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| Whitefish Mountain Resort | |
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| Location: | The Big Mountain |
| Nearest city: | Whitefish, Montana |
| Coordinates: | Coordinates: |
| Top elevation: | 6,817 feet |
| Base elevation: | 4,464 feet |
| Skiable area: | 3,020 acres (12.2 km2) |
| Runs: | 93 |
| Longest run: | 3.3 miles |
| Lift system: | 10 chairs, 3 surface |
| Snowfall: | 300 inches |
| Web site: | skiwhitefish.com |
Whitefish Mountain Resort is a ski resort located at The Big Mountain in northwestern Montana, located west of Glacier National Park in the Flathead National Forest. It is 4 miles (6.25 km) from the town of Whitefish and 21 miles (33.80 km) north of the city of Kalispell. The mountain is the second largest ski area in Montana, after Big Sky Resort.
The area currently has 10 chairlifts: 3 high-speed detachable quads and 7 fixed grip (2 quads, 4 triples, and 1 double). There are also three surface lifts: two T-bars and a magic carpet. Of these, 10 lifts operate regularly, including one T-bar which is normally only open on weekends.1
The mountain is separated into three faces. The front side is primarily serviced by the Chair One high speed quad / gondola and has the most skiable terrain. Chair 2, which also runs on the front side was replaced with a high speed quad in 2007. The front side has 8 of the mountains 10 ski lifts. The back side of the mountain is serviced by Chair 7, also a high speed quad. The back side has more tree skiing terrain, and additional terrain can be accessed by T-Bar 2 on weekends and during select holiday periods. The western aspect of the mountain contains the Hell Roaring basin. Serviced by Chair 11, a fixed grip triple chair, Hell Roaring basin is the most advanced skiing on the mountain with cliffs, vertical chutes, and tight tree skiing. The intermediate Hellfire Trail also runs from the Big Mountain Summit to the base of Chair 11 making a run of nearly 3 miles in length.
The vertical drop of the ski area is 2353 feet (717 m), with a summit elevation of 6817 ft. (2078 m) and a base of 4464 ft. (1361 m). The average annual snowfall is 300 inches (762 cm).2
The ski area is about 19 miles (30 km) north of Glacier Park International Airport and 35 miles (56 km) south of the Canadian border.
History
The Big Mountain opened on December 14, 1947, with a T-bar and soon after hosted the U.S. Alpine Championships in 1949.3 The first chairlift was installed in 1960 and a second in 1968, replacing the original T-bar. In June 2007, the resort was renamed "Whitefish Mountain Resort." By then the mountain had expanded to include 10 chair lifts, ranging from detachable high-speed quads to fixed-grip double chairs.
Olympic champion Tommy Moe learned to ski and race at the mountain, where his father was on the ski patrol;4 they relocated to Alaska when he was a teenager and the mountain dismissed him from the team. Moe won the gold medal in the Downhill5 and silver in the Super-G 6 at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.
The mountain hosted the U.S. Alpine Championships in 2001. 3 That event is remembered for the failed comeback attempt, and life-altering crash, of 1984 Olympic Downhill champion Bill Johnson.
In December 2006, Winter Sports, Inc. (a.k.a. WSI, the privately held company formed in 1947 to manage the resort) conducted a reverse stock split, which had the effect of forcing some shareholders with small numbers of shares to cash out their positions in the company. WSI's handling of the reverse split was criticized by some in the local community.7
An avalanche occurred in the Flathead National Forest, within hiking distance of the back side of The Big Mountain and killed two skiers on Jan 13th, 2008.8
The new operators of Whitefish Mountain Resort received criticism9 in the winter of 2007-2008 when they closed several lower lifts each afternoon at 4pm, 30 minutes earlier than indicated by a printing mistake on their trail map. They also closed the backside of the mountain 30 minutes earlier than in previous years.
In 2008, the resort discontinued summer lift access for winter season pass holders.10 However, said season pass holders were granted several free lift tickets.1112 In September of that same year, the resort reversed the decision and announced that 2008-2009 winter season passes would again convey unlimited foot-passenger lift access for summer 2009. 13
References
- ^ "Whitefish Mountain Resort Hours and Dates". Whitefish Mountain Resort. Retrieved on 2008-10-01.
- ^ "Whitefish Mountain Resort Statistics". Whitefish Mountain Resort. Retrieved on 2008-09-05.
- ^ a b "About Whitefish Mountain Resort". Whitefish Mountain Resort. Retrieved on 2008-09-05.
- ^ Quigley, Michelle. "It's Time for Moe". MountainZone.com. Retrieved on 2008-09-05.
- ^ "OL: Downhill Men Sunday (Official List), The 1994 Winter Olympics". Oslonett. Retrieved on 2008-09-05.
- ^ "OL-Alpine: Super-G Men (Official list), The 1994 Winter Olympics". Oslonett. Retrieved on 2008-09-05.
- ^ Jamison, Michael. "Locals dismayed at Big Mountain ski area stock plan". Missoulian. Retrieved on 2008-09-05.
- ^ "Trail at fatal Flathead avalanche site to reopen". Montana Television Network (2008-01-27). Retrieved on 2008-09-05.
- ^ Testa, Dan (2008-04-16). "Resort Changes Draw Praise, Resistance". flatheadbeacon.com. Retrieved on 2008-09-05.
- ^ Lomax, Becky (2008-05-28). "Whitefish Mountain Resort Changes Summer Lift Policies". flatheadbeacon.com. Retrieved on 2008-09-05.
- ^ "Lift policy change notification letter". Whitefish Mountain Resort (2008-06-13). Retrieved on 2008-09-05.
- ^ "Follow-up notification letter". Whitefish Mountain Resort (2008-06-17). Retrieved on 2008-09-05.
- ^ Clapp, Donnie (2008-09-25). "Whitefish Mountain Resort Newsletter: Winter Passes will Include Summer Lift Rides, Donnie is Sore, and Just What are Ski School Programs?". Whitefish Mountain Resort. Retrieved on 2008-10-01.
External links
- Ski Whitefish.com - official site
- Big Mtn.info - unofficial site
