About Whitefish Mountain Resort
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In early 1947, a group of enthusiasts who had been skiing on the Big Mountain north of town since the 1930s convinced the people of Whitefish that a full-fledged ski resort should be built. The Great Northern Railroad had put Whitefish on the map in 1905 and the logging industry was still booming, but they had heard stories of Sun Valley and the alpine resorts of Europe and were convinced Whitefish could be home to one of America's great ski destinations. Ed Schenck and George Prentice, two developers from Great Falls, were persuaded to move to Whitefish, provide some capital, and oversee the construction and operation of Big Mountain Resort. A new company, Winter Sports, Inc., was formed and volunteer stock salesmen canvassed the valley to raise money for the effort. Many businesses in town traded products and services for stock in the company. Countless times that first summer and for the next couple of years, the company would struggle to pay their bills. Ed and George were convinced more than once that the project would collapse before the first season could even get started. On one such day, made famous by an article in the March 4, 1950 issue of the Saturday Evening Post, Chamber of Commerce President Brad Seeley locked most of the people in Whitefish in a room until enough money was committed to make it to opening day. In 1949, the Rocky Mountain Chalet was completed in time for the US National Alpine Skiing Championships, and a real effort to attract visitors from afar to vacation at Big Mountain began. Partnerships with the Great Northern Railroad produced a steady flow of tourists from Minneapolis, Seattle, and points in between (more than 50,000 people still disembark at the historic Whitefish Depot each year). World famous ski racer Toni Matt was somehow convinced to move to Whitefish and run the ski school, boosting the area's credibility in the skiing world. Steady growth led to the first Chair 1 being constructed in 1960, a monumental undertaking providing a single lift ride from the Mountain Village to the Summit. The Summit House restaurant was added in 1986, and many more upgrades and expansions over the years have culminated in today's Whitefish Mountain Resort: one of America's 10 largest ski resorts by acreage. More than 3,000 acres of terrain is covered in 300 inches of average annual snowfall, served by 10 regularly running lifts. A Mountain Village is home to restaurants, bars, shopping, skier services, and hundreds of hotel rooms, condos, and mountain homes. Known for Rocky Mountain snow that stays soft for days, a pleasant lack of lift lines, and a refreshingly authentic Montana vibe, Whitefish Mountain Resort enjoys its reputation as one of the best values in the ski industry. Today, Winter Sports, Inc. still owns and operates Whitefish Mountain Resort. Stock holders and the board of directors have seen many changes since 1947, but it's still a small company running a single ski resort in Northwest Montana for the benefit of the local economy. |
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