Reckless skiers frustrate resort staff

A series of close calls last week involving skiers and snowboarders at Whitefish Mountain Resort, who were dangerously close to grooming equipment or went into closed avalanche terrain, has prompted resort officials to send a strong warning to the ski community.

“There have been a few instances of some pretty poor behavior on the mountain recently,” resort marketing director Nick Polumbus said. “It’s behavior we cannot accept, and we will not. If you do not respect inbounds closures, the very best that can happen is that you will lose your pass, and the very worst that can happen is significantly worse than losing your pass.”

In one incident, a skier and a snowboarder hiked up after the lifts were closed and descended a route where a groomer was using a winch. The two violated both the resort’s uphill policy, which requires skiers to descend the route they hike up, and a special order from the Forest Service that requires skiers to stay at least 100 yards away from grooming equipment.

“With a winch cat, there is a cable out there that could kill a person,” resort spokeswoman Riley Polumbus said. “When it’s dark, skiers don’t know where these cables are and our groomers don’t expect to see a skier or hiker out there.”

On Thursday morning, after 10 inches of new snow fell overnight, Polumbus said several skiers hiked up the mountain before Chair 1 was operating and entered the Haskill Slide area before avalanche patrol work had taken place. Haskill Slide is a steep, double black diamond slope prone to slides. Ski patrollers were getting ready to work in the area when they saw fresh ski tracks.

Also on Thursday, after Chair 1 opened, several skiers knocked down the ropes blocking off Hellroaring Basin before it was opened, and nearly 80 skiers entered the basin before. Ski patrollers were actively using avalanche explosives while skiers were in the area. All of the skiers who entered the closed terrain were given warnings and some had their pass pulled for their second offense.

“The people were very close to those explosives,” Polumbus said. “It was a close call.”

To review the resort’s uphill travel policy, visit online at www.skiwhitefish.com/uphill. The skier’s code is online at www.skiwhitefish.com/safety.