Ski Whitefish Montana

Whitefish Mountain Resort in Montana, USA (formerly Big Mountain) has committed additional resources to its Fishbowl Terrain Park and Superpipe with the aim of making it possible to open the popular features by Christmas, as well as to expand the offerings in the park for all ability levels. A new dedicated Park and Pipe Groomer position has been created who will coordinate closely with the terrain park crew and work exclusively in the terrain park and superpipe. The resort will also seek input and involvement from local skiers and riders.
Local snowboarder and photographer Brendan Rohan said, “It is encouraging to see the new board of directors take the initiative to upgrade the on-mountain experience for the new generation of riders. It will also be a great opportunity to dialogue with the mountain about the plan and it will be awesome

for local riders to train here and not have to move elsewhere in search of better facilities.” In 2005, the resort invested $250,000 to build

a 500-foot long Superpipe to Federation of International Skiing (FIS) competition standards. Additional snowmaking, lights,

and a sound system were also installed, and the resort purchased

a new Zaugg Pipe Monster grooming implement,

the industry standard Superpipe groomer.

This winter, the Fishbowl Terrain Park will undergo an expansion to offer a progression of features for all ability levels. A dedicated beginner area will be made up of smaller and less intimidating rails, boxes, rollers, and jumps. In addition, two distinct runs will flow from the top of the Chair 3 area all the way to the bottom: an intermediate line will begin adjacent to the superpipe, and park and grooming crews will take advantage of the headwalls and breakovers on Hope Slope to create an expert line that includes bigger jumps and longer landings. The bottom half of these two lines will run parallel to one another and feature a variety of rails and boxes. Jumps in the park this winter will include a 10-foot table top, 25-foot step down, 30 foot table top, with features including a 14-foot flat beginner rail, 16-foot flat box, 16-foot shotgun rail (double bar rail), 28-foot rainbow rail, 28-foot triple kink rail (flat down flat), a long 40-foot rail, a 20-foot flat box, a 20-foot c-box (a banked and curved funbox), and a wall ride, 8-feet high and 12 feet wide, with a sliding surface on front and top. In order for these initiatives to become reality, the resort is increasing its electric and water supplies in the area that will triple the snowmaking capacity in the pipe and park.

www.skiwhitefish.com