Armstrong tops 4 million vertical feet on Big Mountain

Susan Armstrong stopped skiing for the better part of 30 years. Her love for it, however, never ceased.

So when she and her husband, Don, made the decision to return to the Flathead Valley almost five years ago, there was little doubt what Susan’s winter activity of choice would be.

“If we’re coming back up,” she told him, “I’m getting skis and a ski pass.”

She’s gotten both, and she’s made good use of them.

When skiing wrapped up for the winter at Whitefish Mountain Resort on Sunday, Armstrong had skied more than 4 million vertical feet over the 123-day season.

Heading into the final days of the season, her place was well-established on the leaderboard — first.

And just like her decision to pick up skiing again upon retirement in 2014, Armstrong, the first woman ever to finish on top of the vertical tracker at the resort, left no doubt. She finished well over half a million vertical feet ahead of runner-up Frank Creasia, a feat she couldn’t have imagined when the season began Dec. 7.

“This year, almost nobody was going for [first place] because the powder was so good,” Armstrong said on a chilly, windy day in late March as Chair 1 whisked her back to the Big Mountain summit for another run. “Four million has always been something I’d like to get to, but the conditions would always dictate.”

That was the case earlier this winter, as Armstrong sacrificed some vertical feet by steering clear of the groomed slopes most days, opting instead to play in the powder that was bountiful on the mountain in January and February.

Armstrong’s favorite run was once Moose, a blue slope, but increased traffic near East Rim due to the newly added Chair 5 pushed her to other areas.

Now, she prefers skiing Fault 2 into Elkweed and Movie Land on a deep powder day. Armstrong is also a fan of Ptarmigan Bowl, but only if the visibility is up to par.

“If you can see it, ski it,” she said. “It depends on the weather and the day.”

Armstrong prefers the front of the mountain to the back, and that was especially true later in the season.

After realizing in mid-March she could possibly eclipse 4 million vertical feet, Armstrong kicked it into overdrive.

She arrived on the mountain every day around 8:30 a.m., if not a bit before, and skied until the chairs stopped turning at 4 p.m. with a single break for lunch. She has not missed a day of skiing the past two seasons.

“You have to have something to do outside in the winter beside cross-country ski,” Armstrong said. “I like to be out in the fresh air instead of being cooped up in a house.”

A Whitefish native now residing in Columbia Falls, Armstrong has been an active person for as long as she can recall, but she has not always been a skier.

After learning to ski in Whitefish in the 1960s, Armstrong left her home to join the Air Force. She skied a bit while living in Utah, but gave up the sport in the mid-80s due to cost. Her hiatus lasted until 2014 when she moved back to the Flathead after 36 years of service, most of which was spent working on F-16s, and vowed to start skiing once again.

“You take it for granted,” Armstrong said. “As a kid, I didn’t recall the view that you have up here when it’s clear. Now, every day when I see it, it’s like, ‘Wow.’

The view is one seemingly small thing on the mountain Armstrong now appreciates more than ever. The wildlife is another.

Her eyes light up under her goggles and her voice quickens as she excitedly describes this year’s sightings, which include an ermine, a brown weasel and the ptarmigan she sees in one particular tree under Chair 1 almost every day.

“It seems like about this time of day, he disappears,” she says while riding up the lift once again. “I watch him.”

Armstrong is skiing without her regular posse on this particular afternoon, but to say she’s skiing alone wouldn’t be quite accurate either.

Ever recognizable in her fluorescent orange helmet with a “Got Fog?” sticker plastered across the back (she chose it over another that read “Follow with Caution”), Armstrong can’t go long without someone approaching to say hello or ask where the snow is best. After all, if anyone would know, it’d be her.

On this day, conditions aren’t especially great anywhere. It’s quintessential spring skiing, icy in some areas and slushy in others.

But the spotty snow and thick clouds haven’t scared away Armstrong, who defies the elements with lap after lap on the front side of the mountain, cruising down everything from Inspiration to Toni Matt to Big Ravine on her black and green Head skis.

The 59-year-old doesn’t plan on slowing down any time soon. As long as she’s able, Armstrong said, this is where she’ll spend her winters.

Her secret to staying young is simple: “Staying active.”

“Age has never bothered me,” Armstrong said. “I don’t know why it bothers people.”

The ski season is over, but that doesn’t mean a break for Armstrong.

She’s also a runner. Notches in her belt include an Ironman, three half Ironmans, a 100-miler and a staggering 134 full marathons. Her 135th marathon is on May 19 in Ogden, Utah, leaving her just over a month to train after the lifts stop turning.

“I’ve gotta start running,” she said.

Armstrong said she doesn’t claim a particular season as her favorite. She simply takes life as it comes, one run at a time.

“It’s all about having fun,” she said. “That’s the thing — you’ve gotta have fun.”