Big Sky

I learned about a great deal last week at the Boston Ski Show. Buy a season pass at any Boyne Resorts ski area—Sugarloaf, Sunday River, and Loon in the East, Crystal and Summit at Snoqualmie in Washington state, and Boyne in Michigan—and receive ten free days of lift tickets at their destination resort, Big Sky, Montana. Big Sky and Moonlight Basin, two ski areas operating on opposite faces of 11,166-foot Lone Mountain, team up to offer a combined lift ticket that covers 5,512 acres, edging out Vail as the largest ski area in the country. But unlike Vail, which reports over 1.5 million skier visits annually, these Montana twins total less than 350,000 a year. Relish the ski-in-ski-out properties where you can swoosh right up to your lodging.  An added bonus is the one-hour drive to Yellowstone National Park to cross-country ski and see the wild bison, elk, and moose in winter.