Tips and Trivia

Miscellaneous

The Resort maintains an excellent website. This is not an attempt to duplicate the information that can be found there.

Current topics:

The Name of the Resort

There is a lot of confusion about the name of the resort. Formerly known as either "The Big Mountain" or "Big Mountain" there was a lot of confusion with the other large ski area in the state known as Big Sky. In 2007, the name of the resort was changed to "Whitefish Mountain Resort", NOT "Whitefish Mountain". The mountain itself is still "Big Mountain". This is covered on their website, but many resources seem to have a problem with this concept.

Skier Visits

The resort record of skier visits is 346,547 for the 16-17 season (45% were passholders). That is total skier visits, which includes season passes (just over 8,000 in the 2016-17 season). The busiest day on record was 8,601 skiers, on December 30, 2016. The average day is 2,800, or less than one skier per acre. This is much lower than most nationally-known resorts. The first year they were open, 1947, they had 38,000 skier visits.

Locals make up roughly half the visitors, with the majority of the rest coming from elsewhere in Montana, Alberta, Washington, Saskatchewan and Minnesota.

Vertical Drop

There is a difference of opinion about the actual vertical drop of the mountain. The resort apparently measures from the top of Radio Tower (which you have to hike up to) down to the parking level in front of the base lodge and gets 2353 feet out of that. Mountain Vertical measures the "commonly skied" drop from the Summit House down to the hill-facing side of the base lodge and gets 2305 feet. A check of Google Earth backs up the latter assertion.

Cheap Tickets

Assuming you weren't smart enough to buy an early season pass or the Frequent Skier's Card (purchased before Dec. 1 for $50, allows you to buy tickets for $46 per day), there may still be deals available. This year, Costco in Kalispell has tickets 2 for $107.99. Sometimes retailers such as Bob Ward and REI have tickets, but I haven't been able to find information about this lately.

If you are booking in advance, Liftopia sometimes has deals as low as $45 a day. Unlike the Costco, Bob Ward's and REI deals, however, they are for specific dates.

Skiing the Trees

Okay, you've read about our fog. You decide, if you're a strong skier, that you want to get in those sight-saving trees. Where to start? In my opinion, the key ingredients in ranking some of these areas is 1) ability to call it quits and leave the area, 2) tightness of trees, 3) steepness of slope, 4) how likely it is that someone will see you ("visibility") if you are in trouble, and 5) need for a responsible buddy to keep an eye on you. Given all that, here is the order I would start dabbling:

Trail or Area	Get Me OUT OF HERE!	Tree Density	Pitch	Visibility
Tree Farms	The trees on either side of the gorge are easy to exit if you stay out of the gorge.	The trees on either side of the gorge are usually the most open. Density decreases as the season advances due to the smaller trees disappearing beneath the snow. Consequently, the difficulty is much higher at the beginning of the season.	Mild	People can easily see injured skiers from the lifts, except for the larger trees west of Hidden Meadow and below the road.
Good Med East Rim Face Elkweed Big Timber	Exit skier's right OR left in Good Med to get to Big Ravine or Toni Matt. Exit skier's right on East Rim Face to get to Moe-mentum. On Elkweed you can traverse to Hogan's East, a blue square. On Big Timber, you can traverse to skier's right and return to Ridge Run, or left to Outside Road.	Good Med is mostly open, although there are tighter trees on the sides. East Rim Face is more the further you proceed along the traverse and the pitch is longer. Dropping in early for better snow limits your visibility quite a bit. Elkweed was recently opened up in terms of tree density. Big Timber has larger, mostly widely-spaced trees.	Good Med becomes steeper the further you descend. The last section is also more likely to be bumped up. However, it is easy to exit by traversing out. East Rim Face has a moderate, consistent pitch. Elkweed has varying pitches and easy access to Hogan's East. Big Timber is divided into two sections. The upper section above the road which traverses it is largely gentle terrain, although an entry closer to Outside Road will result in a somewhat steeper pitch. The lower section is more steeply pitched, but not bad.	For those who want to be found but not avidly observed by bored skiers riding the chair,Good Med and East Rim Face provide visibility without the feeling you are being scored. Elkweed has been thinned in the last few seasons, so gets a good amount of traffic. However, you cannot be seen from other runs or a lift. Big Timber CAN be an issue in terms of being found. It is fairly large, and cannot be seen from a chairlift. I would recommend a buddy.
Big Face Hogan's Trees	Exit skier's right by a long traverse at any time in any of these areas.	Big Face is quite open. Hogan's Trees is denser.	Varies from moderate to steep. Hogan's Trees has a more moderate pitch.	Big Face is highly visible from the chair. Hogan;s Trees might be a good area to have a buddy as the lower central section is a good ways from either Inspo or Hogan's.
Lynx Trees	Skier's left traverse takes you to the Lynx Trail	Fairly open in general with the ability to ski from one open area to another. HOWEVER, there were TWO tree well fatalities in 10-11. SKI WITH A BUDDY. This area is surprisingly large for its vertical drop.	Not as gentle as the Tree Farms, but more gentle than the areas in the above section. This area is listed after the above section largely because of the tree well and popularity issue.	Larger area than one would think, skier density is usually very light in here. Skiing WITH a buddy (not behind someone who is more worried about his line than you) is a must.
Lee's Way Elephant's Graveyard Stumptown Trees close to Goat Haunt	Traverse out of Lee's and Stumptown skier's left. Out of Elephant's skier's right.	Fairly open except for Stumptown, which varies.	Fairly steep except for the trees off Goat Haunt. The trees in that area are tighter, however, compensating in difficulty for the decreased pitch.	Elephant's gets a fair amount of traffic and people can see an injured skier from above. Lee's is not quite as visible, but it's pretty short. Stumptown close to Goat Haunt gets a lot of traffic. However, if you traverse in quite a bit, this traffic drops a lot and you should bring a buddy.
Glory Hole Sling Shot/Apron Evan's Heaven Gray's Golf Course	Glory Hole has no easy exit, once you are in, you are in. Gray's you can traverse skier's left to Glory Hole. Evan's you can traverse skier's left to Russ's. Sling Shot you can traverse to more open terrain via the Apron under Picture Chutes.	Varies depending on where you are on the hill. All are fairly open except for the bottom of Gray's.	Fairly steep, except for the gorge part of Glory Hole where the main issue is conditions rather than pitch.	Evan's has a lower level of traffic than the others, but all should be avoided when skiing alone at the end of the day.
Hollywood Powder Trap North Bowl Face Black Bear Trees	All can be traversed out of onto other areas, but the surrounding areas are steep.	Fairly open.	Steep	Hollywood and North Bowl Face have good visibility. Powder Trap is not bad. Black Bear Trees depends on where you are on the slope.
Space Schmidt's Chute	Can traverse to Elephant's Graveyard and eventually to No Name by heading right. Schmidt's you can traverse to North Bowl Face.	Fairly open, except for the skier's right area of Space.	Steep. Watch out for cliffs in Space.	Gets less traffic than Elephant's, fewer people just standing looking down the slope. Schmidt's the tree density in some sections and pitch make it advisable to have a buddy.
Langley Trees/Friends of Langley Movieland	On the Langley runs, can traverse either direction onto more open, but steep terrain. In Movieland you can traverse to Elkweed or continue to Hogan's East, a blue square.	Tighter trees than above.	Moderately steep.	Take a buddy. Parts of Langley are visible, but there is not a lot of traffic. Same with Movieland. More people ski the steeper but more wide open Haskill Slide than ski Movieland.
Playground	Traverse skier's right to Gray Wolf.	Density varies from moderately tight to open to quite tight depending on your route.	Steepness varies. Some of the steep sections can be quite densely treed.	Definitely take a buddy into Playground.
Connie's Coulee Sandi's Woodlot Stumptown from T-Bar (upper section) The Nose	Connie's you can take a long traverse skier's right around the bowl. If you're lucky you'll be in the bottom of the bowl when you're done. Sandi's head skier's left onto Big Ravine. Woodlot, you're pretty much stuck for a good part of it, then skier's left to Big Ravine. Heading down Stumptown you're pretty much stuck. The Nose you're pretty much stuck.	Fairly dense trees except for the Nose.	Steep.	Take a buddy on all except The Nose if you are not familiar with the terrain. Upper Stumptown always take a buddy.
Don's Descent First Creek Super Mario Back Nine Teepee (Area 51) Picture Chutes	All of these, you're pretty committed.	Dense trees for all except Picture Chutes and Super Mario.	Steep and steeper	Take a buddy on all of these.

If something is missing from the above, I either decided there were not enough trees or it just hasn't occurred to me yet.

Tree Wells

Many of the areas discussed on this site are rarely patrolled. Skiers should be aware that tree wells have caused the death of a number of skiers throughout the years, most recently TWO in the 2013-14 season. Sometimes tree wells are obvious, but many times the well is filled in with lightly-packed snow relative to the snow surrounding the well. Skiers should read Tree Well and Deep Snow Safety in its entirety AND only go into these un-patrolled areas with a friend who is going to stay within view of you the entire time. Friends meeting you back at the lift are of NO USE. Think how long you can hold your breath. That is how long you have until your friends can get to you!! Do NOT rely on your cell phone working as coverage is spotty in some areas of the resort. A good video showing how long it takes, with people AROUND, to get someone out of a tree well is here. A small amount of safety can be added by wearing a high-powered whistle, but it is amazing how well trees and snow absorb sound, so don't rely on the whistle either. (If you want sound to carry, you could pack an airhorn. LOL!) The reliable buddy is the best safety system.

Obvious tree well in Window Pane. Not all are this obvious.

Ski Patrol

The most important thing to know about the Big Mountain Ski Patrol is, of course, their phone number. Program it into your cell phone now: 406-862-2940. There are also phones at the top and bottom of each lift that can be used to call Ski Patrol. In addition, there are "manned" huts at the top of Chair One and the top of Chair Two. Finally, the clinic in the base area, run by North Valley Hospital, is located by the base of the Easy Rider chair.

Ski Patrol also offers avalanche training classes and has a website where you can contact them.

Ambassador Program

One of the great things available FOR FREE every day is the tour of the mountain given by the Ambassadors. If you don't choose to ski with Sibhusky, this is the way to go. This program, geared towards anyone who can ski the intermediate trails, starts every day at the bottom or the top of Chair One. The Ambassadors have new coats this season. They are the guys in the yellow coats in this picture.

Tours are at 10:30 AM or 1:30 PM. Unless you are with a large group, just show up. The Ambassadors try and keep groups small and at the same ski level. They can point out secret powder stashes, etc., as well as give you information on rest room locations, lunch spots. etc. Well worth the time, especially if the visibility is bad. More on this program can be found here. Feel free to stop and ask an Ambassador a question at any time. Their jackets have large "i's" on the back.

Snow Bus

Can't decide whether to stay in town or at the Resort? Worried about driving after those apres ski libations? Well, check out the Snow Bus. This FREE service runs between the resort and town from before the lifts open until after they close and is a great choice for those with a watch. Here is this year's schedule.

Be aware that this bus does NOT run as regularly as some resorts, so you don't want to miss it. The bus stops at two different places on the mountain and at various places downtown. In addition, a number of the larger local lodging facilities run their own shuttles to and from the mountain. From most properties you can either use the Snow bus or the private lodging shuttles to get the experience of both the resort and the town without parking headaches.

Uphill Policy

Whitefish is one of the few ski areas still in existence that allows uphill travel. However, in recent years there have been problems and in the 09-10 season restrictions were put in place. Please read about the current policy on the mountain's site. Keep strictly to the marked routes and you'll ensure this privilege is there for future skiers. Please note that just because you used a route in the past does NOT mean that route is currently permitted!

Cell Phone Coverage

Cell phone coverage is spotty around the resort. As can be seen from the maps at this website, only AT+T and Verizon have towers close to the resort and all those towers are south and west of the resort. Consequently there is no reception (at least on Verizon) on the back side BELOW the level where Caribou crosses under the chairlift. There is also limited reception the lower you descend into Hellroaring Basin. Since these are the main "tree skiing" areas, it emphasizes how important it is not to rely on your cell phone in emergencies in those areas.

PLEASE NOTE: It is illegal to use a hand held cell phone in the city limits of Whitefish. There is a $100 fine and it is a "primary offense" (they can pull you over for it). Hands free use is okay.

Snowcat Tours

The resort has teamed up with Great Northern Powder Guides to offer backcountry adventures away from the resort.

Telemark Skiing

One of the things about Whitefish that distinguishes us from many other resorts (other than the fog) is the high ratio of telemark skiers. A glance at the resort's videos inevitably has a huge number of tele skiers and you can get tele lessons here as well. The resort has hosted many regional, national, and even international tele races over the last few years.

Reading

Here are some links to interesting books about the history of the town and the resort. I was amazed to see how difficult they are to find now.

Chair One: Hi-jinx and hilarity during the early years on the Big Mountain - Norm Kurtz
Hellroaring: Fifty Years on The Big Mountain - Jean Arthur
Stump Town to Ski Town: the Story of Whitefish, Montana - Betty Schafer and Mable Engelter
Whitefish - Montana's North Star - Stumptown Historical Society

And a great book on Montana's early skiing years

Downhill in Montana - Stan Cohen

And finally, a local blogger's guide to Big Mountain:

Big Mountain Overview

Those looking to move here might want to read the local newspapers to get a feel for "what's important" to locals (clearly not national news!):

Future Projects

Here are the ones that I am aware of:

East Rim Lift/Extension of Chair 4 Projects. This summer, the resort moved Chair 5 to a new location. to improve the lift system and better use those resources. In the past, Chairs 4 and 5 were only run during busy holiday periods. The move of Chair 5 would eliminate the need for those skiing East Rim and Evan's to return to a chair without taking the long traverse, Russ's Street, back to the bottom. Although it sounds nice, it will significantly up the traffic in these areas, meaning less freshies for many of us. This is an area of only 200 acres. There will also now be no backup if Chair 1 is out of service. Below is a map of the move. This map may give the illusion that you can get from the top of this lift to the Summit House. You will not be able to do that, so lapping No Name or Elephants will not be possible without a return to Chair 1.
A further project related to moving Chair 4 to terminate up near No Name, also pictured, seems to be on hold for now. :

The Bierstube was remodeled summer of 2017 with a new exterior covered deck, along with other improvements.
There is a proposal in the works is to tear down Ed and Mully's and put in a new slopeside lodge. They are still looking for people who are interested in the project before it actually goes forward. More on that here and here. The name of the project is Snowghost Lodge. Not much has been heard about this lately. It may be a dead project, since they spent a lot of money this summer (2017) remodeling the exterior.
Rumors starting circulating this winter about a move of Chair 8 (Hellroaring Basin) to begin from higher up (at Grand Junction, leaving off the "road rally" section of the Hellfire runout) and terminate at the summit, rather than at the top of Chair 2. There is also said to that there will be some glading of the treed area between the top of Chair Two and the new base of Chair 8.

Multi-Trail Routes

There are a couple of routes down the mountain that are not "marked" on the map, yet referred to by locals almost as if they are trails. In fact, they are a SERIES of trails put together into one "run". As I think of them, they will be added here.

Around the World: Goes down the front and around over to the Chair Two area. Big Ravine - Interstate - Hellroaring (could actually take various routes for the last leg, i.e., Ed's Run, Mully's, Nice Day, Heaven, etc.). If the last swoop encompasses Home Again through the lodging properties, I call it Around the Real Estate or Around the Universe, but that's just me.
Ursa Major: This is mentioned strictly in regard to racing. The historic Doug Smith race and the NorAms followed this route. Ptarmigan Bowl - Bench Run - Corkscrew

Google Earth File

If you want to view things in 3D, here is a Google Earth file. I am making some revisions to it, but it's a good start for now. Clicking on a line should give you a link to the relevant page in most cases. PLEASE NOTE: The touch screen on Android tablets DOES NOT seem to pop up the correct trail name. Something to do with the screen size, I believe. Will try to work on that.

Lodging

First, let's remember, Sibhusky LIVES here. I don't VISIT. So, I don't know too much about local lodging. However, here are some links. For reviews, use Trip Advisor or Yelp.

Explore Whitefish's list of lodging properties.
A new hostel that just opened.
Three Bed and Breakfasts:

Breweries

Montana also has a great craft and small brewery scene. For a map, here is a link, but it is not complete. There is also a map that includes local wineries and distilleries.

Local brewers:

Whitefish

Columbia Falls:

Backslope Brewing

Bigfork

Flathead Lake Brewing

Kalispell

Kalispell Brewing
Copperwood Brewing (coming in 2018)

Eureka

Homestead Ales

Lakeside

Tamarack Brewing

Polson

Glacier Brewing

Libby

Cabinet Mountain Brewing Co.

Missoula

Return to Top

Orientation Back Side Area North Bowl Area Hellroaring Basin Chair Two Area Chair One Area Learning Zone Tips and Trivia Weather and Climate Skier's Code About Site Map

All content and photos aside from the trail maps and the odd, attributed photo from friends are copyright Sibhusky 2011 - 2017
Issues with the contents should be PM'd to me on PugSki. You need to be a member to do this. This is to prevent me being inundated with spam.