Resort sets record for season pass sales
A skier plows through thigh-deep powder on Marmot at Whitefish Mountain Resort in this file photo. (Matt Baldwin / Daily Inter Lake)
Skiers in Whitefish are gearing up for winter in record numbers.
Whitefish Mountain Resort announced Wednesday a new record for winter season pass sales, breaking the 10,000 mark and making for three straight years of record season pass sales.
This year’s 10,000-plus total is 11 percent ahead of last winter’s sales.
Nick Polumbus, the resort’s director of sales and marketing, said the resort owes the record to community.
“While we are excited to announce another successful pass sale from a financial standpoint, we are once again grateful for our dedicated community of pass holders. They are awesome. I say this often, yet I wholly believe it to be true, Whitefish is without a doubt the best ski community in North America,” Polumbus said. “For more than 70 years Whitefish Mountain Resort has provided an idyllic setting for reconnecting with family, friends and the great outdoors. We’re pleased to continue keeping pricing reasonable for this incredible group of pass holders to continue to do what they love — ski!”
Season pass holders make up roughly half of the skiing population at the WMR.
The resort has been rewriting the record book on multiple occasions in the last few years.
The snowfall totals the last two winter seasons have both surpassed 400 inches, and last year the resort celebrated its 70th anniversary with a record season for skier visits finishing with a total of 382,000.
That number was a 10 percent boost over the previous year’s record-setting 346,000 visitors.
Along with skier visits, the resort’s Ski and Ride School broke enrollment records for their seasonal program. Most notably, the Half Pints program for 5 and 6-year-olds sold out in early September and already has a waitlist.
“Our community puts a great value on their winter recreation, which is why for the second season in a row we added classes in every age category, yet once again we’ve experienced growth across the board,” Bill Cubbage, Snow Sports director for WMR, said. “Our goal is to create a safe and fun environment to learn and develop lifelong skills for skiers and snowboarders of all ages.”
The resort is set to open for the 2018-19 season on Dec. 6.
For more information on Whitefish Mountain Resort, visit www.skiwhitefish.com.