Skiers and snowboarders, the wait is nearly over. Whitefish Mountain Resort’s opening day is tomorrow, Dec. 4, but to download or not is still in question.  

A warm fall and a dry November kept winter enthusiasts on their toes, but the snow finally arrived, with 28 inches falling on Big Mountain over the last week. The summit had a settled base of 33 inches with 52 inches season to date, as of Tuesday morning. 

It is likely that terrain will be limited to the backside for opening day, but a final call has yet to be made, said Chad Sokol, the resort’s public relations manager. He advised skiers to check the snow report Thursday morning for a full update on open terrain and lifts.

Improvements at the resort this season include a new 60-foot cell tower at the entrance of the Fir parking lot. The project was initiated by a cell tower company, and the resort agreed knowing it would give a boost to patrons. The tower will support service for Verizon and AT&T customers across the village area.  

The resort purchased two Prinoth snowcats, one new and one used, bringing their fleet to 10 grooming machines. The brand new Prinoth X is expected to be a big boost on terrain parks.  

“The crew is pretty excited,” said slopes manager Clay Morrison. “This one is Prinoth's park model, so it does have more articulation in both the blade and tiller for shaping features. New to this model are shaped wings on the ends of the blade that will make it easier to cut crisp, sharp edges on jumps and features. The terrain park crew has historically done this by hand.” 

A pair of TechnoAlpin snowmaking machines was also purchased, increasing the arsenal to 19 snow guns. The modern machines can produce snow during warmer temperatures and at a higher volume than older models, helping to boost lower-elevation terrain early in the season and maintain a sufficient base throughout. 

Skiers will also notice less brush on several of the resort’s runs. Trail maintenance crews worked through the summer to shape up about 180 acres of terrain by clearing out overgrowth. Improved areas on the frontside of the mountain extend from Chair 1 east to Inspiration, and from the summit down to Russ’s Street.  

The resort reported wage increases for all employees to keep up with the ever-rising cost of living, and strong success with hiring locals.  

The resort and Whitefish Mountain Resort Professional Ski Patrol, which first unionized in March 2024, reached a one-year deal for the season. The contract is an improvement, but ski patrol union president Jamie Burkholder said negotiations will resume next year with the goal of paying every patroller a livable wage. 

The resort’s winter events calendar is chock-full with Biggie Bank, Tommy Moe and Wednesday night ski-mo races. The free skiing junior tour will have a three-day stop Jan. 8 –11 and a regional USSA alpine ski race will be Jan. 24-25. The 26th annual Nate Chute Banked Slalom is March 22-23. Corn Cup slopestyle returns March 28 and Lady Park Power Hour is March 29. Pond skim is April 4 and closing day is April 5.  

The Snow Bus is ready to roll for Dec. 4. There are no major updates or changes to the fleet and service, although The Big Mountain Commercial Association is trying out adding gear-racks to the back of just a couple of the buses, something that used to be on all buses but is no longer the norm.  

The BMCA encourages riders to utilize the live bus tracker, especially on busy days, by downloading the app “BusWhere for Shuttles” or by viewing bigmtncommercial.org/tracker.

The 2025-26 price for a one-day lift ticket is $115. The cost for a season pass purchased before Sept. 30 was $780, a $31 increase from the year prior.  

Visitors to Big Mountain can expect a 3% resort tax on nearly every good and service sold, including lift tickets, dining and private events. The tax was voted in by Big Mountain Resort Area District residents, noninclusive of the resort, earlier this year. The Big Mountain Fire District is the primary beneficiary. 

Whitefish Mountain Resort offers 11 chair lifts and 111 named runs across 3,000 acres, much of which is Flathead National Forest land.