Lone Peak Tram at Montana's Big Sky Resort Opens for Summer Adventures in 2012

BIG SKY, Mont. - Since 1996 the Lone Peak Tram has been taking Big Sky resort winter guests to the top of 11,166-foot Lone Peak for extreme skiing and 360-degree views. Now, guests will be able to enjoy Lone Peak's summit in the summertime on the Lone Peak Expedition, a guided experience up the mountain via lift, safari vehicle, and the iconic Lone Peak Tram starting July 2012.

Just 18 miles from the national park, Big Sky Resort is known as the Basecamp to Yellowstone and home to the Yellowstone Conference Center. With numerous lodging options, access to Yellowstone, and summer activities already ranging from ziplining to downhill mountain biking, Big Sky's Lone Peak Expedition will be another facet to the Resort's lively summer operations.

"Lone Peak and the Tram are defining features of Big Sky, and expeditions to the top take our summer activities to the next level," said Big Sky Resort Sales and Marketing Director, Meg O'Leary. "The Lone Peak Tram put us on the map as a major big-mountain ski area in 1996, and now it is putting us on the map as the true Basecamp to Yellowstone National Park."

Guests going on the Lone Peak Expedition will sign up for one of four daily guided trips, starting in Big Sky's Basecamp building in the Mountain Village. Guests will then ride up the Swift Current chairlift, where a guide will be waiting to take them in a safari vehicle to the base of the Lone Peak Tram.

Guests will then ride the iconic Lone Peak Tram to the top of 11,166-foot Lone Peak, where they will take in 360-degree views spanning three different states and all the way to the distant and jagged Tetons. At the peak, guest can take in the vista, buy snacks, and take short guided hikes around the summit. When it is time to go down, guests can choose to hike from the top or take the tram, vehicle, and lift back to the base area.

"The Lone Peak Expedition isn't the DIY, hop-on-a-gondola experience other mountains have," said Christine Baker, Big Sky Resort Basecamp Program Manager. "Our terrain is more rugged and dramatic than other resort mountain landscapes, and Big Sky leads you through the whole experience, giving guests information and guidance along the way. It's more of an expedition, a Rocky Mountain safari than anything else - especially when you catch a glimpse of a bear, an elk, or a family of Mountain Goats along the way!"

The Lone Peak Expedition is a 2+ hour experience and costs $75 per person. Guests can sign up starting in July by calling Basecamp at 406.995.5769.

See what the Lone Peak Expedition is all about with this video sneak preview on www.youtube.com/bigskyresort

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znnjCpmMj50&list=UUU9B-ElyehvxMqNYbNWrvFQ&index=1&feature=plcp

Big Sky Resort is owned by Boyne USA Resorts, a Michigan-based corporation and the largest family run four-season resort company in North America. Boyne USA Resorts owns and/or operates award-winning mountain and golf resorts and attractions throughout the United States and Canada including Cypress Mountain near Vancouver, British Columbia, official freestyle skiing and snowboard venue of the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, Big Sky Resort in Montana, Boyne Mountain, Boyne Highlands, The Inn at Bay Harbor - A Renaissance Golf Resort and Avalanche Bay Indoor Waterpark in Michigan, Brighton in Utah, Crystal Mountain and The Summit at Snoqualmie in Washington, Loon Mountain in New Hampshire, Sugarloaf/USA and Sunday River Resort in Maine and Gatlinburg Sky Lift in Tennessee.