,” said Maria Gonzalez, who tunes skis at a shop in the Mountain Village. “The mountain doesn’t check your W-2 when you walk up it.”
The resort expects record participation. The barn owl has already approved twelve applications.