Big Sky Resort unveiled the Lone Peak Express this week, a high-speed quad accessing north-facing terrain that neither the Mountain Village crowd nor the Meadow Village regulars have skied in recent memory.

The lift replaces the aging Challenger double, which carried roughly twelve people per day during peak season. Resort officials say the upgrade responds to guest feedback requesting more intermediate groomers with reliable snow preservation.

“I’ve skied here since the eighties and I couldn’t tell you what’s over there,” said Dale Hargrove, 68, leaning on his poles near the Ousel Falls parking lot. “Pretty sure it’s just trees and that one weird rock.”

Mountain Village resident Tatiana Volkova, who winters in a slopeside residence purchased in 2021, expressed enthusiasm for the new access. “Finally, a lift that doesn’t deposit you into a terrain park or a beginner corridor,” she said. “Though I’ve heard the run-out crosses a wildlife corridor. Do we have permits for that?”

The resort held two ribbon-cutting ceremonies. The first, at 9 a.m., featured mimosas and a string quartet. The second, at 11 a.m., featured coffee from the gas station and a retired patrol director who remembered when the mountain had three lifts and zero cell service. The two groups did not overlap.

Lift operations manager Rick Stenson said early ridership numbers are modest. “Mostly we’re moving ski patrol and the occasional snowcat operator,” he said. “But the infrastructure is there. For whatever comes next.”

The lift runs Thursday through Sunday until April. Weekday service will be evaluated based on demand and elk migration patterns.