Whitefish, MT
The drive from Missoula to Whitefish, in particular the last half, was gorgeous! Most notable on the drive is the town of Kalispell which sits on one of the largest freshwater lakes in the US - Flathead Lake. The gorgeous blue water begged for summer boating and fishing, while the mountains in the distance called us to ski.
There were a few reasonably priced accommodations in Whitefish and we went with the modest Stumptown Inn based on its proximity to both town and the riverside path. However, when we arrived and faced the giant 12 foot snowbanks between us and the park, we concluded that the closer-to-town Downtowner Inn might have been a better choice. Never the less, we soldiered on at Stumptown and even had the place to ourselves for a night!
Once we settled in we grabbed some food in the cute town and watched the Olympics opening ceremonies. Being on Mountain Time helped us stay up for the whole thing. The town of Whitefish has everything a quintessential ski town needs - craft breweries and dive bars, great restaurants, cute boutiques, outdoor gear shops, and a great pet store. The town is at the bottom of Big Mountain and about a 20 minute drive (or bus ride) to Whitefish Ski Resort.
Based on the frigid weather forecast we decided we would go hiking on our first day and save skiing for the snowier days. We found a fun loop hike in the woods and ran into a few cross country skiers and snowshoers with their dogs. The woods were a winter wonderland.
The next day, our plans to snowmobile to the top of Big Mountain were thwarted by below zero temperatures. We decided to postpone and found another hike and trip to the dog park instead.
One of the hidden benefits of staying at the Stumptown Inn is that it’s only a 5 minute walk to the bowling alley! That night we walked over and had a nice dinner with unbelievably good coconut cream pie for dessert before bowling a couple games.
On the way out we noticed this “Go Maggie Go” sign which we’d been seeing around town. It turns out that olympic slopestyle skier Maggie Voisin grew up in Whitefish and learned to ski there!
With Maggie in mind, we finally went skiing. We had gorgeous blue skies and the skiing was amazing. We pretty quickly fell in love with this mountain and had an absolute blast despite our numb feet. We’re not just talking cold toes here - I couldn’t feel the entire bottoms of my feet! With temps at the base maxing out at around 10 degrees we decided we needed a better situation for our next time on the slopes.
Before our snowmobile rental the next morning we went to the Alpin Haus and grabbed two pairs of discounted Boot Gloves and a pair of electric boot dryer/heaters that can be used in a wall outlet or car. Going off a tip from a Boot Glove review, the plan was to put the Boot Gloves on the boots and stick the heaters in them for an hour or so before skiing to trap as much heat as possible.
Our snowmobiling trip (on Valentines Day!) had us winding our way up the backside of Big Mountain. Told by the rental company that we likely wouldn’t make it to the summit lodge before it closed at 3:30, we accepted the challenge and skillfully wrapped around the mountainside and made our way up some incredibly steep faces with unbelievable views. We parked our sleds and placed our hot chocolate orders just in time at 3:29!
There was a big snow storm that night and were psyched to wake up in the morning to a few inches of fluffy powder and snow still coming down. We headed back to the slopes for a very different looking day of skiing. The Boot Glove and warmer strategy worked wonders and my feet barely got chilled this time out! Mike used just the Boot Gloves (no pre-heating) and also had good results!
After some hemming and hawing about maybe heading directly West, we finally decided to head further North to Banff, Alberta where we could use our Mountain Collective pass at 3 mountains in the Canadian Rockies. The next morning we took off for Banff National Park and even more snow!
