Big Mountain saw big turnout for ski season

Whitefish Mountain Resort saw a snowy end to its ski season, with the delivery of another winter storm just days before the closing weekend shenanigans.

“Early-season snowpack enabled us to open lots of terrain when we fired up the chairlifts in early December,” said Chad Sokol, public relations manager for the resort. “And now during our closing week, we're still watching flakes fall from the summit all the way down to the base area.” 

The 2024-25 season, which ends today, is the fifth in a row that the mountain has tallied more than 400,000 skier visits. While total numbers will not be available until the weekend concludes, the season is slated to “rank among our busiest winters to date,” Sokol said.  

Valida Holder, 42, stood in the Spruce parking lot Thursday morning as she put skins on her skis. With snowflakes dumping from the sky, Holder said that she was after a “three-fer” that day, where she skins up the mountain, downhill skis riding lifts and then cross-country skis to finish it off.  

“This year has been pretty comparable to the last few years with a bit more snow,” said Holder, who has been skiing Big Mountain since 2009. “It seemed like we got a lot more snow in the earlier years back then, but this year was better than recent ones.”  

Holder said she skied more than she has in the past, often bringing her two children to the hill to take a few runs with her.  

As of Friday, 282 inches of snow had fallen at the summit of Big Mountain, offering a 96-inch settled base to close out the winter. While the total is a bit short of the mountain’s annual average of 300 inches of snowfall, the number is higher than last season’s total of 255 inches.  

“We’re at the whims of nature so we’re always excited when we get a good snow year like this,” Sokol said. “Compared to last year, it has definitely been more enjoyable, a lot more consistent.” 

The unforeseen closure of Chair 2 marred the first month of the season as the high-speed quad underwent a complete overhaul. While it took longer than usual to get the popular lift up and going, Sokol said its opening after the holiday season coincided with better snow conditions on the front side of the mountain. 

The resort set a new record for skier visits between Christmas Day and New Year’s Day this year despite Chair 2’s closure at the time. Around 62,400 skier visits were tallied during that stretch of time, with the busiest day being nearly 9,500 skier visits on Monday, Dec. 30. The previous record, during the 2022-23 season, was 54,300 skier visits during that holiday week.  

Sokol also pointed toward what some described as a double winter. January revealed more spring-like skiing conditions than April, while surprise storms kept the snowpack up.  

“It’s definitely better than last year for sure,” said Ross Campbell, 75, sitting in the Summit House on Thursday.  

Campbell moved to Whitefish in 2018. He said the fog wasn’t too bad this season and that there were only a few days of ice. He estimates he skied around 30 days this winter. 

This was the second full season Austin Jones, a 25-year-old snowboarder, had at Whitefish Mountain Resort. Originally from Havre, Jones visited Big Mountain a few times growing up. He echoed Campbell’s sentiment that this year was better than last.  

“What stood out the most this season was for sure the snow,” Jones said on the mountain. “... I had never ridden powder like that before and I got to go out and hike into different terrain.”  

He said that it is indescribable how “fun and freeing” it is to ride in untouched, natural powder, a phenomenon he hopes happens next year too. He also landed his first backside-cork 540, a feat he looked back on with a smile.  

Jones hit 41 days on the mountain as of Thursday, with over 400,000 feet of vertical gain. While an impressive tally, it’s nowhere near the resort’s vertical challenge leader. 

Michael Donnay broke the all-time vertical record this year, with 10,078,730 feet of gain as of Thursday. 

The previous record, 8,058,144 feet, was held by Ken Jones from the 2015-16 season. Donnay currently holds the records for second, third and fifth. 

Next season’s passes are already on sale, priced at $780 for an adult if purchased before Sep. 30, 2025. That’s up $31 over the 2024-25 rate. The rate increased $10 last year compared to the 2023-24 rate.  

Reporter Kate Heston may be reached at 758-4459 or kheston@dailyinterlake.com.

    Ryan Economy successfully crosses the pool at Whitefish Mountain Resort's pond skim on Saturday, April 5. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    A skier crosses the pool at Whitefish Mountain Resort's pond skim on Saturday, April 5. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    A participant celebrates after a trip across the pool at Whitefish Mountain Resort's pond skim on Saturday, April 5. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    A participant in a Stay Puft Marshmallow Man costume splashes into the pool at Whitefish Mountain Resort's pond skim on Saturday, April 5. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    A participant splashes into the pool at Whitefish Mountain Resort's pond skim on Saturday, April 5. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    The Kauffman brothers celebrate after a successful trip across the pool at Whitefish Mountain Resort's pond skim on Saturday, April 5. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider