High in the Beartooth Mountains near the thin-aired border of Montana and Wyoming is one of the most unusual ski areas in North America. At almost 11,000 feet above sea level and inaccessible by car in the winter, the region can't be reached until around late May after plows have dug through the area's towering walls of snow. At that point, Beartooth Basin is open to skiers—more than a month after most areas have closed up shop. Along with the surrounding mountains and their reliable summer snowpack, the basin attracts a colorful community of diehard skiers who keep plunging down mountainsides on skis and snowboards well into July.

High in the Beartooth Mountains near the thin-aired border of Montana and Wyoming is one of the most unusual ski areas in North America. At almost 11,000 feet above sea level and inaccessible by car in the winter, the region can't be reached until around late May after plows have dug through the area's towering walls of snow. At that point, Beartooth Basin is open to skiers—more than a month after most areas have closed up shop. Along with the surrounding mountains and their reliable summer snowpack, the basin attracts a colorful community of diehard skiers who keep plunging down mountainsides on skis and snowboards well into July.