Walking ends

Last Friday, Old Man Walking turned 70 and I ended my walk. The results have been overwhelming. From two young boys emerging from a car, each handing me a dollar bill, to a young lady at Glacier High sending in a personal check of $25 and to the student council at the Middle School raising $500, the kids of Whitefish have been amazing.

Add in the parents of these kids stopping me on the street to hand me a check and walkers passing me with cash in their outstretched hands, the 151 days were a tribute to the generosity and participation of our wonderful town.

On Sunday evening, Feb. 21, two waitresses at the Whitefish Lake Restaurant handed me donations. Amazingly the first one put me over $100,000.

Fast forward to Feb. 26 — thanks to the fire and police departments for an incredible parade. My total exploded to more than $240,000 and more is promised. If you add that amount to other money that has been raised recently, the $700,000 we need to re-raise has been cut to $275,000.

Yes, the total is coming down quickly, but please don't forget us because we still need more. It will be our pleasure to end this fundraiser and surely the town's ecstasy when it's done.

Richard Atkinson

Whitefish

Big Mt hiking

Why should the local community be upset about Whitefish Mountain Resort's new uphill hiking policy? Because it represents the taking private of nearly 3,000 acres of public lands.

The new rules completely eliminate pre-season access in the 6 to 8 weeks leading to WMR's opening, and then limit access to WMR's business hours the rest of the season. How is that any different than if WMR owned Big Mountain?

But it doesn't own the land; it operates on public lands under a special-use permit. The local community benefits from having a resort on Big Mountain, but WMR also benefits from use of the land and the access provided by Big Mountain Road. A road that just underwent a $9 million renovation and leads to one place, Big Mountain.

If the public lands at the end of that road are no longer open to the public, just where are we supposed to go instead? What other winter road in this area reaches sufficient altitude and snowpack for this activity?

There will always be few people that don't respect the resort's operations. The new rules are the resort's way to keep them separated from grooming and snow-making operations. But just as the public is expected to make concessions to the resort's operation, the resort should be expected to make concessions to public access.

After-hours conflicts can be avoided if both the public and the resort accept route and time restrictions to their activities. Something as simple as allowing people to use the Toni Matt route until a given time in the evening would have worked fine.

Most after-hours hikers are pass holders or frequent patrons of the resort that simply don't feel comfortable opposing downhill traffic during the resort's operating hours or can't get to the mountain that early. Surely a less restrictive policy could have been worked out, but WMR has chosen to do what it feels is best for itself, and the Forest Service seems to be letting it.

Since these are our public lands, even those who don't hike the mountain should be enraged by the conceit of WMR and the complacency of the Forest Service in this matter.

John Gibson

Whitefish

Hiking OK

Regarding hiking up Big Mountain after hours — I can't avoid a groomer? My gosh, the other skiers and trees better watch out.

I have no problem restricting hiking during the lift-operating hours.

John M. Lentz

Whitefish