Montana Snowbowl, Montana, United States

4David C 5:00 PM Jan 18, 2020

Nice intermediate to advanced resort
I drove from Spokane to the the hill and back in the same day. Left at 5:30 Am, arrived at about 10:00 (please note this included losing one hour due to time zone shift). Home by 7:00. Mountain was open from 9:30 to 4:00. Stopped once, and had both mountain passes on I90 to go over each way so that slows the drive down. Regardless, it is doable. If a legit storm was coming I wouldn’t make the drive. Anyways...lodge is older and rustic which has its charm. Three lifts, one t bar, and a rope tow. My weekend adult ticket was $52 I believe. Much of the mountain is not for beginner or intermediate skiers really. Nothing on the front side except the cat track would be for new skiers. They do have a bunny hill of course. The newest lift that was just installed in 2020 has nice wide groomed runs on the backside which I liked. The runs from the main Grizzly lift up from the lodge are pretty much black diamond unmaintained bump skiing, which doesn’t speak to me much anymore. For reference I’ve skied 20+ years and ski most anything, but my older joints don’t appreciate steep moguls all day any longer. The third lift was down so I didn’t get to ski that 1/3 of the mountain. So it might have been a different overall experience for me had I got to venture there. Very thankful the new lift was running or it would not have been a great day. Snow was nice, not icy. It was a good day out. Front side advanced, back side easier, no review on the other third of the mountain. Id say I skied 85% of what was open. If you are wanting a change from the resorts nearest Spokane, then Snowbowl might be a good option for you.

3Peter F 5:00 PM Feb 29, 2020

A bit of a nightmare mountain, but good terrain
Snowbowl has been described as 'a tough mountain'. True enough. The parking is chaotic, the signage almost non-existent, and the ticket seller the most unpleasant person I'd encountered in a long while. When I finally found a map. it does not show their new chairlift, and even the billboards do not have it existing. The main lift is slow, steep, high, long and there are zero safety features. It rises above steep, nasty sideslopes. No safety bar, no foot rests, and no central pillar to hang on to... you need to reach around and grasp the thick outside support. It being snowy, the seats were slippery to boot. However, once up in the terrain, the Levelle Creek chair accesses lovely blue and black slopes. While fairly busy, there was lots of space and freshies to be found. If one goes into the West Bowls, you are committed to the entire mountain, and other than the North Dakota Downhill, all are downright nasty slopes. I never did find the new Snow Park chair. One sign top of Grizzly was insufficient As it was, I had a short day, the temp at the bottom was barely at freezing, so the best snow was at higher elevation, and Levelle provided that. Still- just what are these people thinking? Cranky old lifts and people, poor signage, and a dismissive attitude- "If the mountain is too steep for you, just ride the Grizzly down". At day's end, I went into the Last Run Inn, , and it was fabulous! Next time, I might just come for the wings....not the mountain.