Whitefish Mountain has no pretensions about what it is: a 3,000-acre winter playground in the Northern Rockies, way off the beaten track for most ski-resort hoppers. It's out in the serious boonies, west of the Continental Divide, closer to Canada and Idaho than anywhere else.
Whitefish Mountain's size and variety of ski terrain—its very geography—are what set it apart from other ski areas. Distances are vast, the ambiance is pristine, the powder is everywhere, and skiers from elsewhere forget what lift lines used to be. A big draw is the altitude: 7,000 feet at the peak, low by Rocky standards, but much easier to acclimatize to than most big resorts. Skiers come here to ski hard, and to party hard after the lifts close. It's strictly western casual, and people wear cowboy hats and bandannas on the slopes. Fashion mavens are ignored.
A big day at Whitefish Mountain means 3,000 skiers, one per acre of lift-served terrain. Forty per cent of the acreage is trees, and much of it is adjacent to groomed runs. Family members with diverse skiing abilities have discovered they can ski within sight of each other even while skiing their terrain of choice.
From the summit, skiers can see the peaks of Glacier National Park, the Canadian Rockies and the entire Flathead Valley, including Flathead Lake. Skiers on the summit can ski either the front side or the back side of the mountain. The back is mostly long, groomed intermediate runs, with a few narrow chutes in the middle. Within Whitefish Mountain's permit area, but out of the lift-served boundary, guided snow cat skiing is also available.
There is night skiing Friday and Saturday nights mid-December through mid-March and nightly during the holidays on seven trails (beginner and intermediate) served by two lifts from mid-December through March.
* Resort expense has been estimated by rating the cost of a daily lift ticket during the prime, non-holiday season (
$60 or less;
$60-75;
$75 or more ), this basis also offers some insight to approximate lodging and dining costs, but transportation (airfare, car rental/shuttle, etc.) has not been factored into account.
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