Just over two weeks before opening day, snow continues to cover Whitefish Mountain Resort and employees are preparing for what looks like another good upcoming winter.
With a La Niña winter being forecast for the second year in a row, the 2011-2012 season is scheduled to start on Big Mountain on Dec. 3. La Niña, a cold, wet winter storm system, delivered near-record snowfall on the mountain last winter, with about 34 feet, or 400 inches, of total snowfall. That translated to the most visitors ever.
“We’re excited that it’s another La Niña,” Whitefish Mountain Resort spokesperson Riley Polumbus said. “I think we have another good year ahead of us.”
Blacktail Mountain in Lakeside also enjoyed a busy winter last year, with a roughly 20 percent increase in visits and “powder days pretty much every day.”
“Snow brings the people,” Blacktail general manager Steve Spencer said. “We’re gearing up for this season and hopefully it will be another good one.”
Blacktail, entering its 14th year, does not have a set opening day, but usually opens the first or second week of December, Spencer said.
The main chairlift at Whitefish Mountain Resort, the Big Mountain Express, or Chair 1, is back up and running after being closed all summer because of construction work. A new concrete foundation was poured at tower six this fall after employees found the tower had shifted out of place in June.
The most noticeable change this season, besides season pass holders finding their ages listed on their passes, is the addition of the Bad Rock chairlift. The three-seat chairlift is 1,627 feet long and will run daily from the base lodge to above Russell’s Street.
The mountain’s team of groomers also has a new machine to work with this year. A seventh grooming machine was purchased as a backup from Deer Valley outside Salt Lake City, Utah. In the annual “Top 10” issue of SKI Magazine, the Big Mountain groomers were named the 10th best by readers. The magazine also highlighted the mountain’s scenery as one of the best in the nation.
During the peak winter season, almost 500 people are employed at Whitefish Mountain Resort, according to Polumbus. Blacktail Mountain employs about 100 people, Spencer said.
In spite of Chair 1 being closed on Big Mountain, it was still one of the busiest summers on record, Polumbus said.
The zip lines, which opened in 2009, had the most use ever this summer. The resort plans to continue expanding with another line next year. The resort is also planning to expand mountain biking trails.
Whitefish Mountain Resort has been ahead of the curve when it comes to summer recreation on a public land ski mountain. The resort, which is two-thirds U.S. Forest Service land, has already received permission for summer activities, like mountain biking, and combines that with the use of private land for activities like zip lining.
A new law, the Ski Area Recreational Opportunity Enhancement Act of 2011, was signed on Nov. 7 and will allow ski areas on Forest Service land to do the same and add year-around activities as a way to boost revenue. Previously the National Forest Ski Area Permit Act of 1986 only allowed Nordic or alpine skiing on Forest Service land, unless the ski area underwent a stringent permitting process. The new law allows for other snow sports to be permitted along with summer activities like zip lines, mountain bike terrain parks and trails, Frisbee golf courses and rope courses. Ski areas will still need to have activities approved before a permit is issued.
“Down the line it could help us with future expansion, especially with mountain biking,” Polumbus said.
“It behooves us to create a really cool atmosphere at the ski area to attract more people to spend more time up here.”
Blacktail Mountain has already been permitted to include summer recreating, but Spencer said there are no plans as of yet.
“We need to figure out what it would be to make it profitable,” he said.
As far as expanding winter operations, Big Mountain could see more changes in chairlifts in the coming years. The resort has also been approved by the Forest Service to move two chairs around in the future, Polumbus said. There is a plan to move Chair 5 to the East Rim and extend Chair 4 up to Inspiration. The resort has not set a date for these changes, Polumbus said.
“Moving a chair out to a more remote area, it’s a tricky thing to do,” she said.