Big snows boost holidays at ski areas

Back-to-back snowstorms kicked off a solid holiday season for the Flathead Valley’s two ski areas.

Whitefish Mountain Resort didn’t overtake its record-breaking week from a year ago, but spokeswoman Riley Polumbus said last-minute reservations and two feet of snow in the two days leading up to Christmas Day put the resort on pace for a good year.

“I think a big part this year was having the snow just at the right time,” Polumbus said Monday. “That set us up very nice and of course Mother Nature provided by keeping the temps in the right spot.”

Ten fresh inches of snow fell at Big Mountain’s summit on Christmas Eve, followed by an additional 14 inches in the next 24 hours.

Since Christmas, a few inches have fallen on the mountain, and Polumbus said 6,754 skiers and snowboarders hit the slopes on Dec. 29 — the resort’s biggest day this season.

In 2014, Dec. 28 set the resort’s all-time daily record with 8,144 ski visits.

Last-minute reservations buoyed sales during the holidays, which Polumbus said typically provide 20 to 25 percent of the resort’s annual revenue. During the 2014-15 season, Whitefish Mountain Resort had 310,000 visits by skiers and snowboarders.

She noted that many skiers were likely surprised by the snow during a year that a strong El Nino weather event was expected to stifle winter precipitation in Northwest Montana.

Steve Spencer, general manager of Blacktail Mountain Ski Area, said he didn’t have total skier visitation numbers, but based on revenue, the holiday season was a good one for the business west of Lakeside.

“This is one of the better years in the last 10,” he said.

Blacktail benefited from the same snowy weather headed into Christmas that Whitefish Mountain Resort received. Spencer noted that above the valley inversions during the last few days, the sun has been shining on the mountaintop ski area.

“The weather was consistent every day, and it didn’t get too cold,” he said.

Still, he said the depressed Canadian dollar took a toll on otherwise near-perfect skiing conditions. Canadian customers showed up, he said, but they didn’t seem to stay as long as they normally would have.

“I’m still a little nervous about Canada, but they came down,” he said. “But when we have a good Christmas, we usually have a good year.”

Reporter Samuel Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.