The history of skiing in Marshall Mountain dates all the way back to the 1930s. In the early 30’s, groups of skiers would make the trek up to Marshall Mountain to ski for the day, then hike back down. By 1937, a run had been cut on the present day ski hill site, and the first rope tow lift was installed.

In 1941, a permanent road to the ski area was proposed up to Marshall Bowl. Though the road was not constructed until 1951, multiple ski runs were cleared, and a small warming hut was built. In 1951, the long proposed road was finally built. The ski area was renamed to Marshall Canyon, and a second tow was added in 1952, which serviced both beginner and intermediate terrain. 

In 1956, Si and Velma Green purchased Marshall Canyon. They immediately began improving the mountain, which included lengthening the rope tows, enlarging the parking lot, and renaming the mountain to Marshall Ski Area. By 1958, the mountain boasted 5 rope tow lifts. The mountain also started the longstanding tradition of night skiing in 1959.

From the start, Marshall Ski Area was very popular with families and beginner skiers. A proper ski lodge was built in 1964, and a Pomalift was installed in 1965. This lift replaced several lower mountain tows, and was financed through a $36,000 loan. This was fully repaid by 1969. 

The 1960’s in all were a period of rapid growth for the mountain. The Green’s invested in upgraded night lighting, cut new trails, expanded the lodge and constructed an upper mountain t-bar lift in 1969. This T-Bar nearly doubled the vertical drop of the mountain, and opened up many new runs. Marshall Ski Area was very community oriented, and hosted many events, including summer camps, winter carnivals, and women’s fashion shows.

As Si Green had another day job, Velma Green managed the day to day operations at Marshall Ski Area. The Green’s were well-respected in Missoula, and Velma Green even served on the board of the Montana Tramway Safety Board in 1971. Though some skiers bemoaned the way the resort operated, many others praised the down to earth atmosphere of the mountain, and the Green’s.

By 1971, the Green’s had invested in several snowmaking guns that would operate at Marshall. In 1972, recognizing how beginner skiers found it extremely difficult to ride the pomalift, the Green’s invested in a new Thiokol triple chair in the lower mountain. The platter remained standing, and was occasionally used on busy days, though it was removed a few years later. 

The triple chair truly brought in a new era of skiing at Marshall Mountain. The resort had it’s best ever season in 1972, recording over 33,000 skier visits. This sharply contrasted with Missoula Snowbowl, which had never broken even, and only did so in 1978. Marshall continued to host many community programs and events, along with cutting new trails and investing in more snowmaking and lighting equipment throughout the 1970’s.

Throughout the life of the mountain, the narrow access road became a big issue. Since the city of Missoula did not plow it, it was up to the Green’s to do so, which often led to the mountain being closed for days after a significant snowstorm until the entire section could be plowed.

While the 1976-77 ski season was horrible, the 1977-78 ski season was one of the best for both Marshall Mountain, and Montana Snowbowl. After that year, Marshall experienced several poor snow years, due in part to warm Chinook winds, and the low elevation of the mountain. This prompted the Green’s to invest further into new snowmaking technology to try and offset the poor snow years.

In 1983, Velma and Si Green sold Marshall Mountain to Bill Barrier. The Green’s had a long run at Marshall, and simply wanted to retire. Montana Snowbowl was also in the process of a sale to Ben Lane. Velma Green passed away one year later, in 1984.

THe new ownership of Marshall Ski Area continued to build out the mountain, clearing new runs, and developing snowmaking. The upgraded snowmaking saved the mountain for the 1985-86 season, where there was virtually no natural snow.

By 1986, Barrier had announced intentions to expand Marshall’s skiable terrain in the upper mountain. To do so, he needed investor money. So Barrier put the ski area on the market for $550,000, in hopes of finding an investor to help him develop the mountain.

In 1987, Ben Lane, the former owner of Montana Snowbowl announced that he had purchased the ski area from Bill Barrier. Under Ben Lane, Snowbowl and Marshall began offering a joint seasons pass, which continued for a few years.

Lane initially continued expanding the night skiing footprint, and cut several new runs at Marshall. Marshall Mountain also constructed a superpipe in 1990, which was a huge success and brought in many snowboarders to Marshall Mountain.

In 1993, a lift attendant at Marshall was left stranded overnight on the chairlift during a ride down. The attendant eventually ended up jumping off the chairlift at 2 in the morning, causing back injuries. Shortly after this incident, the Montana Tramway Board ordered a temporary closure of the mountain until these issues could be sorted out. One board member even described the way the mountain operated as “helter-skelter”.

Ben Lane did not comply with the Tramway Board’s ruling, instead deciding to permanently shutter the mountain. As quoted from Lane, “They meant to give me a slap on the wrist, but instead they cut the wrist off. So I’m shutting down.” Lane indicated that he would consider selling or leasing the operation if an opportunity arose.

And a few months later, an opportunity arose. Ben Lane sold the mountain to Bruce and Kim Doering, a local Missoulan family. The Doerings immediately renamed the mountain from Marshall Ski Area to Marshall Mountain, and worked hard to appease the Tramway Board. By December of 1993, the mountain had been given the OK to open, to which it did to much local fanfare.

The mountain continued to host summer camps, weddings and other activities, even building  a waterslide in the summer on the bunny hill.

The Doerings operated Marshall Mountain throughout the 1990s without much change. By 1998, Bruce Doering indicated that the only way Marshall Mountain could survive was to expand further up the mountain. 

In 1999, Bruce Doering secured USFS expansion approval, and purchased the used Apres Vous double chairlift from Jackson Hole. The chairlift was staged in the parking lot, ready for immediate install. The new liftline and trails were also cleared. The only thing that held Bruce Doering back was funding.

The lift was not installed that year, nor the next year. However, a new terrain park opened up in 2000.

The 2001-2002 ski season was really bad, with warm temperatures and little natural snow. It was so bad that Marshall Mountain did not pay Payroll Taxes to the IRS, and was seized in February of 2002. Despite this, the Doerings were still hopeful that something could be sorted out, and remained open to the public in a humorous way.

In May of 2002, Marshall Mountain was sold at auction to Vision Properties of Provo, Utah for $144,000. The Doerings had 180 days to buy back the mountain from Vision Properties. The Doerings listed Marshall Mountain on Ebay for sale, though later that year began filing for Chapter 11 federal bankruptcy. The Doerings aimed to operate the mountain that winter under the bankruptcy court.

Marshall Mountain operated for the 2002-2003 ski season. However, after that, Bruce Doering announced that the ski operations would remain closed indefinitely. The mountain would still be available for weddings, banquets, concerts or conferences. Doering stated that the mountain could just not compete with it’s competitors, and was financially not viable as a ski resort.

Initially, there was some interest in a private party operating the ski area, which included the city of Missoula. However, nothing ever came of these offers. Bruce Doering continued to rent out the lodge for events, and continued to dream of the ski area re-opening.

The upper mountain was initially leased to Marshall Mountain by a timber company. But in 2015, it was sold to a nature conservancy group, who donated the land to the Five Valleys Land Trust. The base area, owned by the Doerings was put up for sale in 2015, though public access was still granted. 

In 2021, the base of the mountain was almost sold to a couple who intended to build a home on the land, closing it to all public access. There was much public over this, leading two local couples to purchased the land for 2.16 million dollars, with the intention to preserve public access. In 2023, the city of Missoula announced that they were close to purchasing the base area parcel for 1.8 million, the upper five vallies land trust parcel, and a third parcel. This will create a 480 acre park, which will be managed by the city’s recreational parks department. The chairlift has already been removed, and the lodge will likely be removed soon. Marshall Mountain will continue to be available for backcountry skiing, and perhaps might even install a carpet lift in the future.