Deep snow marks Whitefish Mountain Resort season opener

Dec. 9—The powder was deep and the stoke was high as Whitefish Mountain resort kicked off its 75th anniversary ski season Thursday.

The snow stake on Big Mountain's summit indicated a settled base of 54 inches on opening day, a marked improvement over last year at this time, when the resort had to delay opening by two days. Even then, some of the mountain was bare, according to resort spokesperson Chad Sokol.

Skiers are optimistic that the ample snow is a sign of a good season to come, for experienced and new skiers alike. Off piste, the deep snow was a pleasant surprise so early in the winter.

For young skier Brenden Schauerhamer, it was the best snow he'd seen in his five years on the slopes.

"The powder is great, the best since I've started skiing," Schauerhamer said.

Schauerhamer and his family recently moved from Colorado, and his mother is glad to have a quality ski resort with lots of gladed areas so close to their Kalispell home.

"We're hoping to get up here two or three times a week," said Kat DuHadway. "We used to have to drive three hours to get [to the resort].

"I'm ready to hit the trees on the backside," said Colton Byrd as he waited for some buddies at the bottom of Chair 1. "I missed the powder over the summer."

Byrd, of Columbia Falls, has been skiing Big Mountain for 20 years, and is excited to see the changes that the new Chair 4, The Snowghost Express, will bring.

The high-speed six person lift will access Inspiration Ridge directly from the Base Lodge area, and should help shorten lift lines that can form on busy days. From the Base Lodge, Chair 6 is currently the only way to get to Chair 1, which accesses the summit and most of the resort's terrain.

"[The new chairlift] should open the mountain a lot and take the stress off of Chair 6," said Byrd.

The lift, which the resort originally hoped would be operational to kick off the season, still may be a couple weeks away.

"While we hit a few supply chain snags during the construction process, we're aiming to open the new lift before Christmas," said Sokol in a statement. "The haul rope has been spliced and tensioned, and next we'll hang all 89 of the six-seat carriers."

Lift manufacturer Leitner-Poma is scheduled to do load testing on the lift the week of Dec. 19, according to Sokol.

Although some things are transforming, Whitefish local Alex Maetzold doesn't expect the atmosphere at the mountain he grew up skiing to change.

Maetzold, whose family owns the Buffalo Cafe in downtown Whitefish, had to deal with a few work responsibilities before he could get to the best part of the day, the skiing.

"Things change here," Maetzold said, referring to growth at the resort and in Whitefish. "but the mountain stays the same."

The mountain is working on a few events to celebrate their 75th anniversary, and Sokol says details will be added to their website's event page as more information becomes available. There will also be monthly trivia events on the third Thursday of Jan., Feb, and March at Ed and Mully's.

Reporter Adrian Knowler can be reached at 758-4407 or aknowler@dailyinterlake.com