BILLINGS — A severe lack of snow and many days of high winds at Red Lodge Mountain this winter created significant challenges for the ski resort and surrounding local businesses.
The poor conditions resulted in a slow season, which hit businesses as far away as the Ski Station in Billings.
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"It’s certainly the worst snow year that I can remember," Ski Station Manager Adam Paulson said. "This year, the snow was pretty bleak."
In addition to the lack of snow, it was one of the windiest winters ever, leading to multiple closures on the mountain. In March 2025, a deadly gust of wind caught a chairlift carrying Jeff Zinne of Billings, knocking him free and resulting in his death.
That's a big reason why, first-year General Manager Jean Mikulas said, that decision to close this season due to high winds were made out of precaution.
"We’re always being mindful of safety, right?" Mikulas said. "That's number one for us."
Mikulas added that it was a challenging year for her and her staff, but they did the best to make the experience worthwhile to visitors.
"We definitely felt it just like anybody else," Mikulas said. "Our peaks and valleys were a bit different. Maybe our valleys were a little bit bigger and our peaks, you know when it snowed, it snowed and all of the diehards came out."
The challenges extended far beyond the mountain, as businesses in town also felt the impact. Red Lodge Reservations Owner Chelsea Toupin said that there was a noticeable difference in how many trips were reserved this year.
"This is the worst year my husband and I have seen since we’ve moved to Red Lodge," Toupin said.
Toupin manages 32 properties and noted the conditions resulted in more day trips rather than extended getaways.
"We definitely had seen occupancy drop this winter, which is expected when you have a slow snow year," Toupin said. "When the winter doesn’t hit, the spring gets really hard and it’s now just trying to get by to June."
In Billings, Paulson and the Ski Station shifted its focus from retail sales to equipment repairs.
"We’re doing a lot more of fixing people’s skis and tuning them back up because they’ll go up and in that low snow area they’re like, 'Oh, I found that fresh snow.'" Paulson said. "Well, underneath it they found the rocks too."
With leftover retail inventory, the shop is hosting a big end-of-the-year winter gear sale while letting bikes take center stage.
"Yeah, it was a low snow year, but ultimately we did the best with what we had," Paulson said.
At the resort, investments are being made into other parts of the mountain due to a lack of snow. Mikulas said a higher focus was placed on the village experience, snowmaking, and other events as the staff shifts gears for what they hope will be a strong summer season.
"When you don’t have snow, you focus on what you can control," Mikulas said.
Mikulas said that regardless of the weather, her priority is on making sure Red Lodge Mountain is a great place for everyone, noting that even with the bad snow, the mountain stayed open until mid-April, the usual closing time.
"At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what the ski conditions are," Mikulas said. "The people make the difference."
