The Spell of the Mountain
Meet Big Sky Ski Patroller Rachael Efta
September 02, 2022
1 min read
For some, the love of the mountain is beyond dispute, it’s a place they can truly feel alive. For Rachael Efta, everything fell into place when she made the leap from art school in San Francisco to ski patrolling in Big Sky, Montana. Now she can’t imagine life without it.
Big Sky is true to its name: 5,850 skiable acres, 4,350 vertical feet, 300 runs, 39 lifts, over 400 inches of annual snowfall on average. At 11,166 feet, Lone Mountain stands tall and offers 300 degrees of skiing off the peak. Due to demanding conditions, it takes the dedicated effort of Rachael and over 40 colleagues to open the mountain every morning.
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