# Whitefish Montana a/k/a Big Mountain



## LuckyRVA (Jan 18, 2011)

anyone?

10char


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## marcg (Dec 26, 2008)

I had a friend who spent a season there, he said it's not nicknamed the "Big Fog" for nothing.
Pros:
He said the terrain for snowboarding is awesome, the views are fantastic (when there is visibility), pretty affordable lift tickets and it's not very crowded at all.

Cons:
There are many days where you literally have 1 chair visibility, vertigo/dizziness is a big possibility.
It's pretty expensive to fly into Kalispell airport.
Average snowfall totals aren't huge, around 300"


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## LuckyRVA (Jan 18, 2011)

Thanks for the response. A family member has a place to stay in Whitefish for two weeks so I'm planning to stay for a week. 

I did notice the flights were pretty expensive and was hoping they would go down a bit. But, may be not. 

And 300 inches of snow is huge compared to what we get here so I'm not let down by that at all.


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## HoboMaster (May 16, 2010)

I've heard it's pretty similar to Schweitzer, which makes sense because we definitely get a lot of can't see shit days. Keep in mind that just because it has a lower average snowfall, doesn't mean theres no powder. We never get big dumps here (2+ feet), but what we do get is back-to-back days of 6-12inches. Which in my opinion is better, because you get consecutive powder days. If the snow is wet also, having a thinner layer is far easier to ride in then 3 feet of goop.


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## killclimbz (Aug 10, 2007)

I agree with Hobo's point on snow. Plus I doubt Whitefish sees the amount of traffic that areas in Salt Lake, Front Range Colorado, or Tahoe see. 

Everything I've heard is that it's a pretty killer place. Should be a fun trip.


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## chupacabraman (Jul 30, 2009)

Yeah it's pretty good. Enough snow (really varies year to year... 400cm on a bad year but 1100cm on a good year). Often flat light and foggy. Fairly mellow yet fun terrain. Like Killclimbz said it's not too busy there, so powder lasts longer and terrain is prime to rip.
Be sure to check out Castle, Fernie, Whitewater, and Bridger Bowl while you are in that area - all kick ass hills :thumbsup: (better than Big Sky, Schweitzer, Whitefish... others in area)


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## LuckyRVA (Jan 18, 2011)

Thanks guys! 



chupacabraman said:


> Be sure to check out Castle, Fernie, Whitewater, and Bridger Bowl while you are in that area - all kick ass hills :thumbsup: (better than Big Sky, Schweitzer, Whitefish... others in area)


If you were to hit up two of those hills which would it be?


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## chupacabraman (Jul 30, 2009)

LuckyRVA said:


> If you were to hit up two of those hills which would it be?


Whichever had the better conditions. If conditions are equal at all though...
The best terrain at Whitewater and Bridger Bowl is hike access and/or out of bounds but they do have some decent lift accessable stuff too. Whitewater by far gets the most snow from that group (high quality too). Fernie is the best 'all around' hill from that group... great for any ability, lots of snow (sometimes heavy/wet), decent park, etc. Castle has good steeps, drier snow, but a crappy park and lifts. None of those hills are too bad for crowds usually.


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## LuckyRVA (Jan 18, 2011)

Thanks :thumbsup:


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## snwbrddreams (Aug 2, 2010)

I rode a week in Whitefish last season. It’s a great mountain. Lift lines are few and far between and the entire mountain is skiable. There’s some good boarding terrain, especially on the back side and hellroaring. It does tend to get fogged in but on clear days the views into GNP are beautiful. There isn’t much in the way of après ski at the resort but a free shuttle runs to and from town. It’s not a bustling metropolis but there are some cool bars with good food and beer.


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## LuckyRVA (Jan 18, 2011)

snwbrddreams said:


> It’s not a bustling metropolis but there are some cool bars with good food and beer.


Good deal, that's what I'm looking for. 


Anyone done any cat riding out there?


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## snwbrddreams (Aug 2, 2010)

I didn’t do cat ridding while I was out there but if you get a chance and can get into Canada I’d hit up Fernie for a day or two. It’s about a two hour drive but it has some pretty awesome terrain. A group of us found a local that drove us up for the day.


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