Editor’s Note: Due to a technical limitation of our publishing platform, this article appears under a single byline. It was co-written by Maria Wyllie and Jesse Barney.
Lone Peak Cannabis Company, known by most Montana locals simply as “LPC,” is, as Founder and Owner Charlie Gaillard puts it, “Big Sky born and raised.” It’s a phrase that carries weight, sparking curiosity among outsiders. If you’re lucky enough to grow up in Big Sky, MT—a small, tight-knit mountain town of approximately 3,500 year-round residents—you understand why. LPC’s home there is as central to its identity as Gaillard’s relationship with the community and his outlook on the world.
“I moved to Big Sky to start LPC, so my love affair with Big Sky is also my love affair with LPC,” he says. “I’ve really embraced the ski community and culture, and to have them fully embrace me back has been incredibly fulfilling.”
That sense of reciprocity—what Gaillard describes as the community “giving him and LPC a big hug”—is what he loves most about the resort town. “There’s a connection between the ski culture and the way in which we run our business. We’re 100 percent organic; we grow in a living soil that’s 14 years old, and those involved in the ski community look at that—they respect it.”
Gaillard hasn’t just built a cannabis company in Big Sky, he’s built a cultivation philosophy shaped by personal need, place and a belief that growing should work with nature—not against it.
Nestled against the backdrop of the iconic Lone Mountain, home to Big Sky Resort—one of the world’s most in-demand destinations—Gaillard opened the very first LPC store in 2010. With its natural beauty and abundance of outdoor activity, Big Sky is a natural fit for LPC’s ethos.
“This is our heart and soul up here,” says Gaillard, 56, who’s found a way to balance the demands of being a business owner in the cannabis industry with his joy for engaging in all the Big Sky fun.
“He’s kind of like a fixture,” says Heather Budd, who’s called Big Sky home since 1997. “He’s always got a huge smile on his face—he’s always having fun. We see him out and about on the hill and at events. I’ve always really respected his product and his approach. He supports a lot of local endeavors. I think it’s really hard to live, work, play and be successful in a community such as Big Sky. It’s really awesome what he’s doing.”
Moving from Philadelphia to Big Sky was a deliberate choice at a moment when both Gaillard’s life and the cannabis industry were beginning to shift. In 2010, a friend who’d recently moved there encouraged him to come look at Montana’s blossoming cannabis scene.
At the time, Big Sky was still largely off the radar compared to Jackson Hole and Aspen, for example. The Montana town, he says, was filled with ski bums, bike
