About Us - Whitefish Mountain Resort located in the Flathead Valley of Montana near Glacier National Park
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Environmental Commitment - We are committed to the environment!
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Ed Schenck - One of the founding fathers of Big Mountain
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History - Yay old T-bars!
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History - Early photo of the muddy parking.
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History - Old lift photo.
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History - Whitefish Ski Lodge.
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History - Race course..
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History - Northern rocky chalet.
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History - Winter Sports Inc.
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Located in the old railroad town of Whitefish, 60 miles (90 km) south of the Canadian border, Whitefish Mountain Resort caters to skiers and snowboarders of all ability levels. Famous for its uncrowded slopes, snow ghosts, abundant snowfall and unsurpassed views, Whitefish Mountain Resort is among the 10 largest ski resorts in the U.S. offering 3,000 skiable acres, 93 marked runs and thirteen lifts including two high-speed quad chairlifts. The resort is consistently ranked in the Top 30 North American Ski Resorts by SKI Magazine.
Considered the recreation capitol of Montana, the Whitefish region and Glacier National Park are winter sports playgrounds, offering world-class skiing and snowboarding, snow shoeing, Nordic trails, snowmobiling, cat skiing, ice skating, dog sledding and much more beyond the slopes. Whitefish offers all the creature comforts of the well-known, resorts -- including a jet-served international airport 19 miles away, luxury accommodations, fine dining, and renouned night life -- all embraced by natural beauty and genuine hospitality of the region.
As a summer resort, Whitefish Mountain Resort offers world-class mountain biking and hiking, scenic gondola and chairlift rides with unmatched views of Glacier National Park, horseback rides, Western hayrides, barbecues and great outdoor adventure activities. Visitors enjoy great educational experiences through the US Forest Service Summit Nature Center and The Walk in the Treetops tour on an elevated boardwalk in the treetop canopy. Summer Arts Festival, Whitefish Mountain Resort Brew Fest, concerts and sporting events throughout the summer. Eight championship golf courses are all within an hour of Whitefish Mountain Resort Village and some of the finest huckleberry picking in the Flathead Valley is located on Whitefish Mountain Resort's slopes.
There is a great line up of activities for this summer season, we look forward to seeing you here.
Whitefish Mountain is located in one of the most environmentally beautiful places in the nation and we intend to do our part to keep it that way. The staff of Whitefish Mountain Resort has a collective environmental conscience and the management team continues to implement programs to become an increasingly environmentally friendly resort
AN OVERVIEW
- Recycling programs
- Use of Biodegradable chemicals and cleaners
- Low flow toilets, motion sensitive lights, and set-back thermostats
- Scrubber air filtration system at the Summit House to eliminate food odors that may attract bears and other wildlife into the area.
- Natural gas fireplaces only in all new development
- Storm water drainage plan and construction best practices
- Compost area for grass clippings and horse manure
- Noxious weed program
- Free public transportation via the SNOW Bus
- Participation in the National Ski Areas Associationis (NSAA) Environmental Charter
Annually, Whitefish Mountain Resort Resort recycles 12,000 pounds of aluminum and 600 pounds of steel. Fryer oil from restaurants is recycled and oil from mountain vehicles and grooming machines is reused to heat service buildings in a furnace specifically designed for this purpose. Whitefish Mountain Resort brochures, restaurant menus, placemats and napkins, and other printed material is printed on recycled paper whenever available.
Biodegradable chemicals and cleaners are used whenever possible and an organic fertilizer is used on all newly created slopes.
The Summit House Restaurant, at the 7,000 ft. summit, has a $25,000 scrubber (air filtration system) to eliminate food odors that may attract bears and other wildlife into the area
Whitefish Mountain Resort has its own compost area for grass clippings and horse manure; wood waste from development projects is saved and used as mulch when possible. Since 1991, over 5,000 seed trees have been planted for run definition and to correct existing damage from fires and clear-cuts (particularly near the base of chair 7).
Reseeding of runs, mulching, and use of erosion bars in cross-ditch design, has helped water flow and prevented erosion for the past 10 years. Our re-vegetation program is strong and after significant earthwork projects, within 12 months we usually have reestablished strong, healthy ground cover.*We are also very aggressive on noxious weeds.
SNOW BUS The Shuttle Network of Whitefish
During the ski season, Whitefish Mountain Resort operates a free bus between Whitefish and Whitefish Mountain Resort for employees and guests, which has transported hundreds of thousands of riders and factors to many thousand fewer car trips on Whitefish Mountain Resort road each winter. This service provides for cleaner air in the Flathead Valley and reduction in fuel use. SNOW Bus ridership has continued to increase dramatically.
Grizzly Bears
Whitefish Mountain Resort funded the first complete and successful Cumulative Effects Model (CEM) for the Grizzly Bear. This was done as part of our Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and encompassed an area of over 100 square miles. Considering our permit area is less than 5 square miles, this is a strong initiative regarding bears outside of Glacier Park.
NSAA Environmental charter
Since June 2000, Whitefish Mountain Resort is one of 160 ski areas in North America to implement the National Ski Areas Associationis (NSAA) Environmental Charter that includes voluntary principles for protecting all alpine environments in which ski resorts operate. As a participating resort, Whitefish Mountain Resort sends an annual report to the NSAA on the resortis implementation progress.
Whitefish Mountain Resort Resort History
Skiing has been part of the Whitefish area for more than 50 years. In 1937, the Whitefish Lake Ski Club obtained a special permit from the U.S. Forest Service enabling them to build cabins and trails in the Hell Roaring Creek region that is now Whitefish Mountain Resort Resort. Great Falls businessmen Ed Schenck and George Prentice quickly recognized the area's potential and shortly after World War II, began efforts to develop a full-fledged ski resort on the mountain. Winter Sports, Inc. (WSI) was founded on March 31, 1947 and it was a community enterprise from the start with local people selling shares of stock to meet payrolls, donating labor, preparing the slopes, even giving up free time to help push through an all-weather mountain road. On the morning of December 14, 1947, Schenck, Prentice and a thousand townsfolk stood on the slopes of the newly christened Whitefish Mountain Resort resort to watch the brand new T-Bar lift bring their community vision to life.
The Chalet was erected in 1949 just in time to host the U.S. Alpine Championships that same year. Growth during those early years was steady and by 1960, the first major expansion of the resort was undertaken. Fifteen miles of new ski terrain were opened up that year with the completion of Chair #1, aptly named Going-to-the-Sun, in that for the first time skiers were effortlessly transported to the very summit of Whitefish Mountain Resort. Eight years later, Chair #2 was built to replace the original T-Bar lift.
A T-Bar was set in to the west and overnight accommodations were expanded with the construction of a 54-unit hotel, the Alpinglow Inn. Whitefish Mountain Resort soon directed its efforts toward catering to the increasingly specialized interest of modern day skiers. As a result, more beginner and intermediate level slopes were opened up in 1975 with the construction of the Tenderfoot Chair #3, replacing the nearly 20 year old Poma Lift. The first stages of an extensive Whitefish Mountain Resort Resort Master Plan were adopted during the 1985/86 season with the opening of the Summit House restaurant and the construction of Chair #7 on the North Slope, offering 75 additional acres of skiing terrain. The $4.8 million expansion of 1989/90 included replacement of the original Chair #1 with a new high speed quad (Glacier Chaser), and Whitefish Mountain Resort's first snowmaking system was installed.
New for the 1992/93-ski season was Chair #6, the Village Lift. With it came three new beginner runs, an access trail - Home Again, and a skier bridge which allowed ski in/ski out access to virtually all lodging properties and private homes. New single-family home sites, townhouse sites, Ranger Trail and Inspiration runs, and expanded snowmaking capacity were also added. The Outpost, located at the base of Chair #6, was constructed during the summer of 1993. This facility contains a ski rental shop, ski patrol, lockers, and food and beverage operations. 1997 was also a significant year. There was over 3.5 million dollars in capital projects, which included the building of a new high speed detachable quad to replace Chair 7 on the north side, providing a six-minute ride versus the old ride of thirteen minutes. The Hellroaring Lift was also constructed offering access to the open bowls of the Hellroaring drainage and construction began on Kintla Lodge.
The newly constructed Kintla Lodge opened for guests on December 23rd, 1998.
Kintla is located at the base of Chair 3 and includes 20 two and three-bedroom slope-side condominium units, as well as new retail spaces. In the summer of 1999, initial development began on Moose Run that consists of 52 townhouse lots and one single-family lot. It is located slope-side along Chair 6.
Whitefish Mountain Resort expanded its ski terrain for 2000-2001 with a new Bigfoot T-bar on the upper east mountain. Four new trails encompassing 20 acres were cut on the southern exposure above Russ' Street and the Evan's Heaven area. North facing terrain is also accessible from this lift that includes gladed, powder runs through a big timber forest.
March 2001 launched Whitefish Mountain Resort into the international spotlight as host of the Chevy Truck U.S. Alpine Championships - the final national championship before the 2002 Olympic season. The March 23-28 event drew all of the top U.S. Ski Team racers along with over 250 athletes from U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) racing clubs from around the USA. As part of the Championships, Whitefish Mountain Resort also hosted the "Return of the Champions" race on March 24th. In this dual giant slalom race, past U.S. Ski Team champions competed against each other and present-day team members in a nationally televised event.
Construction began in summer 2001 on infrastructure for an 18 single-family home neighborhood called "Northern Lights" in the first phase of the Whitefish Mountain Resort Village build out. The first real estate offering at the new Whitefish Mountain Resort Village was a success, selling quicker than anyone had anticipated.
For winter 2001-2002, a new Easy Rider triple chair replaced the Platter lift on the lower west mountain just above Whitefish Mountain Resort Village. Beginner skiers now enjoy enhanced lift access to the green circle runs of Question Mark and Hope Slope and a reconfiguration of the beginner slope.
Construction of Morning Eagle Lodge and new commercial space began in summer 2002 with the demolition of the Alpine Lodge. Morning Eagle opened in winter 2003 and features 49 ski-in ski-out condominiums. Morning Eagle also features approximately 10,000 square feet of retail space including a day spa, boutiques with Montana Made products and art, a ski shop, a snowboard shop and cafe, as well as the Whitefish Mountain Resort Club. As of winter 2004-05, final build out of Whitefish Mountain Resort Village is under the new eye of CEO Fred Jones, who joined Whitefish Mountain Resort in April 2004.
Winter Sports, Inc. Company Profile
Winter Sports, Inc. (WSI) has owned and operated Whitefish Mountain Resort Resort, located eight miles north of Whitefish, Montana, continuously since its organization in 1947. It is a privately held company. Whitefish Mountain Resort Resort has grown to include eleven ski lifts serving over 3,000 acres of land, of which 2,650 acres are leased from the U.S. Forest Service under a special use permit.
WSI owns and operates numerous base area facilities and owns, operates under management agreements, or leases various concessions. These include cafeterias, property management, a hotel, restaurants, lounges, sleigh rides, ski school, ski and snowboard rentals, retail, day care and other related services. The Company also operates a retail establishment located on U.S. Forest Service land at the summit of Whitefish Mountain Resort. In addition, summer amenities include chairlift and gondola rides, lodging, chuck wagon dinners, horseback riding, hiking, mountain biking, group banquets, small conferences, outdoor concerts and restaurant operations, retail.
The Company has two wholly owned subsidiaries. The Whitefish Mountain Resort Water Company furnishes the domestic water supply to the resort and adjacent properties. The Whitefish Mountain Resort Development Corporation was activated in September of 1991 to oversee and coordinate the planning of land owned by WSI. The Company owns over 700 acres in and around its base area, which are available for commercial and residential development. Since 1992, the Company has developed approximately ten percent of its land into single-family and town home lots.
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