Ski Foundation resurrects classic Whitefish rite of spring for fundraiser
FVSEF board members Geoff Calaway and Doug Reed stand on Whitefish Lake with Jean Claude Cousteau. (Photo courtesy Lisa Calaway)
When will a snorkeling skier dummy sink through the ice of Whitefish Lake?
That’s the question to answer in a fundraising contest for the Flathead Valley Ski Education Foundation and the Ski Heritage Center Museum of Skiing. The foundation has placed the dummy Jean Claude Cousteau clad in ski suit and snorkel on the lake ice in front of The Lodge at Whitefish Lake.
The goal is to guess when Jean Claude Cousteau will fall through the ice. The winner will split the pot of the proceeds.
Guesses are $2 each or six guesses for $10.
Tim Hinderman, director of FVSEF, said the contest is revising an old tradition to launch the new contest.
“This is not a new concept by any means,” he said. “The Whitefish Lions Club installed an electronic clock to determine the winner in 1950s, and the Whitefish Lake Institute staged a similar contest in 2006 through 2009. We thought to carry on the tradition and have a little fun with our snorkeling ski dummy as our official ice breakup monitor.”
Guess boxes are set up at several retail locations around Whitefish and Kalispell including the Sportsman Ski Haus, The Toggery, Nelson’s Ace Hardware, Tamarack Ski Shop, Great Northern Cycle & Ski, The Village Shop and the Whitefish Chamber of Commerce.
The official “break up” time is marked when Jean Claud’s FVSEF belt buckle is fully submerged.
“This winter has certainly been a good one for a contest like this. The lake was late freezing over, but then it was quickly 18 inches thick in places,” said Hinderman. “We’ve seen some of the historical data on the ice break up, and it really is ‘anybody’s guess!’”
To watch Jean Claude, a webcam is positioned at the Lodge and can be viewed at www.whitefishicebreakup.fvsef.org. The website will also post all the guesses, update the tally of the pot and announce new locations for guess boxes as they come on line.
Guesses will be accepted until the Jean Claude takes his “dive.” In addition to the guess boxes located in businesses around town, official mail-in guess forms can be downloaded at the website, filled out and mailed per instructions.
For more information about the contest, visit www.whitefishicebreakup.fvsef.org