Bring on winter

For a while, it looked like winter was here. Then it didn't. Now it does again.

So goes the mountain weather here in Northwest Montana. The cold spell leading up to Halloween had a lot of locals talking about skiing and snowboarding. The mountains had a thin blanket of white, the air was crisp and cold, and Big Mountain was even making snow on the ski slopes in preparation for a Thanksgiving Day opener.

Then it got warm, and a huge wet front moved in from the Pacific, drenching the valleys and melting the high-mountain snow. Big Mountain's ski runs showed brown against a green background. The Swan Crest and Great Northern Mountain were likewise brown and green.

The only visible snow was on the Park's higher-elevation peaks, peeking through Bad Rock Canyon, but a lot of the new snow there had washed away in last week's historic rainstorm.

Glacier Park, which can't exactly afford any more trouble, got hit hard. Damage to the Sun Road is extensive, and one can only guess what the report will be from the Many Glacier Hotel, where a lot of money and effort has already gone into rehabilitating the 90-year-old building.

Then it got cold again — or at first, just cold-er. On the valley floor, you couldn't tell sometimes if it was raining or snowing, but when the clouds finally cleared, Big Mountain had another frosting of new snow.

By the weekend, temperatures had dropped back down to winterish levels, and the snow on the mountains clung to the trees.

Another sign of winter is the annual hanging of the city's downtown Christmas decorations. Two Flathead Electric Cooperative bucket trucks collaborated with several dozen locals stringing up garland and lighted bells across Whitefish's downtown streets.

It's a festive activity, with people smiling ear-to-ear while they slung garland over their shoulders and carried it across the busy highway. All that was missing were the Christmas carols — or an old sailor tune when four husky youths hauled on the rope that raised the garland up to the waiting lineman.

Thanksgiving is only a week away as this paper hits the stands — is it too soon to speak about Christmas? Some retail stores this year took a strategic head-start on the holiday shopping season by stocking shelves with Christmas wrapping, cards and decorations while pumpkins, goblins and black-and-orange crepe paper were on display an aisle away.

And speaking of the "holiday" season, at least one big retailer has announced plans to wish their customers "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays." Wal-Mart caught a lot of flack last year for taking the more secular route. Not all box-store chains will follow suit — Best Buy apparently is sticking with "Happy Holidays."

Here at the office, holiday season e-mails are filling the in-box. Some are fund-raisers and charities reminding everyone of the less fortunate in our communities. Some come from health groups concerned about people who gorge themselves on turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and pie. They'd rather see us eat salad, or at least go for a walk after dinner rather than crash in front of a TV football game.

At least the election season is behind us. I haven't heard anyone say they miss that.