The Way I Ski It: Big Sky Resort's Blog

IN THE WINTER, Big Sky’s Huntley Dining Room is known for one mean breakfast buffet.  But come summer (read: wedding season), the Huntley Dining Room takes on a whole new role - chafing dishes full of scrambled eggs and bacon are replaced with ivory linens and breathtaking floral centerpieces.   And the occasional hay bale.

Think elegant and civilized meets rugged wild west.  Last week I met with a bride-to-be whose wedding will be just that.  While her life and career may have taken her to the big city, her Montana roots remain as strong as the reins on the Quarter Horses at her parents nearby ranch.  This bride’s upcoming wedding will be a weekend-long event, kicking off with a western-themed bar-b-que for over 300 people in the Huntley Dining Room.  There will be s’mores around the fire, a wagon filled with penny candy, red and white checkered tablecloths, BBQ pulled pork, and, a mechanical bull.  After a few rounds on a bucking bronco and several trips to the dance floor, guests will kick off their boots in either the four-star Summit Hotel or the luxurious Village Center – both within a short walking distance of the reception .

Other brides lean towards the more traditional, focusing on the grandeur of the outdoor beauty at Big Sky.  Just a week after one bride’s western bar-b-que, another will celebrate outdoors in the Lone Peak Pavilion as the sun sets behind the towering mountain.  Guests will sip on fine wine, munch on mini bison steaks served on Montana grain crostini, and sway their hips to a local Bluegrass band.
 
But no matter which end of the spectrum a wedding leans towards, there’s no divorcing it from Big Sky’s sense of place and culture.  Like the GeoTraveler, making sure to experience the local culture wherever she roams, a wedding at Big Sky is for the GeoBride, finding elegance and beauty in what is distinctly Montana.

-  Margo Humphries, Big Sky Resort Wedding Sales Manager

DOUBLE-SEAT CHAIR lifts.  A duo skiing perfect powder-eights.  A stolen kiss in the snow-covered trees.  Champagne for two in a private hot tub.  A diamond ring proposal at 11,166-feet.

There’s no question that skiing is for lovers.  Just ask the hordes of couples who get engaged on Lone Peak every year, or have ski or winter weddings on the slopes. 

Better yet, ask a professional.  Renowned sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer says skiing is the perfect romantic Valentine’s Day sport.

“Skiers wiggle their behinds and they always meet new people. That's why it's a good sport for meeting lovers,” she said in a recent ESPN interview. “On Valentine's Day, take a day off and go skiing.  Say to your significant other how fortunate you are that you both share the same sport,” she said.

But couples with varying ski abilities should stick to this rule of thumb: If you love someone, set them free… for a private lesson with a professional ski instructor. 

“I suggest that if lovers don't ski on the same level, they don't ski together,” says Westheimer, warning that quarreling is the sure result of an ill-matched ski duo.  Instead, enroll in two different lesson groups or hit separate areas of the mountain, then share stories of your day’s adventures over martinis in the hot tub.


-  Greer


A Valentine’s gift better than a pink onesie or heart-themed ski gear?  A ski getaway with some quality slope and hot tub time.

Winter weddings at Big Sky often happen on the slopes. Photo by Laura Parker

 
Winter couple fun!  Photo by Laura Parker.

 
Newlyweds kicked off their honeymoon at the 2011 Pond Skim at Big Sky.

The couple that skis together, stays together.  This wedding cake ski topper is for sale online.