As the temperatures dip and the mountain peaks are dusted with the first snow of the season, skiers and riders around Northwest Montana begin to dream the about winter upon us. But a small group of volunteers are eagerly looking to the past as they set up the Flathead Valley Skiing Heritage Center.
The Flathead Valley Ski Education Foundation is spearheading the effort to establish a ski museum in Whitefish and hope begin to remodel their building, located along Wisconsin Avenue, this winter.
“Starting a museum takes a lot of work and you can’t just decide to start one and then open the doors a week later,” said foundation executive director Tim Hinderman.
Efforts to establish a ski museum in Whitefish started in 2013 when the city leased an old wood cabin to the foundation. While the plans to form a museum are relatively new, the foundation itself was first formed in the 1970s when local high schools dropped skiing as a sport. Today, the foundation’s primary goal is to run ski races up on Big Mountain.
Hinderman said once the building is remodeled they hope to set up a few exhibits inside, including ones that focus on the early days of Big Mountain and the 10th Mountain Division. Although the ski resort on Big Mountain didn’t open until 1947, Hinderman said locals began skiing there in the 1930s and organized the Hellroaring Ski Club to build a small cabin near where Chair 3 is today. They also built a rope tow to get skiers up the hill.
Since announcing plans for the ski museum, volunteers have been conducting interviews with old-timers who remember the early days on the mountain and Hinderman said those would play a big part in the museum. He said it’s especially important to get those stories recorded now while those locals are still alive.
The group has not yet started gathering artifacts, in part because they don’t have a place to put them. However, the group hopes to have a storage unit soon so they can start storing items.
“Up to this point people would call offering us their granddaddy’s old skies but we’ve had to tell them to hold on to it until we’re ready,” he said.
Last year, the group put on the first ski heritage days on Big Mountain, which included old-time ski races. They are already gearing up for the 2015 event, to be held from March 13 to 15.
“The event gives us a chance to bring some attention to the ski heritage center and have some fun,” he said.
For more information visit www.fvsef.org.