We knew we would like Whitefish Mountain Resort before we even got to ski there. The reason was that they accepted overnight camping in their parking lot and so it felt good to feel welcome and we had the most perfect quiet spot in the back of their lot. When we woke up in the morning, we watched blue jays bounce from branch to branch out the back door. Six inches had fallen overnight with more snow on the way and so we geared up for a powder day.
Hank enjoying our temporary backyard.
While Whitefish is a relatively small-feeling resort (I say “small-feeling” because they have over 3000 acres of skiable terrain), we were so lucky to have our own personal guide for the morning. Riley knew exactly where to go and when and so she helped us understand the general flow of the mountain. The skiing was fun, don’t get me wrong, but I kept finding myself stopping and looking at the incredible views. The top of the mountain was fairly socked in but when it opened up later in the day, I definitely got caught with my jaw hitting the ground and standing when I should’ve been skiing.
I could stare at this view all day. Mid-mountain looking south.
So much terrain to look at (and ski).
The East Rim was by far one of our favorite runs. It was a bit of a shorter run, until getting on cat tracks to head back to Chair 1, but the snow was really good. Hell-roaring basin was also really fun skiing and we enjoyed heading back that way several times throughout our time at Whitefish.
Admiring the cliffs on East Rim.
Riley getting in some turns on the East Rim.
Tyson getting after it on the East Rim, looking south towards town.
While we were in awe of the views, we were definitely surprised by the climate and weather that we experienced over three days of staying and skiing there. On Wednesday, we had incredible snow in the morning but in the afternoon, we could definitely feel the 35-degree temperature was rapidly deteriorating the snow quality. We quickly learned why locals aren’t huge fans of the sun, as the sun had warmed the snow up and made it pretty difficult to ski. Finding some north facing slopes definitely helped later in the afternoon.
Blue skies against the resort’s “snow ghosts.”
Getting to the good stuff.
One thing we noticed about Whitefish is that the lift lines getting on Chair 1 were pretty long the mornings we were there. We were a little bit taken aback by this but realized it was because Chair 1 was the only lift from the front side up to the top of the mountain. Once people got on the mountain, it did not feel busy at all. In fact it felt empty and we didn’t wait in lift lines other than our first chair up Chair 1.
Looking east towards Glacier National Park, featuring a random skier.
Aside from being a really fun mountain to ski, Whitefish the town is a really cool little ski town! You can see the mountain from downtown and I just love the charming feel of town. We ate at the Bulldog Saloon where we got some really delicious burgers and wings for non-resort town prices. Northern Montana is a fun and beautiful zone to explore and with such close proximity to skiing in British Columbia, it seems like a great place to be based. We arrived to Whitefish on the 11th day of straight snowfall overnight and would continue to be there for day 12 and 13. Needless to say, Whitefish was having a great season and the locals were psyched. While it wasn’t the most amazing snow we’d ever skied (we have gotten kind of spoiled with Colorado’s cold, dry snow), it was incredible terrain with amazing views of the valley and Glacier National Park.
Clouds contrasting the snow on Chair 1.
The visibility can be quite low at the top of the mountain.
We saw all kinds of weather, from sunny skies to dark cloudy skies.
