This week, Pete and his company Terraflow, will start excavating where he left off when the snow started flying in October. The weather has been great for snow melt, and we’re looking forward to opening five new miles on five new trails this summer. As Josh says, “the word around the campfire is STOKED.”

Read the Press Release about the new trails HERE

Read the full press release HERE.

The conceptual map of the new Flower Point area.

Pointing at the location of the new lift line.

The view from the top of Flower Point is pretty awesome.

“Mountain Babies”
by the Kid’s Center

“Be the Fog”
by Marketing/Sales

“Fishbowl Tour”
by KT and the Terrain Park crew

“Day in the Life of the Freestyle Team”
by Connie & Freestyle Team

On a final note, “conditions permitting” can take on a lot of different meanings in the terrain park world. It could mean that the crew is digging the jumps out of 3 feet of new snow, or, as in today’s case, it explains why there will be no mega-feature for your final day of shred. High temps and swiftly melting snow have frequented the Fishbowl as of late, not allowing for proper conditions to set new features. Wipe those tears away though kids. You can still come out to hit Small, Medium, and Large jumps, and jib it up on various rails and boxes throughout Central Ave. But wait there’s more… The crew will be on hand with unlimited high-fives! :-) Niiiiice!

Congratulations to this year’s winners. If you see them on the hill, give them a high five.

Top 10 Employees for the 12/13 Season
RJ Devitt – Shuttle/Transportation
Secia Taylor – Maintenance
Jenny Johnson – Events
Otto Austin – Lodging Front Desk
Brie Okerberg – Hibernation House
Jeff Bear – F&B
Deidre Harris – F&B
Seth Settles -Patrol
Stacey Bengtson – Snow Sports
Nick Smith – Lift maint.

Honorable Mention
Marchand Logan- Patrol
Jason Williamson – Lifts
Sean Hagen – Big Mountain Club
Chelsay Carlton – Lodging Front Desk

Managers of the Year
Denise Summers – Guest Services & Tickets
Jeremy Jauchius – Ed & Mully’s
Andrea Beachner – Base Lodge Cafe
Mike Davies – Snow Sports

As the final week of the season approaches you can expect rail features across the park to be periodically removed. But don’t fret park shredders, the crew assures us that there is a happy ending in store for you via a surprise multi-hit, multi-use monster of a feature to be constructed soon. Watch for the super feature near the park shack on closing weekend.

The Fishbowl Crew thanks you for another great season of jibby, jumpy, radness.

With precious little time left in the 65^th Season, I’ve been skiing quite a bit lately (I hope you have been too), in my spare time I’ve been collecting fun facts about our ski area and this is the final installment. As promised, the finale of 65 Things you might not know about our mountain:

42. Our new winch cat has more horsepower and more winch power than our previous cat which has allowed us to cover more ground, groom additional runs and create a better finished product than previous seasons.

43. Chair 4 and Chair 5 are prepped every Friday of the season to be used if needed. Chair 4 will run if there are 4,000 or more skiers expected and Chair 5 will run if 5,000 or more are expected.

44. On occasion we’ve been able to move the crew from Chair 4 to Chair 5. We did this on Saturday, March 9^th when it was sunny and cold up top. People were happy!

45. George Prentice used to go door to door selling shares of the Big Mountain to the people in Whitefish.

46. Russ Street, who owned a grocery in Whitefish, used to trade food for shares.

47. 65 years ago, our first ski season as a corporation, Big Mountain had 38,000 ski visits.

48. Winter Sports Inc. netted a loss of $3,600 that first season.

49. While there have been women staffing the clinic on the mountain since the 1947-48 ski season, the first women to join the ranks as on snow patrollers were Terri Rolseth Montgomery and Lindalee (Kanzler) Cleveland in the 1976-77 ski season.

50. Toni Matt was a ski racer who taught at The Big Mountain from 1949 to 1956. Matt’s most renowned feat came on April 16, 1939, when in the third “American Inferno,” a top-to-bottom race of Tuckerman Ravine on Mount Washington, New Hampshire, he straight-lined it. His time for the 8-mile race was 6 minutes 29.2 seconds, with an estimated top speed of over 85 MPH. Toni Matt’s name helped put The Big Mountain on the map.

51. Evan’s Heaven was named for Gene Evan, ex-patrol director and star of the Jim Rice film “Cool Winter.”

52. Hailey’s Run was named for Hailey Love, daughter of Mary Pat and Buck Love, owners of the Kandahar Lodge.

53. The bottom of Toni Matt, where it passes underneath Chair 1, is referred to as “Many Falls” which was the old T-Bar name.

54. “Performance” apron on the northeast side of East Rim is called so because it always slides/performs.

55. “Space” as in a “leap into space” named for the rock area between Schmidt’s Chute and Elephants Graveyard.

56. Elephants Graveyard was named by racers going to an old race start because it had whoop-de-doos so big you could bury an elephant.

57. There used to be a snack shack at the bottom of Great Northern chair (Chair 4) owned by the Levendowskis. They served a wicked hotdog with grilled onions and had Bavarian music playing on the deck.

58. There used to be horse stables next door to the old snack shack with draft horses that were used on the mountain for sleigh rides.

59. Moose’s on the mountain served pizza (same as Moose’s Kalispell only softer crust because of the altitude). They delivered to condos and rooms on the mountain with a quad 4-wheeler. Moose’s had a full bar in the basement below Ed & Mully’s with a dance floor. They had a house band called the book house boys (all former teachers). The song “Wooly Bully” was a crowd fave.

60. Before Chair 1 was installed in 1960, skiers could access the top of Big Mountain with the Tucker Snowcat which was purchased in 1956 for $8,000. It could bring four or five people inside and tow ten more in a trailer behind it.

61. Out of our over 471 employees, 66 have worked here 5 years or more, 38 have worked here 20 years or more and 12 have worked here over 30 years!

62. We recognize our employees with pins for milestone years of their tenure (5-year, 10-year… etc.) at the End-of-Season Employee Party. Employees can wear these pins as part of their uniform.

63. Beach party weekend was a traditional rite of spring held on the mountain. Employees were encouraged to wear Hawaiian shirts and handed out leis to guests. (Additional fun fact: This Saturday the last Dine & Ski of the season is Luau themed!)

64. The old Coconut Race was one of the end-of-season traditions held by patrol. The women wore “authentic” coconut bras and grass skirts while racing from the Patrol Cabin at the Summit to the Chalet.

65. Easter Egg Hunts were long-held on the mountain on Easter Sunday. WE ARE BRINGING IT BACK! The hunt is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (or when all the eggs are found) in the Chair 6, 9 and Magic Carpet area. Eggs must be brought to the Base Lodge at 2:30 and prizes will be given. Must be present to win!

There are many more fun facts and stories to be told about this ski area after 65 years of fun. We look forward to providing many more years of skiing and summer fun so that when we hit the next milestone I’ll have more fun facts to share.

…THIS WINTER ENDING WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL SUNDAY APRIL 7^TH 4:00 PM MDT WHEN THE MOUNTAIN CLOSES FOR THE 2012-13 WINTER SEASON…

Due to the little time we have left, there’s going to be a fun event planned for each weekend. It is recommended that you get some friends together and make the most of the remainder of the season. No one wants to endure the end of the season alone, you should team up so you can share these memories of the precious little time left. The remaining events are as follows…

The Pole, Pedal, Paddle isn’t just for the hardcore athlete, it’s for everyone, especially superheroes in traning

POLE, PEDAL, PADDLE: Periods of spring weather are expected intermittently with periods of winter. That calls for such an event that embraces the undecided nature of spring weather and the transition from winter to spring and vice versa. This event begins with a canoe/kayak on the Whitefish River, transitions to a bike ride up to the mountain, then to an uphill climb on the mountain and finishes with a ski down.

We know there are a handful of individuals out there who love a challenge like this. Then there are the people who think it’s an event for superheroes, or maybe a team of three dressed up as superheroes. Or maybe just a team of three (costumes optional).

This wacky spring event is begging to become a rite of spring for threesomes looking to impress their friends and followers on Facebook and Instagram. Haven’t been training? Not to worry! There are three of you! You can all share in the misery and hilarity while enjoying the fresh air and unpredictable weather!

Plus, Ryan Friel always signs up for the event and makes it his mission to come in dead last. You can’t lose!

The event is THIS SATURDAY! So pull out a bike and a boat and sign up with your team today! Register online at skiwhitefish.com/events (find the Pole, Pedal, Paddle page) or show up between 8 and 9 a.m. at Riverside Park.

MOUNTAIN BREWFEST: Changing weather conditions from winter to spring calls for toasting crafty beers with friends. The forecast calls for regional breweries to accumulate Saturday, March 30^th from 1-5 p.m.  All proceeds from the $20 tickets ($25 at the door) go to support the S.N.O.W. Bus and all the free rides they provide during the winter season (double cheers!) Be prepared to enjoy a variety of beers and plan to take the S.N.O.W. Bus back down the mountain.

Thank you to the Big Mountain Commercial Association for putting on this event and making free transportation to and from the mountain possible!

DUMMY DERBY: An additional 4 to 5 hours of fun with periods of laughter, heavy at times, are expected if you and some friends get together to build a dummy for the March 30^th Dummy Derby. Entry for a dummy is free and fun will continue during the event. Dummy drop-off is from noon to 1:30 p.m., judging begins at 2 p.m. Dummy builders must gather at 4 p.m. to prepare for the launch that begins at 4:30 p.m.

Visibility is expected to be hilarious for all those who attend as the dummies make an attempt to ski down a hill un-manned and launch off a jump into the “pit of carnage” where we hope to see mass demolition.

$500 CASH PRIZE to the overall winner! The Dummy Champion will be ranked on half-originality/creativity and the other half on jump distance. Other “Wacky Trophies” will be awarded to the following category winners: Dummy Democracy: Crowd Favorite Dummy, Dummy Date: Sexiest Dummy (subject to harsh censorship), Dummy Dump: Biggest Splash (from inside your dummy). Dummy Drunk: Best Beer-themed Dummy (it is Brewfest you know), and Dummy Tower: Tallest Dummy.

For more information on the event, a really fun video from last year and tips for building your dummy click here.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A WINTER ENDING WARNING MEANS THAT PERIODS OF FUN WILL CAUSE FOND MEMORIES. BE PREPARED FOR A GOOD TIME AND MAKE THE MOST OF WHAT’S LEFT THIS SEASON!

Early map of the Big Mountain

This article appeared in the Flathead Beacon March 6, 2013

In the February 6^th issue of this column, we began a list of 65 fun facts about our ski area – things you may not know. We got as far as 16 things, which you can read it here. Without further ado, here’s part 2:17. The original name for the ski area was to be, “Hellroaring” however local clergy were opposed to the name so they went with “The Big Mountain” which was the description Lloyd “Mully” Muldown gave when describing where he skied in the 1930s.

18. The Hellroaring Ski Club (established 1937), of which Mully was president, changed their name to the Whitefish Lake Ski Club in 1945.

19. The letters of SNOW as in “the SNOW Bus” stand for “Shuttle Network of Whitefish” which was named by our very own Brian Carper! (Very clever man!)

20. We offer military discounts to Active Duty, Retired, and Spouses and Dependents with a valid US or Canadian Military ID Card.

21. Whitefish Mountain Resort gives over $100,000 annually in donations to the local community through the Whitefish Community Foundation.

22. In the 2007-08 season we changed the eligible age for “Super Seniors” from 80 to 70.

23. In 1947 a lift ticket was $2. That let you ride the T-bar to approximately the top of Chair 2 now.

24. The first paying customer on the T-Bar was Elizabeth Jane Seely, (now Solberg) at age 12.

25. In 1960-61, the year we added the first Chair 1, a lift ticket was $5.50. In addition to Chair 1 there was the T-Bar, a Pomalift and a rope tow.

26. There used to be a mid-station on the original Chair 1 and the original Chair 7.

27. The mid-station on Chair 7 was made of hay bales.

28. The most vertical ever skied by all season pass holders in a season was 1,736,762,298 feet during the 2010-11 season.

29. The vert program started with the 2003-4 season (not the 2005-06 season as reported in my previous article).

30. The record is held by Chris “Chappy” Chapman with 5,306,096 feet in the 2003-04 season. He’s still skiing over a million feet this season.

31. Jan Metzmaker, now Director of the Whitefish Convention and Visitors Bureau, was the original “Backdoor Burger Girl” at the Bierstube.

32. Snow Ghosts are made of rime, not snow, formed by wind, clouds, fog and “super-cooled water droplets.”

33. Night skiing started in 1967.

34. Night skiing ends in early March (last night this season is this Saturday, March 9^th!) because the snow sees too much thaw with the late season sun and then freezes after dark. Not great for skiing!

35. The Summit House was constructed in the summer of 1985 and opened for the 1985-86 season.

36. The US Forest Service’s Nature Center opened the same year and has been there ever since.

37. The run “Hibernation” was named so for a bear who came out of its den early one spring.

38. Fault 1 was renamed “Cal’s Country” for Cal Tassanari, former patrol director who lost a ski in an avalanche there.

39. Gray’s Golf Course was known as “The Golf Course” by locals for all the tree wells in the area, changed to Gray’s for John Gray’s 25 years on Big Mountain Ski Patrol (thanks John!)

40. Langley was named for Rodger Langley, head of the US National Ski Areas Association and co-founder of the National Ski Patrol (late 30s, early 40s). The mountain named it for him to try to get the US Nationals race here. It worked!

41. On March 5^th and 6^th, 1949 we hosted the National Championships for Men’s and Women’s Downhill, Slalom and Combined. We hosted it again in 1951.

Stay tuned for the last 24 which will appear in this column before the end of the season. If you have any fun facts or stories to share please contact me! rileyp@skiwhitefish.com