Lost Trail Powder Mountain
Encyclopedia
Lost Trail Powder Mountain is an alpine
ski area located along the Montana
-Idaho
border at the junction of US Highway 93
and Montana State Highway 43 at Lost Trail Pass
, about one mile northwest of Chief Joseph Pass
, which is on the Continental Divide
.
The summit elevation of Saddle Mountain is 8200 feet (2500 m) above sea level with a vertical drop of 1800 feet (550 m). The main base area, which includes the parking lot and lodge, is at 7000 feet (2135 m) and in Montana, as are the majority of the runs. Chairlift #1 runs approximately along the Idaho-Montana border; the terrain to its south, including Chairlift #2, is in Idaho.
Until 2003, the top of Chair # 1 & Chair #2 was the summit of the area, at 7800 ft. (2377 m), and the vertical drop was 1200 ft (366 m). When chairlift #3 (Huckleberry) was added on the Montana side in 2002, it lowered the base by 200 vertical feet (61 m). The addition of Chair #4 on Saddle Mountain, which opened in February 2003 after delays, increased the area's vertical drop by 400 feet (122 m). The slopes on the mountain are primarily east-facing.
The ski area is known for high snow accumulations but is primarily a day area, used mainly by local residents. It is open four days per week (Thursday through Sunday) and holidays. The business office is in Conner, Montana, about midway to Hamilton
.
Alpine skiing
Alpine skiing is the sport of sliding down snow-covered hills on skis with fixed-heel bindings. Alpine skiing can be contrasted with skiing using free-heel bindings: Ski mountaineering and nordic skiing – such as cross-country; ski jumping; and Telemark. In competitive alpine skiing races four...
ski area located along the Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
-Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
border at the junction of US Highway 93
U.S. Route 93
U.S. Route 93 is a major north–south United States highway in the western United States. The southern terminus is at U.S. Route 60 in Wickenburg, Arizona. The northern terminus is at the Canadian border north of Eureka in Lincoln County, Montana, where the roadway continues into Roosville,...
and Montana State Highway 43 at Lost Trail Pass
Lost Trail Pass
Lost Trail Pass is a mountain pass in the Rocky Mountains of the United States, on the border of Idaho and Montana in the Bitterroot Mountains. The pass is at an elevation of 7014 feet above sea level and is traversed by U.S. Highway 93...
, about one mile northwest of Chief Joseph Pass
Chief Joseph Pass
Chief Joseph Pass is a mountain pass on the continental divide of the Rocky Mountains in the northwestern United States, between the states of Idaho and Montana...
, which is on the Continental Divide
Continental Divide
The Continental Divide of the Americas, or merely the Continental Gulf of Division or Great Divide, is the name given to the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas that separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from those river systems that drain...
.
The summit elevation of Saddle Mountain is 8200 feet (2500 m) above sea level with a vertical drop of 1800 feet (550 m). The main base area, which includes the parking lot and lodge, is at 7000 feet (2135 m) and in Montana, as are the majority of the runs. Chairlift #1 runs approximately along the Idaho-Montana border; the terrain to its south, including Chairlift #2, is in Idaho.
Until 2003, the top of Chair # 1 & Chair #2 was the summit of the area, at 7800 ft. (2377 m), and the vertical drop was 1200 ft (366 m). When chairlift #3 (Huckleberry) was added on the Montana side in 2002, it lowered the base by 200 vertical feet (61 m). The addition of Chair #4 on Saddle Mountain, which opened in February 2003 after delays, increased the area's vertical drop by 400 feet (122 m). The slopes on the mountain are primarily east-facing.
The ski area is known for high snow accumulations but is primarily a day area, used mainly by local residents. It is open four days per week (Thursday through Sunday) and holidays. The business office is in Conner, Montana, about midway to Hamilton
Hamilton, Montana
Hamilton is a city in and the county seat of Ravalli County, Montana, United States. The population was 3,705 at the 2000 census. Significant outlying population growth is shown in the area; the ZIP Code Tabulation Area for Hamilton's ZIP Code, 59840, had a population of 12,327at the 2000 census.-...
.
External links
- Lost Trail.com - official site
- LTPark.com - official terrain parks site
- Winter MT.com official state tourism site - Lost Trail Powder Mountain
- Montana Ski Resorts.com - Lost Trail Powder Mountain
- Idaho Transportation Dept. - webcam - Lost Trail Pass - US-93
- EPA.gov - environmental impact for expansion - 25-July-1996
- Opening of Chair #4 - Feb-2003