Big Sky Confirms New Tram Will Continue to Be Priced As Extra-Cost Add-On
An artist’s rendition of the new Lone Peak Tram, which will continue to cost extra over the regular lifts. Source: Big Sky
Background
Big Sky announced the final phase of its 2025 master plan last week, including a Lone Peak Tram replacement planned for completion in 2023. The new tram will follow a much longer lift line and boast a higher capacity than the current one.
After leaving the question unanswered in their official announcement, Big Sky’s Brand team confirmed to PeakRankings that the resort will continue to leave Lone Peak Tram access off most ticket and pass products, instead charging an extra-cost add-on to access the new lift. The resort sent us the following message:
As of now, we plan to continue to operate the new Tram on a cost-per-day basis as part of ongoing efforts to manage the Tram experience and keep the wait to board less than 30 minutes.
The daily extra-cost add-on for tram access began this winter for the 2021-22 season. Access passes cost $20-$80 per day, depending on demand.
Our Take
With the extra access fee continuing for the new Lone Peak Tram, we’re left wondering where Big Sky’s head is. We have heard that the current tram is in need of a replacement due to its age and scarcity of parts, but it’s remarkable to see the resort invest so much capital into its replacement only to continue excluding most paying guests from access. Unfortunately, this decision likely locks in these fee structures for another two-to-three decades—a huge disappointment to many frequenters, and one that feels like a money grab. There currently isn’t a single other resort in North America instituting a fee structure such as this one, and we really hope this strategy doesn’t catch on at other mountains.
Perhaps we’ll get a better sense of what Big Sky is thinking once the resort releases capacity numbers for the new lift; it’s possible that they’ve prioritized preserving the low-capacity nature of this area over allowing more practical lift access to the summit. It is worth noting that in a technical sense, the top of Lone Peak currently is and will continue to be accessible without an extra charge, as guests can hike a 30-to-45-minute boot pack from the top of the Dakota lift.
If the new tram can actually carry more people per hour, we’d at least hope that the daily access passes see price reductions (charging an extra $20-$80 on top of the already $200 day pass is a tall order for most folks). If capacity is high enough, it would also be nice for the fee to be completely removed on days when resort traffic is low. Big Sky’s tram fee is advertised from the lens of low capacity and high demand, but it’s also very convenient for their bottom line.
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