Big Mountain Ski Resort

Big Mountain Ski Resort is the closest to an airport of any major ski resort in the country (remember we're ranked 24th).  Skiers like the idea that from plane to slopes is just a half hour.  Try that in Colorado, California, Jackson Hole, Park City, Utah, Taos, Telluride, Crested Butte, Killington, Vail, Aspen, Lake Tahoe. Some of those exceed two hours ground travel. We are easy to get to from our small but beautiful Glacier International Airport.  Good connections too. Example:  Tampa non stop to Minneapolis, non stop to Glacier Airport.  From Tampa to Whitefish with one stop. We get a lot of Florida skiers.  In contrast to the easy access by plane, we still are "undiscovered" hence, no lift lines.  3,000 acres is big by any resort standards (most are smaller than us) for great skiing at lift prices far under the national resorts standards.  Big Mountain Ski Resort at Whitefish is a big bargain.

Bill Milner 1/18/2005

In Montana we play indoors too

Sure, Montana has the best there is to offer for outdoor recreational activities: skiing, golf, biking, hiking, fishing, Glacier National Park, Big Mountain, etc. but what about something for that day off to let those muscles relax?

“Cue the Whitefish Theatre Company” Live entertainment, plus! From theater and music to film, opera and dance.

The Chamber Music Series presented performances by “Chinook Winds” (flute, oboe and bassoon) and “Montana Skies” (cello and guitar). This year's live theatre produced a musical base on The Ugly Duckling, “HONK” followed by Guys and Dolls. Playing, as this is written, is a Steve Martin adaptation of The Underpants. The Utah Symphony and Opera Company paid a visit to Whitefish in April presenting Don Pasquale. Locals Rob Quist and Jack Gladstone team up to bring us music and stories of the old west and Native American past.For indoor independent films and all the performing arts, The Whitefish Theatre Company is a sit down activity that’ll stimulate you and give you a rest at the same time.

Bill Milner 5/8/2005

Whitefish is one of the best values in the country

What makes Whitefish's charm?  Great outdoor offerings at a lower price than anywhere in the Rockies.  Glacier National Park is spectacular.  Our fishing is Blue Ribbon, as is our canoeing, kayaking, hiking, fat tire bike trails, horse back riding and more.  Hunters boast the records in moose, elk, antelope, deer and other critters. Western Montana isn't just in the West, It is the West!  Our Big Sky is clean and clear.  Look up and see stars you'd never see in other parts of the world.  Our Northern Lights will touch your soul. Our skiing and skiers have won gold in the Olympics, Special Olympics too.  Golf Digest rates us as one of the top fifty golf destinations in the country.  Close to Seattle and California we get the best seafood in by train every morning as well as the best fruits, vegetables and fine wines.  With thirty restaurants and a live performing arts theater we dress up pretty good too. 

Bill Milner 3/1/2005

Appreciation of Properties

On Big Mountain and Whitefish we are realizing 20-25% annual appreciation.  My own mountain condo went up 42% in 16 months. Downtown residential properties are, according the U.S. Bureau of Statistics, appreciating at 17.6%.  Cut any of these numbers in half and you'd still be doing pretty good.  Not having an investment license I can't make investment forecasts but I have watched what's been happening for the last ten years.  The escalation is awesome.

Bill Milner 2/3/2005

Come up one one summer day.  Hike and fish or just look for that perfect picture.  Glacier's mountains bend you back as you try to frame the valley's wild flowers and the snow capped peaks all in one shot.  Bring a bike and ride up to the Medicine Line or into Kintla Lake for brownies (trout).  Later, enjoy stuffed buffalo chops (huge) with horseradish and garlic smashed potatoes, crusty bread and a wild greens salad with crumbled Irish Blue Cheese made from goats milk. The bar hosts a nice wine list. Enjoy an after dinner drink in the "Dining Room" while listening to local guitar and cowboy songs by the fire pit.  Michael Martin Murphy, John Denver, Rita Coolridge (Sioux). Often there will be some Blue Grass too.  During breaks it's fun to eavesdrop on conversations of others who almost caught that record trout or got soaked with 46 f. water as they crashed thru the white water rapids just missing that huge boulder by the big drop "Skull Krusher."

As I write, spring is starting to show its presence in the Flathead Valley but winter lasts here until May.  The nights are cool all summer.  Bring blankets, a jacket and good winter coat to change into as the evening air gets crisp.  A seat by the fire is to be reserved early.

Make sure you have a sleeping bag and a good ground cloth.  You'll be ready for some shut eye the minute the sky goes dark, around 11:30 PM.  Remember, your only a few miles from Canada and you're at the western edge of the Mountain Time Zone, the days are long, nights short.  Sleeping with Montana sky as your roof will give you a good look at the Northern Lights as they crackle their way across the sky.  Yes, you can actually hear them as you are awed by the waves of electric blue, red, green, yellow and orange neons. There are no city lights here.  You'd think the night would be blacker than black but not so.  The pine scented air is so clear you'll see stars, planets and shooting stars so bright that even on a moonless night the heavens light the forest so that you can see that griz moving around as far as a mile in the distance.  Not to worry, you won't have to use the bear spray, the bears hate dogs and will stay clear.  If you didn't bring a dog, no problem, there are plenty shared by other campers. They come in all sizes, mostly labs but there's a doxie or three and other small dogs too. They all sleep with one eye open. 

Sun up and it's "cakes on the griddle" about 4:45 AM. The smells of bacon and coffee announce the river's ready for another challenge.  The aroma from the bakery have you looking for your wallet. This is the finest "aroma therapy." Had enough of the river yesterday?  The bartender let it slip where there's some good huckleberry pickin'.  Better bring the pepper spray and your dog today, there are some competitors that like those berries too.

Yep, Polebridge has gone to the dogs.  Isn't that wonderful!?!

Bill Milner 3/12/06

Dog Daze

Thought I'd share my thoughts as I look at this picture.

Montana has, a long time ago, gone to the dogs.  This picture was taken March 11, 2006 in Polebridge by the Daily Inter Lake.  Polebridge hugs the western edges of Glacier National Park, near the Medicine Line (that's what the local Indians call the Canadian/USA border). You'll have to make plans for an overnight trip to Northern Lights Saloon and Eatery in Polebridge.  It's about two hours from "The Big." There are two commercial buildings in Polebridge.  Next door, the Polebridge Mercantile is more than just a fun place to visit.  It's the local supply house for just about anything one would need to survive this rugged mountain area.  Tools, canvas repair kits, local crafts, bait, vittles, canned food, jerky, water, gas, post cards and a phone booth sized post office plus one heckuva great bakery.  Fresh breads and pastries fill the air with wonderful smells that make the mandatory purchase a quandary trying to choose what you'll eat now and what you'll save for later.  There is no way to resist, you will buy some pastry and not just one. It's okay, the hiking and fresh air burn up those calories

The Saloon and Eatery always has on staff a top chef.  The meals are fine dining on a log table resting unevenly on a squeaky old wood floor.  Chairs don't match. There's a well for water, a chemical toilet and propane for cooking and gas lanterns that throw moving light and shadows, a fire in the woodstove heats the 700 sf nicely. The bar seats about six so most sit at a table or go out to the "dining room."  As you walk from your car to the Saloon you'll pass under a split log entrance way and thru outdoor picnic tables where a sign greets all, "No Dogs allowed in the Dining Room."  Dining room?  Yup, surrounded by a split log fence are about a half dozen old unpainted picnic tables that front the entrance to The Northern Lights Saloon and Eatery.  Dogs are required to stay outside the fence. Doesn't seem fair, the grizzlies and blacks can come and go as they please as well as the few moose that live nearby.  Last time I drove up here from thebig city (Whitefish, pop. almost 6,000) I had to wait as about eighty elk crossed the road, each giving me eye contact before strolling past my van.  After twenty pictures I carefully and slowly drove thru the herd. They fell in behind me and continued on their way.