Explorer Chair Fundraiser

Explorer Chairs are sold out. Thank you for your support for our community.

After 51 years of operation, Explorer 2 will be decommissioned on March 30th, 2025, to make way for the 10-person Explorer Gondola, planned to open in December 2025. Keep a piece of Big Sky Resort history while also supporting a few important community organizations that align with our values – Our People, Our Place, and Our Community. All proceeds will be evenly split and donated to three local non-profit organizations:

Explorer Chair History

The Explorer 2 chairlift debuted in 1973 as one of the four original lifts at Big Sky Resort. Built by Heron-Poma, it was designed as a double chairlift specifically to serve the resort's beginner terrain.

For 51 years, Explorer’s 150 chairs carried skiers and snowboarders up 622 feet of vertical. Until March 2025, the Explorer chair remained in service as a living piece of the resort's history.

Today, these historic chairs are being retired and made available to the public, allowing the Big Sky community to own a piece of Montana skiing history. If these chairs could talk, they would share five decades' worth of stories, storms, and Big Sky skiing memories.

Chair Details

• Weight: Approximately 100 lbs
• Dimensions: 9'6" tall, 3'6" wide, 2' deep
• Chair pads are included, however grips are removed and not part of the purchase.
• Chairs are genuine used chairs and have their own sets of blemishes, imperfections, and unique character, and are being sold as is with no warranty, expressed or implied, associated.
• Chairs will be stacked in random order and staged for purchaser pickup. There is no choice in chair number, condition, or preference.

Pickup Details

• Pickup windows will occur on the following dates:
  • March 31 from 4-7 PM
  • April 1 from 4-7 PM
• Pickup location will be the Carpool lot in Mountain Village - get directions
• Any chairs that have not been picked up during the designated pickup windows will be forfeited by the purchaser.
• Pickup representative must show purchase confirmation email and valid photo identification.
• We recommend a pickup truck, trailer, or box truck for pickup. Bring your own tie-downs.
• We will have staff on hand to assist in lifting the chair into your vehicle.