Whitefish Mountain Ski
Area : Review.gif)
 |
| Glacier
National Park seen from Whitefish Mountain Ski Area |
The
Whitefish Mountain Ski Resort (formerly called Big Mountain)
is located just north of Whitefish and is the second largest
ski area
in
Montana.
Whitefish Mountain,
owing to its huge size, has pretty much something for everyone – from
quality intermediate ski runs to powder skiing to bump skiing
to tree skiing.
Not
too many years ago Whitefish Mountain was just another
local ski area. That has all changed, though. Lately, Whitefish
Mountain
has become more of a real estate development company that
also happens to own a ski area. Massive housing and condo
projects have been or are being built on the mountain – in
preparation for selling them to the baby boom generation
as they retire. Moreover, the entire village area is being
completely re-done. When all finished sometime around 2009,
the village area will likely resemble many of the other fancy
villages seen at other plush western resorts.
| Whitefish Mountain
Vital Statistics |
| Snowfall
: |
330
inches |
| Acres
: |
3000+ |
| Vertical
Feet : |
2500
ft / 2098 true |
| #
of Lifts : |
2
High Speed Quads, 1 Quad, 5 Triple Chairs,
1 Double Chair, 2 T-Bars |
| Terrain
: |
20%
Beginner, 50% Intermediate, 30% Expert |
|
When
I moved to Montana in 1999, I moved to Whitefish and spent
lots and lots of time up on Big Mountain (now called Whitefish
Mountain) over the next several winters. Yet, even during
this short time
period
since I’ve moved here, I’ve seen dramatic changes
on Big Mountain. Some of these changes are good – others
bad. So, before you book your next ski vacation to Big Mountain,
lets take a look at some of these changes in this review
of the Big Mountain I've prepared on put on the site.
Note -
I wrote this article when the ski resort was called Big
Mountain, not Whitefish Mountain (name changed in 2007).
Since I don't feel like changing 40 web pages, for the
rest of
the article
and in
the photograph section I'll continue to call this ski resort
Big Mountain...not Whitefish Mountain, if only because
I'll always think of the place as "Big Mountain" (aptly
named), not Whitefish Mountain (boring name).
Changes on Big Mountain : The Good and Bad
The
concentration on building all this housing, condominium
complexes and redoing the whole village area is both good
and bad. From a local skier’s perspective, few locals
really like it. On weekends, Big Mountain now resembles a
typical eastern ski area – with lift lines on the main
chair frequently exceeding 20 minutes or more.
The
cost to ski at Big Mountain has also ballooned up – with
lift ticket prices now bumping the $50 mark for a full day
adult lift ticket. And as far as parking goes, well, have
fun. Much of the once voluminous parking that was available
on the mountain is now gone in favor of building projects
of one kind of another. As such, parking on the Big Mountain,
especially on the weekends or during the holidays, is a REAL
pain. So painful, in fact, that I really don’t bother
to ski up there on the weekends anymore.
OK.
That is some of the bad that goes with the direction the
Big Mountain Ski Area has been going in their course
of development. There
is, of course, some good. As part of
this whole expansion, Big Mountain has installed three high
speed quads which have dramatically cut the trip time from
the bottom of the mountain to the top. Some additional terrain
has also been opened – with more terrain, theoretically,
slated to open in the near future (I’ve been hearing
about this for years but it hasn’t happened yet). And,
for people with money, Big Mountain now offers many more
ways to spend it off the slopes than before the building
boom on the mountain occurred.
 |
| Skiing
into the Clouds at Big Mountain Ski Area |
So,
in a nutshell, these are some of the changes occurring
on Big Mountain. Basically, Big Mountain has undertaken
the
task of becoming the next “Vail” of Montana – following
the lead of Big Sky Ski Resort. I personally don’t
care for this direction – but so far it seems to be
working for the mountain financially. While Big Mountain
is losing local skiers (including myself) to the much more
affordable and “local friendly” Blacktail Ski
Area and other nearby ski areas, they do seem to be making
this loss up (judging by the length of the lift lines) by
attracting out
of state
skiers – virtually
all of whom have way more money to spend than local Flathead
Valley residents.
But,
enough about these changes going on at Big Mountain. It’s
depressing to write about. What really matters, ultimately,
is the skiing. And, for now at least, Big Mountain
can have some absolutely fabulous skiing.
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