Resort's groomers rank in SKI top-10

Readers of SKI magazine have ranked

Whitefish Mountain Resort as a top ski destination in the West for

scenery, uncrowded slopes, and new this year — for their superior

slope grooming.

Big Mountain was ranked 10th in the

category, marking the first time the resort has been recognized in

the annual survey for their grooming efforts.

“People rave about Inspiration, Big

Ravine and Toni Matt,” resort spokesperson Riley Polumbus said.

The magazine’s results are based on

reader surveys. Polumbus guesses new visitors to Big Mountain last

winter were impressed enough with the manicured slopes to give it

high marks in the survey.

Rory Kizer is the resort’s slope

maintenance manager. He notes that the grooming crew has more than

150 years combined experience on the mountain. Two employees have

been grooming the slopes for more than 20 years.

Crews groom 250 acres worth of slopes

in two shifts. A swing shift from 4 p.m. to midnight, and a

graveyard shift from midnight to 9:30 a.m. About 75 man hours per

night are tallied to keep the slopes in prime condition.

The groomed slopes could get even

better this year. The resort recently purchased a Prinoth BR350

groomer from Deer Valley in Utah — a resort that notoriously ranks

as the best destination for groomed runs.

The new groomer is painted white and

has a high-tech blade that works better with a variety of snow

conditions.

The resort’s grooming team includes

Kris Carpenter, Marc Evans, Mike Paulson, Laurie Fisher, Ben

Newsom, Clay Morrison, Jefre Elliot, Gardner Beougher, James

Kessler, Adam Grogan, Ryan Thirkield, Jeff Gerber, Ryan Brooks and

Thomas Lovern.