Area peaks to open in early December

Ski and snowboard season has not quite arrived in the Flathead Valley, but enthusiasts can tell by the snow-covered peaks surrounding the area that it is just around the corner.

Big Mountain

The Whitefish Mountain Resort at Big Mountain will open, Dec. 5 for the season. A couple of years ago the management decided to set the opening day of ski season on the mountain for the first Saturday of December rather than trying to play guessing games with the weather.

In the past they have set the start of the season for Thanksgiving and had people staying at the resort for a ski vacation, but there often wasn't enough snow to open the mountain. It also caused a problem for employees, who thought they were starting work but had to hold off for a couple more weeks.

"We've decided to stick a stake in the ground and say this is when we're opening," said Donnie Clapp, Whitefish Mountain Resort's public relations manager. "Some years we'll have enough snow that we could open before that, but that's better than having no snow when we're planned to be open."

A closing date is also predetermined. This year it will be April 4.

As of Tuesday morning, Big Mountain had 25 inches of snow at the summit with more still falling from the sky. It was projected that they would begin using the snowmaking guns next week to work on covering the beginner and high traffic areas. However, they are waiting until there is a 24 to 48 hour period where temperatures are predicted to be under 25 degrees.

"We have had some snow this year earlier than we have in other years, but what that means is we don't have to be so nervous about making the opening date," Clapp said. "So we are excited to have so much snow this early in the season and not be panicking about making the opening date like we were last year."

The quickly accumulating snow is just what the 7,000 skiers and snowboarders who bought season passes for this year have been hoping for.

"We sold about 100 less passes than we sold last year, but that's still right on the mark of where we were two years ago, which was a record at the time," Clapp said. "So, we are still really happy with the numbers."

In light of the poor economic times, the resort offered those interested in buying a season pass something new this year. People were able to buy their passes in two payments. The first was charged to their credit card when they signed-up and the second was deducted from the card Nov. 15. About 1,000 people took them up on the offer.

"A lot of people told us that if it wasn't for that program they wouldn't have been able to get their passes," Clapp said. "That makes us happy that we were able to come up with a plan that helped people be able to get their passes."

They also offered a plan in which customers could purchase a season pass by making payments of about $77 for seven months, which began at the start of the summer.

There was no additional cost with either of the programs. Adult season passes were sold for $535 through Sept. 30 before going up to $805 until Nov. 15, when they jumped up to $1,035 for the remainder of the season.

Skiers and snowboarders will find new improvements to the mountain this year. Around the area at the top of Chair 3, trees have been removed and regrading has been done to allow people to go downhill from Chair 3 to the Ranger Trail, which goes to the village, rather than the uphill incline they previously faced.

"It should be much easier, especially for beginners," Clapp said.

Adjustments have also been made at the top of the Easy Rider to make it not so narrow and steep right when people get off of the lift.

"We've made the exit and the first few turns much more beginner friendly," Clapp said.

Patrons will also notice that Ed & Mully's Restaurant, formally called Moguls, in the village has been renovated for the new season.

"Even before it was Moguls, it struggled to find its identity as a restaurant," Clapp said.

In an attempt to change that, Ed & Mully's has a new menu and a new atmosphere. Now patrons will order at a window rather than sitting at a table and being waited on. They have added an espresso machine, leather couches, arcade games and pool tables.

"It's going to be much more of a hang out spot," Clapp said. "You'll be able to order food and sit down at a table too and look out the window and watch people ski. We're excited to try something different there and give people a place to just hang out with their friends and have fun."

Whitefish Mountain Resort has also tweaked its Learn to Ski package for the upcoming season. For $69 patrons now get two days of rentals and two days of beginner lift tickets. They also will have two half day lessons, which they can choose to combine into one full day or choose to separate them. The package cost $4 more this year than last year, but previously it only included a one day lift ticket and rental and a half day lesson.

"What we find is that people take one lesson and get halfway competent, but then they spend the rest of their vacation being miserable because they aren't ready to be out there by themselves," Clapp said. "Skiing is a hard thing to learn, especially as an adult."

To get ready for the upcoming season, Whitefish Mountain Resort is hosting its annual Bierstube's Pray for Snow Party on Saturday, Nov. 28, which is a 21 and over event. The bonfire will be lit at 7 p.m. in the Birch Parking Lot to kick things off and the Canyon Creek Ramblers will start playing music at 8 p.m. The Snow Bus will run from downtown Whitefish to the festivities on the mountain until 12:30 a.m.

Also, in regards to getting ready for the season, Clapp said that at this point everyone should have received their season pass in the mail by now. Customers who have not received their pass should call 862-2901 to determine what information may be missing. Anyone who has reserved seasonal rental equipment is also encouraged to pick those items up before the start of the season to avoid long lines.

Blacktail Mountain

Ski Area

Those looking to get onto Lakeside's ski and snowboard mountain may have to wait a little bit longer than those heading to Whitefish.

"We don't make snow so we just wait for (the mountain) to be covered and then we open it up," said Steve Spencer, general manager of Blacktail Mountain Ski Area.

However, with 10 inches of snow already on the mountain, Spencer said he estimates that they will be able to open sometime during the first couple of weeks of December.

The mountain has had snow come and go at least three times in the past few months, according to Spencer. At one point he said they had 18 inches.

"It's white all the way down right now, but that's it," Spencer said. "It's just barely covered. But hopefully all the snow we've had come and go has cooled down the ground enough so that when it does really snow it will stick and stay around. All of our runs are on the north slope so we usually keep what we get from this point on."

Several improvements were made to the ski area during the offseason, which is opening for its 12th season this year.

"We're growing a little bit every year," Spencer said. "It keeps us going."

Roughly 45 acres have been logged on the mountain since last season to further open up the glades for tree skiing between the Badrock and Snowlip runs and on both sides of the Thunderhead Chairlift. According to Spencer, the logging project doubled the size of the glades.

Additions were also made to the terrain park, including building up new jumps and features so it won't take so much snow to open the park.

Many area skiers and snowboarders have already enjoyed one new thing at Blacktail – lower prices. Season pass prices were reduced by about $50 across the board.

"We were concerned, obviously, about people not being able to afford passes this year," Spencer said. "But it seemed like everyone is still wanting to ski. The thing is, skiers are going to ski no matter what. We just tried to make it easier on them."

The strategy worked, as Spencer said that season pass sales were up from last year, though he didn't know by exactly how much.

Blacktail's season passes were sold for $295 until June, then $350 until Nov. 1 and they now go for $450 for the remainder of the season.

Blacktail has made a few minor adjustments to their lessons and programs, but the biggest change is the addition of more adult workshops.

"They are intended for skiers and snowboarders, who don't think they need lessons anymore, but still need to work on some things," said Jessi Wood, Blacktail's snow sports director. "We did a couple last year and they were very successful. We just want to give intermediate skiers and snowboarders an option for improving their skills."

Blacktail is throwing its annual pre-season event, the Wake Up Old Man Winter Party, at the Tamarack Brewing Company in Lakeside Dec. 5. The event will start with Santa pictures for the kids from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Pedactor Project will provide live music starting at 8 p.m.

Blacktail has been distributing season passes at area events over the past few months. The Dec. 5 party will be another opportunity for patrons to get their photos taken and have their passes processed. They will also be distributing passes at the Sportsman & Ski Haus in Kalispell tomorrow, Nov. 27, for the store's sale event which will be offering discounted passes as a doorbuster deal.