Great Divide, an hour north of Montana’s capital, opened on the weekend of November 9th. Many showed their faces at the area, overly excited to make a few turns on the snow. 

      Not only did Great Divide open before most ski areas in Montana, but the ticket prices also dropped if they were bought online. Instead of $50 for a day ticket, the prices dropped $30 to $20 if bought the day before online. Great Divide only had one lift open, the Good Luck Lift. Off the one lift, there was one run open that included a train park with five rails and two jumps towards the bottom. The open run was not in the most ideal conditions unless skied out runs and ice sounds appealing.

      When speaking to Mia Jakob and Luke O’Leary, who both went to the opening weekend, they both said that they didn’t expect a whole lot from the mountain, given it was opening day. “They usually try to open first, which they did. and stay open the longest every season. Usually, the first day is a lot worse than it was this weekend,” O’Leary said.  Great Divide has accomplished opening before most ski areas in Montana, along with closing last among them as well.

     “Getting out with friends and family despite the conditions is why most people were there I think. And overall, it was a lot of fun to get out and share with everyone and overall just have a really good time, and work on your body’s tolerance to the cold,” Mia Jakob said. She and Luke both implied that no one was there for a good day of skiing. It was simply a time for all of the ski bums to get out early in the season, get their first day over with, and be 20 times more stoked to shred it up this season.

     Overall, Great Divide was a blast. Everyone enjoyed getting out on the slopes, and enjoyed the cold feeling of winter on their faces. Winter is coming, and skiers and snowboarders of Montana are ready more than ever to get on the slopes, and have the best winter of their lives.