Small Ski Resorts, Alive and Thriving – Turner Mountain near Libby, Mont.

"Turner Mountain might offer the best lift-assisted powder skiing in the U.S."
– Ski Magazine

Who knew 40 years ago that winter vacations would come to this: skis measured by waist size; single sliding boards with straps for both feet; chairlift seats as long as sofas; fake snow; spas instead of hot water bottles; après ski at computer kiosks; and snowmobile rides instead of sleighs?

Long gone are the pot-bellied stoves and warming huts of yesteryear. Or are they? Not if you look to Montana, a place that embraces both sides of a growing but increasingly diverse sport.

Take Turner Mountain near Libby, Mont., a community with a 16 percent unemployment rate. The ski area there is thriving, not because of the money it makes each season, but because it is still there.

Turner Mountain: http://www.skiturner.com/

By BARBARA LLOYD

Full Story: http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/30/sports/othersports/30ski.html?oref=login