With heavy snow and frigid temperatures in the preceding weeks, skiers and snowboarders can expect to descend more early-season terrain than usual when Whitefish Mountain Resort commences the 2010-2011 season on Dec. 4.
“I think that we’re going to be able to open more on opening day than we have in a long time,” Donnie Clapp, spokesman for the resort, said.
Some areas of the resort have undergone minor changes, but unlike recent years unveiling new lifts and new lodges, skiing on Big Mountain will be consistent with last season, though likely with more snow. U.S. Forest Service crews did some tree thinning over the summer in the Connie’s Couloir area of Hellroaring Basin. Though the thinning was aimed at improving access for rescue and maintenance work, it could open up some new lines along the slope.
Crews also cut a slope from the base lodge to above Russ’s Street, to skier’s right of Badrock, in preparation for a new lift, scheduled for construction next summer, intended as an alternate way to move skiers from the bottom of the mountain on busy days. The resulting run is steep, crosses two road-cuts and, according to Clapp, “doesn’t have a good fall line.”
“I would encourage people to be careful and just scout it out,” he added.
The new lift will take skiers up from the base lodge, depositing them where they can ski to the upper village or the Chair 1 area.
“We’d like to sort of eliminate that bottleneck there at the base lodge and that’s what this lift is for,” Clapp said.
The new lift is part of a longer-term goal of reconfiguring some existing lifts to improve the flow of skiers across the mountain. Other plans include extending Chair 4 to the top of Inspiration ridge and relocating Chair 5 to the bottom of MoeMentum to the top of the East Rim area.
“It would enable skiing the East Rim and North Bowl areas without having to ski all the way down to Chair 1,” Clapp said. “We have a goal of increasing our visitation incrementally, but we want to make sure that we can do that without turning it into a crowded-feeling resort.”
He also noted that the new uphill travel policy has been working well so far for resort staff and climbers: “It’s been really great to know that we’re providing a valuable recreational experience for so many people without any problems.”