In the winter of 1933, Lloyd Muldown and his friend Ole Dalen trudged up the forested mountain that towered over the northern horizon of Whitefish. The mountain rose from the lakeshores above the valley to an elevation of nearly 7,000 feet. Tucked in an alpine range, the terrain was perfectly situated to gather mounds of snow.
It was then, 80 years ago, that the local high school teacher and avid outdoorsman known as “Mully” strapped on a pair of skis and plunged downhill, touring through an unmapped labyrinth of powder.
It marked a seminal moment: the first downhill ski descent on record at that landmark site, which Muldown began calling, “The Big Mountain.”
As it turned out, that single achievement sparked a series of events that transformed the mountain and its surrounding community into a ski haven and winter destination.
This week the new Flathead Valley Skiing Heritage Center in Whitefish is honoring five pioneers and advocates like Muldown who made skiing part of the community’s ethos. Muldown, Ed Schenck, Toni Matt, Martin Hale and Oystein Boveng will be the first class inducted into the center’s hall of fame on Nov. 22 at The Lodge at Whitefish Lake.
The event begins at 6:30 p.m. Hale, who lives in Whitefish, and Boveng, of Kalispell, are expected to attend along with family members of Muldown, Schenck and Matt, according to organizers.
“We are very excited to be naming this inaugural class into our Hall of Fame,” said Tim Hinderman, executive director at the Flathead Valley Ski Foundation, which developed the new heritage center as a museum this summer.
“What great representatives of skiing in the Flathead. Talk about five people that shaped the sport of skiing for our area.”
The ski foundation, which formed in 1973 to assist in the organization and funding of youth skiing, has been focused on creating a museum and hall of fame in the FVSEF facilities on Wisconsin Avenue. Members have begun collecting old photos, equipment and other memorabilia for design exhibits that pay homage to the sport’s roots.
The group envisions a gathering place for locals and visitors to learn about the rich and colorful history of skiing in the region.
Indeed, there’s quite a backstory.
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All photos courtesy photos |
Muldown returned from his successful descent and increasingly spread his passion for skiing across the valley. He helped form a new ski club and held public presentations, describing the thrill of his downhill adventures. Pretty soon he was joined by groups of local enthusiasts hiking up “The Big Mountain.”
After awhile the same old run didn’t quite satisfy anymore, so the local skiers obtained a Forest Service permit to clear slopes and trails in the Hellroaring Creek area of Big Mountain. A rustic rope tow was installed.
By this time, in the late 1930s, the first formally developed downhill ski areas had begun popping up across Montana. Showdown opened outside of Helena and the Beef Trail in Butte.
Skiing was increasingly a popular pastime across the valley, and local business leaders saw an opportunity to breathe life into the economy during the quiet winter months. In the late 1940s, a group of residents, including Muldown, attracted two out-of-town businessmen, Ed Schenck and George Prentice, to visit.
The two men from Great Falls bought into the grand vision of an established ski resort near Whitefish. They had $20,000 of their own money to invest and raised another $40,000 in pledges. On March 31, 1947, they formed Winter Sports, Inc., as the resort’s managing company.
Barely a year after breaking ground, on Dec. 14, 1947, the Big Mountain ski resort opened. With a $2 lift ticket, skiers could ride a gas-powered T-Bar lift that had 39 carrying units. The lift, considered the longest in Montana at the time, traveled 3,200 feet up a strip of terrain that was cleared of timber and brush to the top of “Muldown’s Mound.”
Schenck stayed on as Big Mountain’s boss and grew the resort into the largest and busiest in the state. Roughly 170,000 skiers schussed down the slopes each winter in the 1970s. Its popularity and prominence grew — Sports Illustrated featured the resort on its Dec. 3 cover in 1962.
Toni Matt, a world-class ski racer who won national championships in 1939 and 1941, was recruited to design the resort’s downhill courses. The U.S. Ski Hall of Famer loved the Whitefish resort enough that he stayed on as the ski school director.
Oystein Boveng’s family moved to the Flathead in 1947 when he was in high school and he immediately began skiing at Big Mountain. He became a member of his school’s ski team and went on to race in college. After returning to the Flathead Valley, he became a member of Whitefish Lake Ski Club and a charter member of Kalispell Ski Club.
Like Muldown, Boveng became a constant promoter of skiing, joining the Big Mountain volunteer ski patrol and organizing the local Nordic and alpine junior programs.
Martin Hale grew up skiing on the Big Mountain slopes. In 1953, he won the Doug Smith Memorial race, the resort’s biggest event. In 1955, at age 17, Hale was named outstanding male skier at the National Junior Ski Championships at Big Mountain. He went on to win the national junior championship in 1955. He had Olympic aspirations until he broke his back in a training run at Sun Valley. He returned home and ran the ski school and ski shop at Big Mountain from 1953-56.
Even into his 70s, Hale strapped on skis at Big Mountain and still lives in town.
Schenck retired in 1979 and stepped down as president of Winter Sports, Inc. the following year. He died in 1982.
Muldown remained active at Big Mountain and worked as a full-time ski patrol member. Even into his 80s, when he was nearly blind, Muldown was regularly seen flying down the slopes. He died in 1993.
“When you look at this list of names of ski pioneers, it’s pretty humbling to see how these guys took their vision and ideas to create this remarkable place to ski and ride against all the odds that they were confronted,” said Dan Graves, CEO of Whitefish Mountain Resort, formerly Big Mountain.
“I can only hope that they would be happy with us who go forward to carry on their legacy.”
The induction ceremony will take place Nov. 22 at the Lodge at Whitefish Lake beginning at 6:30 p.m.
For more information about the Ski Heritage Center, visit www.fvsef.org.