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An hour's drive from Bozeman, Big Sky Ski Resort is one of the largest in North America, but there's plenty to do around here for non-skiers too and the majestic mountain scenery will take your breath away.

Heartland snowsports enthusiasts can climb aboard Amtrak’s Empire Builder for an easy, scenic ride to Whitefish Mountain Resort. There are several places you can board the train. It leaves Chicago’s Union Station with stops in Milwaukee, the Twin Cities, and several other boarding locations across North Dakota and eastern Montana before arriving at Whitefish. When you book early, at least 7-14 days in advance, you can save 20-percent on your fare.

Montana ski areas are opening over the next couple of weeks, and lift ticket deals are still available at several of them. Frequent skier cards, packs and punch cards can substantially help lower daily lift ticket costs. Check out early season specials and what's new around the state.

Patience will pay off in the East when multiple shots of cold and snow bring a much-awaited weather pattern for area ski resorts.

With at least three resorts open for skiing and riding this weekend, Colorado is poised for a foot of snow from multiple weather systems.

Montana’s Great Divide Ski Area is expanding with new terrain set to open this winter and future plans call for the addition of two new lifts.

Here we go again! The second strong, early-winter storm has moved across the Rocky Mountain range in the western United States and Canada.

Trevor Kennison doesn’t know the meaning of the word “quit.”

“It’s like this is what you have and you’ve got to deal with it, the cards you’ve (been) dealt,” Kennison told SnoCountry.com.

For our fourth installment of the Town Ski Area Series we’ll explore a ski area that could serve as the poster child to small, community ski areas nationwide because of its success as a 501(c)(4).

It's time to enjoy spring weather in the mountains, and the outlook is great across SnoCountry.

The ski season is winding down across Montana, but the major ski areas are staying open into April. There’s plenty of time for Heartlanders to plan one more western trip to close out the season.

The first week of March will feel more like *January* for many! With the colder air, could we see better snow chances? Scroll down for the details!

Tired of riding the lift? Then find the longest way down the mountain and treat yourself to a break from the bumps and trees and deep pow'. Mostly green, sometimes blue, these runs cool out the day – and they provide some of the best scenic views of the mountain.

Take a look at what SnoCountry found:

Montana ski areas have been reveling in the powder lately, with some mountains receiving over 40 inches in a week's span, including Red Lodge Mountain which nabbed nearly four feet.

Kids with a competitive spirit regularly join ski-area competition programs. Those with extraordinary drive and dreams go on to attend ski academies for secondary educations. Student athletes committed to succeed in academics and winter sports are best suited to the rigorous schedule of a ski academy.

Boyne Mountain, credited with many industry firsts for lift innovations and snowmaking, first opened in January 1949. They had the first chairlift in the Midwest, and can also lay claim to pioneering the four season resort concept now popular throughout the country when they started adding golf to the activity list.

It may seem the only movers and shakers in the ski resort industry these days are the mega resorts, with hundreds of ski trails, multi-million dollar base lodges and well-connected regional season pass partnership deals. With the bright optics of these flashy resorts, it's easy to forget the “mom and pop” style ski areas are just as critical for the ski industry’s future.

All across the West you can find year-round paved roads that cross major mountain divides and offer some of the best mountain views in the nation. Plus, many are home to ski and snowboard resorts.

Early winter has been good to Montana skiers and riders, and four of the Treasure State’s top resorts are offering some attractive January lift and lodging packages. It’s an easy drive for many Heartlanders on the western side of the Midwest. Take advantage and enjoy some great snow conditions.

“Wow, that’s inspiring but I don’t think my knees will last that long!” exclaimed a thirty-something dude on the chairlift.

I had shared that I had just photographed members of the 70+ Ski Club racing, including some in their eighties and nineties.