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A picture of Lone Peak Montana, the principal mountain of the Big Sky ski resort in Montana, USA. The picture was taken from a smaller mountain opposite Lone Peak with a 2 megapixel Motorola Cell Phone Camera
Open ledger · AOD.US.BIG-SKY.V00 · ORIGINALClose ledger · AOD.US.BIG-SKY.V00

Ledger AOD.US.BIG-SKY.V00

Lone Peak, Big Sky, Montana

A picture of Lone Peak Montana, the principal mountain of the Big Sky ski resort in Montana, USA. The picture was taken from a smaller mountain opposite Lone Peak with a 2 megapixel Motorola Cell Phone Camera. This photograph is used as a geographic witness to the place, not as evidence of the historical date shown in the chapter.

Visual description
A picture of Lone Peak Montana, the principal mountain of the Big Sky ski resort in Montana, USA. The picture was taken from a smaller mountain opposite Lone Peak with a 2 megapixel Motorola Cell Phone Camera
Nature
original
Medium
Open-licence photograph
Source
Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0

Ledger AOD.US.BIG-SKY.V00

Lone Peak, Big Sky, Montana

A picture of Lone Peak Montana, the principal mountain of the Big Sky ski resort in Montana, USA. The picture was taken from a smaller mountain opposite Lone Peak with a 2 megapixel Motorola Cell Phone Camera. This photograph is used as a geographic witness to the place, not as evidence of the historical date shown in the chapter.

Visual description
A picture of Lone Peak Montana, the principal mountain of the Big Sky ski resort in Montana, USA. The picture was taken from a smaller mountain opposite Lone Peak with a 2 megapixel Motorola Cell Phone Camera
Nature
original
Medium
Open-licence photograph
Source
Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0
The Archive of Days presentsBeta

BEFORE MODERN SPORT

Big Sky

How settlement, access and winter sport shaped Big Sky.

Scroll to read the contour through time

Big Sky is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Gallatin and Madison counties in southwestern Montana, United States.

Sources for this chapter

BEFORE TOURISM

Before the resort map

The linked local overview does not preserve a clear account of Big Sky before modern tourism.

This edition leaves that part of the timeline open rather than mistaking the first surviving sporting reference for the beginning of the place.

Sources for this chapter

ACCESS CHANGES

A route reaches Big Sky

It is approximately midway between West Yellowstone and Bozeman, being around 45 miles (72 km) by road from each.

Sources for this chapter
Pablo Gándara-Pizá slkiing on top of Lone Peak Mountain on Big Sky, MT ski resort
Open ledger · AOD.US.BIG-SKY.V01 · ORIGINALClose ledger · AOD.US.BIG-SKY.V01

Ledger AOD.US.BIG-SKY.V01

Pablo's Great Journey to Lone Peak Mountain

Pablo Gándara-Pizá slkiing on top of Lone Peak Mountain on Big Sky, MT ski resort. This photograph is used as a geographic witness to the place, not as evidence of the historical date shown in the chapter.

Visual description
Pablo Gándara-Pizá slkiing on top of Lone Peak Mountain on Big Sky, MT ski resort
Nature
original
Medium
Open-licence photograph
Source
Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Ledger AOD.US.BIG-SKY.V01

Pablo's Great Journey to Lone Peak Mountain

Pablo Gándara-Pizá slkiing on top of Lone Peak Mountain on Big Sky, MT ski resort. This photograph is used as a geographic witness to the place, not as evidence of the historical date shown in the chapter.

Visual description
Pablo Gándara-Pizá slkiing on top of Lone Peak Mountain on Big Sky, MT ski resort
Nature
original
Medium
Open-licence photograph
Source
Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

ORGANISED SPORT

Winter becomes organised

The first three lifts installed included a gondola and two chairlifts.

Sources for this chapter

THE LIVING MAP

The mapped place

Big Sky is recorded at 45.283° N, 111.401° W. Its catalogue reference reaches 3,403 metres. A modern resort map compresses terrain, exposure and access into a diagram. This exhibition keeps the underlying contour visible so the place does not become only a list of facilities.

Sources for this chapter
A picture of Lone Peak Montana, the principal mountain of the Big Sky ski resort in Montana, USA. The picture was taken from a smaller mountain opposite Lone Peak with a 2 megapixel Motorola Cell Phone Camera
Open ledger · AOD.US.BIG-SKY.V00 · ORIGINALClose ledger · AOD.US.BIG-SKY.V00

Ledger AOD.US.BIG-SKY.V00

Lone Peak, Big Sky, Montana

A picture of Lone Peak Montana, the principal mountain of the Big Sky ski resort in Montana, USA. The picture was taken from a smaller mountain opposite Lone Peak with a 2 megapixel Motorola Cell Phone Camera. This photograph is used as a geographic witness to the place, not as evidence of the historical date shown in the chapter.

Visual description
A picture of Lone Peak Montana, the principal mountain of the Big Sky ski resort in Montana, USA. The picture was taken from a smaller mountain opposite Lone Peak with a 2 megapixel Motorola Cell Phone Camera
Nature
original
Medium
Open-licence photograph
Source
Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0

Ledger AOD.US.BIG-SKY.V00

Lone Peak, Big Sky, Montana

A picture of Lone Peak Montana, the principal mountain of the Big Sky ski resort in Montana, USA. The picture was taken from a smaller mountain opposite Lone Peak with a 2 megapixel Motorola Cell Phone Camera. This photograph is used as a geographic witness to the place, not as evidence of the historical date shown in the chapter.

Visual description
A picture of Lone Peak Montana, the principal mountain of the Big Sky ski resort in Montana, USA. The picture was taken from a smaller mountain opposite Lone Peak with a 2 megapixel Motorola Cell Phone Camera
Nature
original
Medium
Open-licence photograph
Source
Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0

TODAY

Big Sky now

Another resort, Lone Mountain Ranch, is a Nordic ski and summer resort that professionally grooms over 75 kilometres of cross-country ski trails.

Sources for this chapter

THE LEDGER

Sources and credits

This exhibition is built from local, institutional and sporting records. The source ledger keeps the claims visible and leaves space for correction as further local evidence emerges.

Sources for this chapter

Artefacts in order of appearance

  • Lone Peak, Big Sky, Montana

    AOD.US.BIG-SKY.V00 · original · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0

  • Pablo's Great Journey to Lone Peak Mountain

    AOD.US.BIG-SKY.V01 · original · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Editorial record

Full US Beta edition. Place evidence is adapted from the linked Big Sky, Montana overview under CC BY-SA 4.0 and remains subject to named historical and local review. Cartography is generated from the PeakWave location catalogue.