Showdown Ski Area, near Kings Hill Pass in Montana’s Little Belt Mountains, began in 1936 as King’s Hill Ski Area under the Great Falls Ski Club and grew gradually from a rope tow into Montana’s oldest operating ski area and one of the oldest in the United States. Later improvements added new lifts, expanded the lodge and base facilities, and opened easier access to more terrain, while preserving its small scale and family atmosphere. Renamed in 1973, it remained in family ownership after George Willet sold it to his daughter, Katie Boedecker, in 2020. Its long continuity and incremental growth have preserved its local character.