Resort's groomers rank in SKI top-10
Readers of SKI magazine have ranked
Whitefish Mountain Resort as a top ski destination in the West for
scenery, uncrowded slopes, and new this year — for their superior
slope grooming.
Big Mountain was ranked 10th in the
category, marking the first time the resort has been recognized in
the annual survey for their grooming efforts.
“People rave about Inspiration, Big
Ravine and Toni Matt,” resort spokesperson Riley Polumbus said.
The magazine’s results are based on
reader surveys. Polumbus guesses new visitors to Big Mountain last
winter were impressed enough with the manicured slopes to give it
high marks in the survey.
Rory Kizer is the resort’s slope
maintenance manager. He notes that the grooming crew has more than
150 years combined experience on the mountain. Two employees have
been grooming the slopes for more than 20 years.
Crews groom 250 acres worth of slopes
in two shifts. A swing shift from 4 p.m. to midnight, and a
graveyard shift from midnight to 9:30 a.m. About 75 man hours per
night are tallied to keep the slopes in prime condition.
The groomed slopes could get even
better this year. The resort recently purchased a Prinoth BR350
groomer from Deer Valley in Utah — a resort that notoriously ranks
as the best destination for groomed runs.
The new groomer is painted white and
has a high-tech blade that works better with a variety of snow
conditions.
The resort’s grooming team includes
Kris Carpenter, Marc Evans, Mike Paulson, Laurie Fisher, Ben
Newsom, Clay Morrison, Jefre Elliot, Gardner Beougher, James
Kessler, Adam Grogan, Ryan Thirkield, Jeff Gerber, Ryan Brooks and
Thomas Lovern.