lvk

We will be skiing/boarding here for a few days after Christmas. We are two families with different levels of skiing/boarding. I have read on the board how beautiful and uncrowded this place is and we are really looking forward to it!

I'm also looking for tips that you can't get from the resort's website or trail map:

Favorite scenic intermediate run?
Best places to ski in the morning? afternoon?
Favorite on-mountain or off-mountain dining?
Is the on-mountain dining (like at most resorts) so expensive and mediocre that we should pack our own lunches?

Any other information from those in the know will be greatly appreciated.

boom_boom

Only trip to the area we ate at the Whitfish Lake Golf Club Restaurant and had an excellent meal, and at Logan's which in in the Grouse Mt. Lodge, also very good dinner.

enzian

I love Big Mountain and wish I could help you, but it's been about 10 years since we were there. I don't think you'll have trouble finding favorite runs, and figuring out which is best morning/afternoon.

Even tho' it is Montana, it can be surprisingly warm. We had spring skiing conditions in February one year. But of course, it can be very cold as well (and then the snow is better).

In 3 trips there, we mostly ate on the mountain and had no complaints. I think the nice dinner option was Kandahar Lodge---does that sound right? It was very nice. We took a shuttle into Whitefish one night just for variety. But I think there is lots more on offer these days.

lvk

Thanks for all the responses so far.

Adding those restaurants to our list.

John

Hello from Northwest Montana.
Raining now in the valley but snowing in the mountains. PERFECT!
Big Mtn. now has approx.11 inches in the village and 36 inches at the summitt and it continues to snow.
Everyone has a favorite run but mine are 1- Toni Matt and 2- Inspiration on the "front side" or south side of the mtn.
Hell Fire is a great run when open. Not scenic, as you are in the trees but a great run. All of these are rated intermediate.
On the "back side" or north side, Whitetail is my fav.
You should be aware that this area can be VERY foggy. Many times though it is foggy in the valley and sun shine on the mountain.
See part two below.
(inversions)

John

There is another ski area in the valley called Blacktail Mountain. If you have a car it is approx. 2 hours away from the BASE of Big Mountain. It's a small friendly area and is closed Mon. and Tues. Many times they are NOT fogged in when Big Mtn. is. Web site is wwwblacktailmountain.com
Food on the slopes except for Hell Roaring Sallon is typically blah and expensive. Restaurants mentioned in the other post are excellent.
Again, if you have transportation, Kalispell,approx. 20 miles away, has almost all the chain restaurants. Some lacal favorites in Kalispell are; For burgers, Scotty's; for pizza, Mackenzies River Pizza(I THINK they are opening a branch on the mountain) and for BBQ Famous Dave's, though a chain it is excellent.
CONTINUED BELOW

John

In Whitefish, a couple of good restaurants are: Italian, Mambo Italiano and for Cajun,pasta or steaks the Tupelo Grille.Though I have not eaten there, the Craggy Range in Whitefish gets good reports.

I would suggest you take advantage of the ski Ambassadors on the mtn. They are all volunteers and meet at approx. 10:00am and 1:30 pm. They will give you a free tour of runs and of course they are in the KNOW of the days best snow on the runs.
The village of Big Fork is approx. 35 miles from the base of the mountain and it has a number of excellent restaurants, again if you have transportation.
Happy trails!!!

John

That web site is
www.blacktailmountain.com

John

t for lvk

lvk

Thanks so much John! This is exactly what I was looking for. We're staying with friends south of Big Fork, and will have transportation. We're really looking forward to visiting your beautiful area. We've been to Montana in winter before, but did not ski.

Did you get dumped on by that storm that hit the Northwest?

John

As I mentioned, we had rain in the valley but, yes, they got snow up on "the Big". Area is set to open Dec. 8 but at the moment they are having problems with the new lifts.
All should be well when you arrive.

lvk

Just a quick update on our experience at Big Mountain, which has been renamed Whitefish Mountain Resort (at least that's what is says on our lift tickets.) We had a wonderful time, but it I have to say that is not such a well-kept secret anymore -- at least during the busy Xmas and New Year weeks. There were plenty of lift lines at the lower lifts. We did also experience more than our share of mechanical problems with the lifts.

It is definitely an intermediate and advance skiier's mountain. I felt sorry for our "beginner" friends, as they were limited to short runs low on the mountain. They didn't get to see the beauty of the peak of the mountain, as there are no long beginner runs from the top. I enjoyed Inspiration for the scenery, but I think that Swift Creek was my favorite. There was lots of snow, and the conditions were great.

We ate on the mountain at Nate & Mully's Smokehouse, and at the Bierstube. Both were good.

Thanks for all of the tips. We love Western Montana!

enzian

Thanks for the report, lvk. Where did you end up staying? On the mountain? We are now thinking of going there ourselves, taking the train from Seattle.

John

It is indeed now called Whitefish Mountain resort since it has been bought out by "big bucks" people. To locals it will always be "The Big". Long lines at Christmas break are inevitable at most ski resorts but I'll bet these were the shortest long lines around. Also, the "big bucks" people replaced two lifts this summer so I'm assuming these are the ones that were breaking down adding to the long lines.
Glad you had a good time.