Eye of the Storm: Destination - Powder & Sun, Blacktail Mountain Ski Area, Montana

Bright and early this morning, both my daughters and I hefted our snowboards into the back of the minivan and headed out in search of the perfect day.

(Yes, I wear a yeti hat over my helmet. My girls picked it up for me at the Expedition Everest ride when we were at Disney World during the trip I documented in an earlier post.)

We picked up my youngest daughter's friend and some of her family on our way south towards Blacktail Mountain Ski Area. Today's destination then, took us back around the west side of Flathead Lake to the hills high above the town of Lakeside, MT. I would argue that I've been to some of the best ski locations in the Northwestern US: Mt Bachelor Ski Resort, OR, Breckenridge and Keystone, CO, Park City Mountain Resort and Snowbird, UT, Big Mountain, MT (renamed to Whitefish Mountain Resort, but I grew up with it as Big Mtn, so it shall always be Big Mtn to me), but I love the feel of Blacktail.

So what is it about Blacktail that I like so well? I mentioned before that I "love the feel" of the place. That's probably the best way to describe it. The staff, the snow, the lack of wait times, the views; it all sums up to one incredible experience.

Let's start with the staff. I truly get the feeling that they are happy to be working there. Not the "I'm getting paid to have this plastic smile for the tourists" vibe, but more of the "I can't believe they pay me to do this, shall we have some fun" type of attitude. My daughters and I have taken lessons here and at some of the other places I listed above, and I have to tell you that I wouldn't recommend anywhere but Blacktail to someone needing a lesson. Their program is top notch, well run (wish I knew the gal's name to give her credit), and the instructors are all certified and really know their stuff.

The top of the mountain is at almost 7000 feet, so the snow is great too. The lodge and parking area are actually at the top of the hill and you ski down to the lifts. All of the beginner areas are well groomed, but they leave some powdery stuff for the more advanced folks to enjoy. They do have snow makers to help out when Mother Nature isn't fully cooperating, but I've rarely seen them need to use them. For the more adventurous snowboarders, they have a full terrain park. Overall, I would say there is enough variety on the mountain to keep most families satisfied. But here's a link to their trail map so you can judge for yourself.

The lines are never more than a few people long at the bottom of the lifts, so you spend more time skiing/boarding instead of standing around getting cold wondering whether you paid to wait for the lift as I have sometimes wondered at other facilities. (Note the lack of line behind my one daughter, while my other daughter was lounging a bit beside the lift line)