Whitefish plans new ski lift

Officials at Whitefish Mountain Resort (WMR) last week announced their desire to move forward with plans to expand to Flower Point with a new ski lift and 200 acres of new runs on the north side of northwest Montana’s Big Mountain. Much of WMR faces south. The expansion would give the resort more high elevation north facing intermediate terrain that could be opened earlier in the season, especially during lean winters such as that which took place this past season. In addition to four new trails, which would be kept fairly narrow with tree islands and feathered edges, plans call for additional glading in the existing Window Pane and Stumptown areas. The new 3,100 foot long, 800 vertical-foot fixed grip chairlift would start near but above the base of the existing Chair 7, while Russ’ Street would give visitors a direct path to return to the village base area from the top of the new lift. All terrain under the proposal is located within the resort’s existing permit area issued by the U.S. Forest Service. Expansion into Canyon Creek, a popular sidecountry area accessed currently via a hike to Flower Point, remains off the table and will still be outside the area boundary rope. Resort officials are optimistic that pending Forest Service review, construction could take place as early as 2013. The project, albeit with a longer lift to Flower Point that began below the bottom terminal of Chair 7, was first approved by the Forest Service in 1995 as part of the resort’s Master Development Plan.