With low snow levels, Whitefish skier visits down over holiday break

“Pray for snow.” Those three words are familiar to anyone who has lived in a ski town; you see them scrawled on dirty car windows or you hear them uttered at local watering holes. 

But this winter, that prayer is being uttered with more urgency than normal as ski areas across the state struggle to open amid a stretch of unusually dry and warm weather. And while such conditions may seem trivial to non-skiers and riders, they are a concern for communities that rely on winter tourism. 

As of this week, some ski areas in Montana that normally have most or all of their terrain open to visitors are operating with a limited number of runs, while some resorts haven’t opened at all.

Nick Polumbus, president of Whitefish Mountain Resort, said a slow start to the ski season is perfectly normal, but he’s never seen it drag on into January as it has this winter. Usually by the new year, just about all 3,000 acres of terrain on Big Mountain are open, but this winter many trails, mostly on the front side, remained closed because there just isn’t enough snow. Polumbus said business is down about 30 percent compared to a normal year. That was especially tough over the holidays, which tend to be some of the most profitable times of the year for the resort. 

“We’re not going to set any holiday records, but I’m still optimistic for the rest of the season,” he said. “I’ve gotta be.”

While some ski areas, especially in the eastern United States, rely on human-made snow, places like Whitefish Mountain Resort depend more on natural powder. Polumbus said the ski area, which has invested heavily in snowmaking operations in recent years, is doing everything it can to make snow but there are logistical challenges to that. Sometimes it is simply not cold enough to make snow, which was the case during parts of December. When they can make snow, Polumbus said the mountain’s crews focus on heavily trafficked areas and beginner runs. 

Ciche Pitcher, president of Discovery Ski Area near Philipsburg, said his ski area would also like to increase its snowmaking abilities, but those types of investments don’t always make sense for a ski area of its size. While Discovery is usually open seven days a week this time of year, presently it’s only open on Saturdays and Sundays. As of this week, only 15% of the ski area’s regular terrain is open. The resort has also had to reduce hours for seasonal employees; during a good snow year, there might be well over 100 people working on the mountain, but presently there are only about 20 working on any given operating day.

“We’re doing the best we can with what we have,” Pitcher said. “If we just got one or two good storms, I think we’d be in good shape.”