Looking Back: When 2,000 skiers a day was a lot
Approaches to the county viaduct across the Burlington Northern railroad tracks in Whitefish got new, sturdy guard rail. The rails are designed to contain vehicles that otherwise would go off the edges of the fill leading to the viaduct.
A look back at past Pilot articles by Julie Engler
50 Years Ago
Dec. 26, 1974
In 1974, a year of nationwide inflation and energy shortage, Whitefish felt the crunch along with the rest of the country. But the local scene also saw the opening of several new businesses and a busy schedule of community events during the first half of the year. North Valley Hospital announced it would build an addition to double its capacity to 100 beds. Whitefish Lake hit an all-time high level of 80 inches above low water, inflicting flood damage to docks and dwellings. The monetary loss was never estimated.
40 Years Ago
Dec. 27, 1984
With the arrival of the holiday skiers, motel rooms became one of the most sought-after commodities in the area and by the time the weekend arrived, every available room in the valley was expected to be occupied. The mountain was ahead of the previous year's pace, which was affected by cold weather. The number of skiers for Christmas Eve was 1,991 and Christmas Day 2,062 hit the slopes, which is right on schedule with the record numbers of two years ago, Big Mountain general manager Tim Hinderman said. In 1982, the Big Mountain set a season record of 250,000 skiers and Hinderman is hoping to reach that mark for the 1984-85 season.
30 Years Ago
Dec. 22, 1994
Plans were in the works to dredge three feet of silt that had accumulated in the pond at Riverside Park so a storm drainage system could access the pond. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers granted a permit to dredge the pond and the city hoped to begin work quickly. The storm drainage system, which had been in the works for several years, was part of the planned reconstruction of Lupfer Street, according to Whitefish City Manager Dale Ennor.
20 Year Ago
Dec. 23, 2004
The Whitefish High School girls basketball team made their home debut in impressive fashion by upending Northwestern A foe, Libby, in overtime. Whitefish had to be pleased with its 49-45 victory because the Loggers were the pre-season favorite to win the conference. The Bulldogs also treated the crowd to a down-to-the-wire affair in their home opener. Whitefish's tight win over Libby coupled with a loss to Class 2A Flathead High left the team at 3-2 overall and 1-0 in conference.
10 Years Ago
Dec. 24, 2014
A number of questions about a new hotel planned for downtown Whitefish surfaced after the city planning board took an initial look at the project. At its Dec. 18 meeting, the board questioned the hotel's overall mass, its impact on the adjacent residential neighborhood, the amount of parking and how developers plan to deal with possible groundwater pollution at the site. They also wanted to know if the developers are planning for the hotel to be a franchise brand – namely, a Marriott.