Big Mountain celebrating 60th year

By RICHARD HANNERS / For the Hungry Horse News

When Big Mountain first opened for skiing on Dec. 14, 1947, about 6,900 skiers who showed up paid $2 for lift tickets, 25 cents for hamburgers and a few nickels for beer. They also spent a day to remember skiing at Whitefish's new resort.

The history of skiing at Big Mountain actually goes back at least to 1935 — before the mountain even had an official name — when the Hellroaring Ski Club ran a warming cabin on the mountain. Twelve years later, efforts were underway to build a ski area on the mountain overlooking Whitefish Lake.

Propelling the ski area forward for the next 33 years was Carl "Ed" Schenck, who served as Big Mountain's general manager from its early years until he retired in 1979. He stepped down as president of the Winter Sports Inc. board in 1980.

A former ski lift salesman for Great Falls-based Constam Engineering Co., Schenck led a group of four Whitefish men on a scouting trip up Big Mountain in January 1947. That night, the idea for WSI was born.

Joining Schenck from Great Falls was Ed Prentice. The two had been looking for a ski hill to set up in the Lake Tahoe area, but land was too expensive there.

After settling on Big Mountain, Schenck and Prentice put up $20,000 of their own money and convinced the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce to come up with $40,000 more. About $70,000 in stock then went on sale at $100 to $200 a share.

Chamber president Brad Seely helped the two sell stock, but after eight months, it appeared as if "the project was dead broke," the Saturday Evening Post reported. That's when Seely gathered 100 townspeople in Catron's Funeral Home, and Shirley Lincoln, of Lincoln's Cleaners, locked the doors.

By the time the meeting ended, $6,000 in stock had been sold. Rusty Abell, founder of the Whitefish Credit Union, joined the effort to promote the ski area, even loaning Whitefish Taxi Co. owner Roy Duff $500 so he could buy some stock.

Crews went up on the mountain that rainy and muddy summer to build a ski area. Prentice used a D-7 Cat to remove tamaracks and brush for the ski lodge, which was built by Schenck, Chuck Creon, George Savage, Joe Ward and others. Rocks for the fireplace were gathered by hand.

As fall rolled in, construction of the ski hill began in earnest, with employees Bob Adams, Gub Akey, Pete Ducy, Bill Hunt and Reg MacDonald digging out a path for the T-bar. Schenck and Creon spent some time tweaking the T-bar machinery the night before opening day to make sure it worked right.

By all accounts, opening day was a success, but by the end of the year, WSI recorded a loss of $3,600. Since then, however, the ski area has grown to 93 marked trails accessing 3,000 acres of terrain, with 14 lifts capable of carrying 13,800 skiers and snowboarders per hour up the mountain.

The ski area also has a new name — Whitefish Mountain Resort. Before World War II, some locals called the area Haskill Mountain. Legend has it that Mully Muldown, who avidly skied the local hill, once pointed up at it from downtown Whitefish and called it "that big mountain." For whatever reason, the name stuck.

"A lot has changed over the past 60 years, but a lot of things have also stayed the same," WSI spokesman Donny Clapp said. "Whitefish still has one of the most affordable ski tickets in the nation."

Whitefish Mountain Resort will celebrate the ski area's 60th anniversary with several kick-off events on Friday, Dec. 14, beginning with a ribbon-cutting at Chair 1 and concluding with the grand opening of Ed and Mully's Smokehouse.

The former Glacier Chaser chairlift has seen a $5.2 million equipment upgrade, including new terminals, cable and chairs, and has been renamed the Big Mountain Express.

At 2 p.m., WSI management will unveil and dedicate a monument in the skiers plaza between Chair 1 and the relocated Chair 2.

A bronze plaque honors the founders and the townspeople who dared to dream about creating a ski area on Big Mountain.

"They put more money and effort than would normally be expected of them," Clapp said.

An "all you can eat" feast at the new Ed and Mully's restaurant in the former Moguls building will begin at 2:30 p.m., with a barbecue, champagne and birthday cake for $8.

During the meal, at 3 p.m., WSI will present about half a dozen lifetime ski passes to outstanding people who were instrumental in the success of the resort over the years, Clapp said. Mike Jenson, who will be mayor of Whitefish after Jan. 1, will be the master of ceremonies.

Clapp reminds everyone that the Christmas Stroll will take place in downtown Whitefish later that evening.

The annual Pray For Snow party will take place at The Bierstube on Saturday, Dec. 15. Because of changes at the ski resort, the Birch Lot parking area is not available for the traditional bonfire. There will be no cover charge for Mountain Standard Time, the band that will begin at 7 p.m.

Valley Demo Days will take place at the Base Lodge, formerly known as the Outpost and the Day Lodge, on Sunday, Dec. 16, with ski manufacturers showing their wares.

For more information on any of these events, call Whitefish Mountain Resort at 862-2900 or visit online at info@skiwhitefish.com.