If you’ve been praying for snow, pray harder.
On Friday, Whitefish Mountain Resort will open for its 72nd season with seven lifts running and 13 runs, mostly on the backside of the mountain, available to skiers and snowboarders. Some beginner runs will also be open near the Base Lodge.
Skiers and riders will have to ride Chair 1 to get to the backside terrain and then download at the end of the day. Chairs 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, T-Bar 2 and the Big Easy Carpet will be running.
While the summit has received three feet of snow in the last month, the resort has had to rely on snow machines at lower elevations.
“Opening Day has arrived and once again we are very excited,” said CEO Dan Graves. “Thanks to a cold November our terrific snowmaking crews worked around the clock to open terrain in time for this Friday.”
On Thursday, the resort announced that it was also closing the mountain to uphill skiing until more snow arrives.
Due to the limited terrain, ticket prices have been reduced. The price of a daily ticket will be reduced to $65 for adults ages 19-64, $60 for teens ages 13-18 and seniors ages 65-69, $36 for juniors ages 7-12, $25 for super seniors 70 and older. Children 6 and under will ski for free.
Chair 6 will open at 8:45 a.m., Chair 3 and the Big Easy Carpet open at 9 a.m., and Chair 1 will open for access to the north side of the mountain at 9:30 a.m. In the Base Area, the Chipmunk run will be open for beginners and provide guests a way back to the Base Lodge.
Chair 7 will open at 9:45 and open runs in the area include: Caribou, Goat Haunt, Silvertip and Whitetail. Bigfoot T-Bar 2 also will open at 9:45 a.m. with access to Lynx, Lodi Ridge and Trapper’s Trail.
Chair 5 will open at 9:45 a.m. All terrain in the North Bowl, including Moe Mentum, and runs below Chair 5 will be closed.
Downloading on Chair 1 will be available throughout the day. Due to weight-load requirements passengers will be loaded every third chair on the way down. T-Bar 2 will close at 3:00 p.m., Chair 5 will close at 3:00 p.m. and Chair 7 will close at 3:30 p.m. Chair 6 will close at 4:30 p.m.
Skiers and riders are reminded that early season conditions will be prevalent.
“We’d like to remind everyone to ski and ride with care, within their ability levels, and remember early season conditions exist, unmarked obstacles and other natural terrain features may be encountered at any time,” said Keagan Zoellner, Whitefish Mountain Resort ski patrol manager. “Skiers and riders need to respect all closures and safety signage. It’s a long season and we want you to enjoy every day, please do not enter closed trails. Season pass holders who enter inbounds closures risk losing their pass privileges and persons leaving the resort boundary are reminded that you are on your own.”
For the latest information, visit skiwhitefish.com.