Whitefish Mountain Resort closed out its winter April 7 with another banner year, setting a new record for skier visits for the third consecutive season.
With 384,800 total skier visits, the ski resort on Big Mountain beat its previous record set during the 2017-18 season by nearly 3,000 total skier visits.
This year also marked a record for preseason winter season pass sales, breaking 10,000 passes for the first time.
“We are very thankful for the steady growth we’ve experienced these past several years,” Whitefish Mountain Resort CEO Dan Graves said. “Our independence allows us to focus on providing a friendly, easy-going experience for our dedicated community of season pass holders, our loyal returning out-of-town visitors and our first-time guests. Our everyday goal is to maintain affordability as well as exceptional hospitality.”
In addition to skier visits, Whitefish Mountain Resort’s Ski and Ride School set a new record in the number of adult “Learn to Ski and Ride” lessons sold. Additionally it continued its trend of increasing enrollment for seasonal kids’ programs.
Season pass holders skied more than ever before in the 2018/19 season, surpassing last year’s total by 39,266,557 vertical feet and setting a new record of 2,138,100,034 feet. This marks only the second time reaching the milestone of two billion vertical feet.
Local residents make up roughly half of the skiing population at Whitefish Mountain Resort, Graves said.
The record-setting season was notable in that it boasted a reduced snowpack compared to 2017-18’s 410 inches of snowfall, the resort’s second best snowfall in 21 7ears, and a winter characterized by bitter cold snaps.
The 2017-18 season also marked the ski area’s 70th anniversary, which drew considerable fanfare and attendance.
Whitefish Mountain Resort’s 2018-19 season ran Dec. 6, 2018 through April 7, 2019.