So you may ask, where is Whitefish Mountain Resort?  I mean everyone has heard of Vail, Aspen, Breckenridge, Steamboat, but Whitefish?  Whitefish is a small town in northwestern Montana about 40 miles from the Canadian border.  It's known for many outdoor activities including skiing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing in the winter; fishing, kayaking, rafting, hiking, and biking, both trail and road, in the summer.  Our trip took us there for the skiing.

Early in January, I received an invitation for a FAM (Familiarization) trip to Whitefish.  I was invited because of an interest I had taken in the area for skiing at MTS (Mountain Travel Symposium) in 2012.  In addition, I could bring a guest.  It didn't take me long to decide.  I had been thinking about taking our ski club there for the last two years, but not knowing a lot about Whitefish, other locations were chosen.  This was the perfect way to have a chance to check it out first.

The trip was scheduled to be four days - arrive Friday, leave Monday - but I extended it an extra day so we could look around the area.  When it was time to go, I had a little bit of background on the town, but was about to learn more.

Our flight took us from Syracuse to Minneapolis and on to Kalispell, MT.  Everything went smoothly.  When we arrived there, an agent from Dollar Rental was at the airport to take us to our car.  He told us he had retired to Whitefish (I would hear that often during our visit). We picked up the car, got directions to town and drove a short 11 miles to the center of Whitefish.

Driving into Whitefish

One thing that was very evident was there was absolutely no snow on the ground!  I had half expected this since I had been watching their temperatures and it seemed quite warm there for Northern Montana.  In fact, the day after we arrived, it hit 67 degrees in the town of Whitefish!  I would later hear much about the weather from the local folks.  It had been an unusual winter.   Receiving some early snow in November and December, by early January, they had around 218 inches.  They did not receive any additional significant snow until just before we arrived.  Consequently their snow totals were behind prior years.  Average snowfall is 300" annually!  But in spite of the warm, dry winter, they were still operating unlike some other ski areas in the Northwest.  (More on skiing later)!

The town of Whitefish sits in the Flathead Valley. It's quite big in area with outlying businesses and shopping centers, but the heart of town has a small, Western-town feel.  A view of the mountain is very visible from downtown.  The main street - Central Avenue - is covered and as you walk along, there are restaurants, shops, art galleries, coffee shops and a microbrewery.  We found some great art and local craft items as well as the usual souvenirs.  The hit for me was the brewery (not a big shopper).  It had two levels and the top floor was surrounded by glass on two sides which gave you a great view of the mountain and town.  Their beer wasn't bad either!  

At the waterfall

One of the things that I was anxious to do was to go to Glacier National Park, 25 miles from

Along McDonald Lake

Whitefish.  There is only so far you can go into GNP in the winter as a tourist.  The road (Going-t0-the-Sun Road, aka Logan Pass) to the park is closed after McDonald Lodge which is as far as snowplows go.  So the day after we arrived, we made the drive up to the point where the road was closed.  We had a map with some trails.  We saw a group with a ranger with backpacks and snowshoes ready to take a hike.  We followed after to the trailhead, but decided the one we thought we might try was too aggressive and we were definitely not equipped to do it (one water bottle, no snowshoes, no food).  It was 6 miles one way with over 3k elevation gain to over 6,000 ft.  Later we heard it was not an easy hike. We decided to walk up the road and find another trail on the map - John's Lake Trail.  It was amazing to find snow still on the road and it got deeper as we went further

Looking North from
McDonald Lake

North.  We found the trail and it was pretty easy hiking with only about 500 feet elevation gain, but we were surprised by all the blow downs.  At the end, we saw a waterfall and the water was moving quickly.  Getting back to the car, we saw some amazing views along McDonald Lake and stopped numerous times to get pictures.  Realizing we had only touched on a small part of the park, you can only wonder what lies further beyond.

Morning at Whitefish Mtn

There is plenty of lodging in Whitefish and at the mountain resort.  The first evening we stayed at The Kandahar Lodge at the mountain.  The lodge was very nice.  With a rustic 'Montana' feel, it had a very cozy lounge and wood fireplace to relax in the evening after skiing all day.  I woke early and went down to sit in front of the fireplace with my IPad and a cup of coffee.  Continental breakfast is served for guests with energy bars to stuff in your pocket and take to the mountain with you for a snack.  An early morning walk to the

Morning at Whitefish Mtn

Upper Village with the sun shining was invigorating.  Plus it was nice to get a good look at the mountain.  We stayed at Grouse Mountain Lodge for the rest of our trip.  About a mile from town, it was located on a beautiful golf course which was preparing to open in mid-April.  A very nice hotel with all the amenities we needed.

Other lodging was available on the mountain including condos and private homes. We were taken on tours of a few.  They showed us the deluxe and standard offerings.  Both were quite nice and equipped with laundry facilities, fireplaces, and ski storage. Some were ski in/ski out, others were close to a bus stop.  One had a hot tub on the roof; another a covered hot tub.  One also had interchangeable beds that could be used as king or twin beds.  A definite plus when filling rooms with both singles and couples.

Great food at Whitefish Lodge

Restaurants were abundant in the area.  The meals we had were very good.  We ate at LouLa's (in town).  The specialty was breakfast and homeade pies.  Both were good and so

View of Whitefish Mtn from
Whitefish Lake

was dinner!  We had lunch at MacKenzie River Pizza Co (also in town).  They had great Lodgepoles which I should have skipped - filling...!  Dinners were at Grouse Mountain Lodge, Hellroaring on the mountain (also excellent with a huge selection) and Whitefish Lodge (fine dining, nice menu) on Whitefish Lake.

On the North Side

The mountain itself has 300 acres of skiing, is 6,800 ft at its highest point and has a very diverse terrain.  Skiers can ski both sides of the mountain and all chairs lead to the top. We were told there is at least one green trail off all chairs.  I skied mostly intermediate trails with my mountain ambassador and ski instructor (also retired there from Minnesota).  I was amazed at how good the skiing was given their snowfall totals.  My instructor later told me that the day before when it was raining at the base of the mountain, it was snowing at the top.  That must have helped the conditions.  I was saying it was wonderful and the people there were saying - there's no powder! 

Picture of a snow ghost
at the Kandahar

The trails offered great skiing - wide enough to maneuver, but not too wide and no screeching under your skis (that sound of hard pack turning to ice).  My instructor pointed out that in many places you could ski into the trees and then pop back out onto the trail.  There is lots of glade skiing at Whitefish and when there is a lot of snow, it clings to the trees, making an eerie effect.  They call them 'snow ghosts'.  Unfortunately they weren't any ghosts on this trip.

South Side of Whitefish Mtn

Fog can be prevalent on the mountain and in the valley.  The first morning, it was bright and sunny on the mountain.  When we drove to the valley, it was socked in with fog.  The day we skied, it was the opposite - fog on top, clear below.  The local folks don't seem to mind.  They just said, this is nothing and took us where it was clear and much more visible.  I guess you deal with the conditions or stay indoors!  But the sunny days were beautiful and made you forget the fog.

As mentioned before, we had dinner one night at Hellroaring Saloon.  Located on the slopes, you can ski in/out or walk in/out.  We walked in from our shuttle; somehow I missed the memo (and never gave it a thought) that we would have to walk across soft snow.  I wore my new shoes I'd just purchased at The Toggery (in town) the day before since I'd forgotten to pack shoes other than sneakers and boots.  Luckily, they didn't too soggy!  The restaurant is a 3-story chalet and the oldest building on the mountain, built in 1949.  Our dinner was very good and the atmosphere is fun.  With many specials, there was a lot to choose from.  And it seems all the restaurants stock the Great Northern Brewery Beer that I liked - Wheatfish.

And not to forget the summer season, one of our first stops when we arrived in town was the
 Glacier Bicycle & Nordic Shop.  We found out about cycling in the area - the many mountain

bike trails (Whitefish Trails) and road cycling the Going-to-the-Sun Road before it's opened to cars.   I imagine another challenge for area cyclists was riding the Mountain Road to the ski resort.  We saw a few out on their bikes doing just that. I don't have any stats on it, but it looked like a tough little climb.  And an amazing thing we learned was that there is still daylight in Whitefish until 11 pm in the summer!  That would definitely mess me up.

Monday came and it was time to go home.  Getting in and out of Whitefish airport was seamless...  no issues to report and both flights were on time.  Most likely not like that all the time, but this particular trip, it was nice.

We will definitely make plans to go back; right now it's on our list to go both in winter and summer!