Opening day on mountain brings excitement
A group of skiers and snowboarders was fired up to catch one of the first chairs at Whitefish Mountain Resort's opening day of the 2021-22 season on Thursday, Dec. 9. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
Skiers and snowboarders line up at Chair 1 for Whitefish Mountain Resort's opening day of the 2021-22 season Thursday, Dec. 9. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
Columbia Falls High School students Anthony Tatum, Lane Anello, Keyaunn Wood and Payton Douglas catch the first chair at Whitefish Mountain Resort's opening day of the 2021-22 season Thursday, Dec. 9. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
A skier is thrilled to be back on snow during Whitefish Mountain Resort's opening day of the 2021-22 season Thursday, Dec. 9. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
A group of skiers and snowboarders on their way up Chair 1 at Whitefish Mountain Resort's opening day of the 2021-22 season Thursday, Dec. 9. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
The sun periodically broke through the clouds in the early morning during Whitefish Mountain Resort's opening day of the 2021-22 season Thursday, Dec. 9. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
A skier is treated to a bit of fresh snow falling during Whitefish Mountain Resort's opening day of the 2021-22 season Thursday, Dec. 9. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
Eager skiers and snowboarders hike up from the Cedar Lot to catch Chair 1 for Whitefish Mountain Resort's opening day of the 2021-22 season Thursday, Dec. 9. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
Skiers and snowboarders in line for Chair 1 at Whitefish Mountain Resort's opening day of the 2021-22 season Thursday, Dec. 9. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
A ski patroller rolls by the base of Chair 1 at Whitefish Mountain Resort's opening day of the 2021-22 season Thursday, Dec. 9. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
A skier speeds down the top of Russ's Street at Whitefish Mountain Resort's opening day of the 2021-22 season Thursday, Dec. 9. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
A WMR employee prepares the Chair 1 lift during Whitefish Mountain Resort's opening day of the 2021-22 season Thursday, Dec. 9. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
Young snowboarders on their way to get in line at Whitefish Mountain Resort's opening day of the 2021-22 season Thursday, Dec. 9. (Whitney England/Whitefish Pilot)
A steady stream of winter enthusiasts headed up the Big Mountain Road switchbacks Thursday for Whitefish Mountain Resort’s opening day and they were rewarded with the goods.
Despite limited terrain open off the north side only, the day was filled with hooting and hollering as excitement bursted out of skiers and snowboarders across the mountain. The morning’s partly sunny skies turned to light snow in the afternoon rewarding riders with a dusting that kept the runs feeling smooth all day.
Resort officials say about 1,500 guests attended opening day, half as many as last year’s first day. But that was to be expected with far less runs and lifts open on day one this season.
“We attribute that to the limited amount of terrain we were able to open with the scant snowfall we had received,” WMR Public Relations Manager Chad Sokol explained. “That said, we've received plenty more snow this week, and the forecast has been looking better and better.”
Among those guests, one group camped out in their cars overnight to be first in line on Chair 1 Thursday morning. The group of four Columbia Falls High School students —
Anthony Tatum, Lane Anello, Keyaunn Wood and Payton Douglas — say they spent about 10 and a half hours between the parking lot and the Chair 1 line to make sure they were first to head up the mountain for the season. It was actually the third year in a row that the same four friends have caught first chair.
The boys were unsure of why they wanted to keep their first-chair streak alive this season, but Anello said, “We might as well.”
A long line behind them at Chair 1 had formed by 9:30 a.m. and when WMR employees gave the green light to load, several people began cheering.
Earlier this week resort officials decided to postpone opening day originally scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 7 due to a lack of snow. It was the first time in 10 years that WMR has pushed back its first day of the season, but it gave the resort enough time to blast snowmaking machines as well as gather some natural snow ahead of Thursday’s opening day.
“We think waiting a couple more days to start the season was the right call,” Sokol said. “A few midweek storms brought fresh snow to the north side of the mountain and really made the Chair 7 terrain fun to ski and ride. Folks might have seen the weather and tamped down their expectations, but a lot of guests were pleasantly surprised to find soft, carvable groomers and even some powder along the sides of runs.”
The resort also notes that although the terrain off Chair 7 and T-bar 2 was playful opening day, early season conditions exist on all parts of the mountain but especially among the lower elevations. Thursday while descending to the bottom of the lift several weeds, grass and small tree stumps were visible even on the groomed runs.
The snow report on Thursday morning claimed 15 inches of snow had fallen over the previous week, which brought the depth to a decent amount though not enough to open more terrain. The temperature at the summit was predicted to be a high of 17 degrees fahrenheit on opening day with a -3 degree wind chill.
Chair 1 loaded riders up to the summit all day and also offered daily downloads as the frontside terrain was completely closed to skiers. Groomed runs off Chair 7 included Whitetail, Goat Haunt and Caribou. T-Bar 2 allowed access to Lodi, Lynx and Trapper’s Tail, as well as Russ’s Street down to the bottom of Chair 5.
“Overall, opening day went smoothly and the open trails remain in good condition,” Sokol noted.
Since opening day the resort has now also opened terrain off Chair 11, Flowerpoint, on the north side of the mountain. The resort also opened one terrain park off Chair 3 over the weekend.
For snow conditions and open terrain updates visit skiwhitefish.com
