Jeff's Corner - Montana Snowbowl, Montana

Montana Snow Bowl is a very cool ski area just a few miles from Missoula, Mont. It's got a steep front face and a mellow back bowl and boasts an impressive 2,600 feet of vertical.

Snowbowl feels like it has not changed in ages, though in reality the chairlift at the base was installed in 1994.

MSB has 47 named trails as well as a plethora of unnamed runs, bowls and tree shots. There is also a good amount of sidecountry accessible to folks who willing to do some climb and traversing.

MSB has an ambitious master plan which includes the installation of three more chairs (to complement the existing two) and three more surface lifts (again, there are two already).

I found MSB to be a total throwback. The base lodge was a rambling wood beam affair with a large fire in the center and supercheap foot in the cafeteria. The snowcats hardly laid down a smooth carpet of courderoy; beware of death cookies. And the lifts are slow and creaky.

That being said, the front face is full of long trails that follow the fall line, and the back side is sunny and open and lots of fun.

MSB reported a mere 36-inch base when I was there, and coverage was sketchy; some of the frontside trails had grass poking through. The summit area was better, with soft packed powder and views above the fogs and clouds low to the ground in Missoula.

Montana Snow Bowl plusses:
•just 12 miles from Missoula
•cheap and low key
•long runs

MSB minuses
•spotty grooming
•low snow possible