Page 18 - Flathead Living // Spring 2015

CHECKLIST
MAKE A SPLASH
Pond Skim
THE SUN-SOFTENED SNOW ON BIG MOUNTAIN
makes for ideal spring skiing as the 2014- 15 season at Whitefish Mountain Resort draws to a close. And, as recreational attention turns to warm-weather pursuits, skiers and snowboarders will have one last opportunity to combine the two.
The final weekend on the mountain
will feature the 10th Annual Pond Skim, which draws a crowd of 2,000 to 3,000 spectators as costume-clad skiers compete for cash prizes by bombing downhill and attempting to skim from one end of a pond to the other without crashing.
Historically, the crashes have been
both spectacular and frequent, and this year’s event on April 11 promises to be no different, particularly as event organizers have added new challenges and obstacles.
In the second round of the pond skim, skiers and snowboarders will have to negotiate either a jump or a limbo pole while still maintaining enough momentum to finish the skim.
“Otherwise, they swim,” said Riley Polumbus, the resort’s public relations manager.
The survivors of the second round advance to the third round, which features dangling $100 bills that competitors try to grab mid-skim. The bills are fake, and com- petitors exchange them for cash afterward.
In previous years, the event has been a war of attrition and the last skier standing won a $1,000 purse.
Learn more at www.skiwhitefish.com.
HISTORICALLY, THE CRASHES HAVE BEEN
BOTH SPECTACULAR AND FREQUENT, AND THIS
YEAR’S EVENT ON APRIL
11 PROMISES TO BE NO DIFFERENT, PARTICULARLY AS EVENT ORGANIZERS HAVE ADDED NEW CHALLENGES AND OBSTACLES.
16 FLATHEAD LIVING | SPRING 2015
PHOTO BY GREG LINDSTROM