DETAILS

Big Sky and Moonlight Basin

GETTING THERE: Big Sky and Moonlight Basin are 45 miles from Bozeman, Mont. Bozeman is served by Northwest, Delta (SkyWest), United Express and Alaska Airlines, with fares starting at about $370 round trip, with connections. There are regular shuttles to the resorts from Bozeman.

LIFT TICKETS: For the upcoming season, a two-mountain lift ticket will cost $79, pricey but slightly below the day rate at Vail and other top-of-the-line U.S. resorts. Skiers under 21 (or college students) can get the joint ticket for $59 per day (free for kids younger than 10).

You can still buy a separate lift ticket for either Big Sky ($69 per day) or Moonlight Basin ($47 per day). If I were at Lone Mountain for three days or less, I would definitely shell out for the joint pass and take advantage of the whole spread. But many visitors staying for a week shift to the single-mountain tickets for a couple of days to save money.

WHERE TO STAY: The Big Sky base area has several hotels, cabins and condominiums with rooms for the night or week. Moonlight Basin has a few suites in the base lodge, plus townhouses, condominiums and cowboy-style log homes to rent by the week. There are many motels in Bozeman. Both resorts offer package plans including lodging, lift tickets, rentals and lessons. Moonlight Basin, for example, offers a family of four a two-bedroom cabin for five nights with four days of lift tickets. The price in mid-December would be $1,698; add about $300 for access to Big Sky's lifts. The same family could stay in a single room at Big Sky for six nights for $1,070, with five days of Big Sky lifts.

INFORMATION: Big Sky Resort,800-548-4486, http://www.bigskyresort.com/. Moonlight Basin,877-822-0430, http://www.moonlightbasin.com/.

-- T.R. Reid