WHITEFISH, Mont. -- Whitefish Mountain Resort announced a revised policy for winter uphill traffic today, loosening previous restrictions and providing increased opportunities for participation in the increasingly popular winter activity.

The new policy is a revision of a set of guidelines that was agreed upon by Whitefish Mountain Resort and the Flathead National Forest in February, 2010. On March 1, 2010, the resort announced that it would be accepting written comments from the public pertaining to the policy, with the goal of improving the guidelines for the following ski season. Comments were accepted via email or USPS between March 1 and April 4, 2010 (the closing day of the 2009-2010 ski season).

Resort safety personnel proposed the original policy to address increasing levels of uphill traffic leading up to and during the 2009-2010 season, including increasingly common instances of uphill participants engaging in dangerous behavior.

“There are five main things we worry about when it comes to uphill traffic,” said Chester Powell, operations manager for the resort. “People getting too close to heavy grooming equipment in the evenings, potential collisions between uphill and downhill traffic during the day, people getting way too close to high-voltage electrical and high-pressure water lines during early season snow making, people putting themselves in areas where avalanche control work is happening, and people leaving ruts in freshly groomed snow in the evenings that can sometimes set up and be dangerous for skiers the next morning."

Powell said that several incidents involving skiers getting dangerously close to grooming equipment at the beginning of the 2009-2010 ski season made it clear to resort management that something needed to be done.

The policy announced in February restricted uphill traffic to one route, up the side of the Toni Matt ski run, and did not allow any uphill traffic after the lifts closed for the day.

“The restrictions on evening skiing were by far the most popular point of contention with the policy,” said Powell. “And that makes sense; evenings are the most accessible and enjoyable time for people to participate. Unfortunately, though, evening run-ins and close calls involving skiers and grooming machines, including high-tension winch cable systems, had been steadily increasing for the past few seasons and were by far the most alarming aspect of the whole situation.”

A total of 126 comments were submitted to the resort and the Forest Service. Nearly all asked for some sort of evening access. Other common feedback suggested that the pre-season portion of the policy was too restrictive, the post-season portion was too vague, and the selected route was not ideal in some situations.

“There were a lot of good ideas submitted, some not-so-great ideas, and even some thinly veiled threats,” said Donnie Clapp, public relations manager for the resort and administrator of the comment period. “It was great, though, for all of us here to be able to sit down, read through them, and get an idea of what all the people who care about this issue would like to see happen. It really helped us to be confident we were making good decisions.”

The new Winter Uphill Traffic Policy for Whitefish Mountain Resort includes four major changes from the previous year.

First, a second allowed East Route will be added. This route will ascend from the cul-de-sac at the end of Glades Drive, up Lower Inspiration, Expressway, and then Moe-Mentum to the Summit of Big Mountain. Resort staff hope that this route will be technically easier to ascend than the Toni Matt route, as well as provide an option that may be preferable during certain weather and snow conditions.

Second, evening access will be allowed on this new East Route until 7:00 p.m. each day, giving people the opportunity to complete a quick lap after work in most cases.

Third, route availability will change as follows, in order to minimize interactions between skiers and grooming equipment:
−9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., in-season: Toni Matt Route or East Route.
−4:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m., in-season: East Route only.
−6 a.m. - 9 a.m., in-season: Toni Matt Route only.
−First 14 days after closing day: East Route only from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m., no restrictions before 8 a.m. and after 4 p.m.

Fourth, pre-season uphill traffic will be allowed in general with no predefined routes.

In addition to the resort’s uphill traffic policy, the Forest Service has issued a new special order that states,

“It is prohibited for any skier, hiker, or person otherwise, to approach within 100 yards of grooming machines, whether stationary or moving; or snowmaking equipment, to include but not limited to fan guns, high-pressure water lines, and high-voltage electrical cables, within the Whitefish Mountain Resort permit boundary.”

The resort and the Forest Service hope that the special order will help deter dangerous activity during the entire winter season.

“We have a responsibility to provide a safe environment for recreational activities on the mountain,” said Tally Lake District Ranger Lisa Timchak. “Some unsafe situations were identified this past winter and we believe our new special order and the resort’s revised policy will help address these situations.”

Resort staff said the special order was key to expanding uphill traffic in the pre-season.

“We’ve been working closely with the Forest Service to come up with the least restrictive policy possible, and this special order makes it realistic for us to allow this activity pre-season, when our snow making equipment can be in use,” said Powell. “The location of the snow making guns, the high-voltage electrical lines, and the high-pressure water lines can change daily, so it would be impossible for us to designate a single safe route during that time.”

Resort officials said they did not initially expect to make such significant changes to the policy for this season, but were encouraged by the level of adherence to the new policy last spring.

“Most avid uphillers thought the original policy was too restrictive, and yet we had basically zero problems with people not following the rules,” said Dan Graves, president and CEO of the resort. “That gives us confidence that the uphill community will also be serious about following these new guidelines, and helping each other to stay out of danger.”

The new policy will be in effect as soon as the snow starts falling.

“Hopefully that’s early this year, and we get plenty of it,” said Clapp. “The National Weather Service is predicting above-average precipitation and below-average temperatures all winter long for this area because of the La Niña that has formed in the Atlantic, so maybe we’ll get lucky and that’s exactly what will happen.”

Resort and Forest Service staff stressed that they are open to further changes to the uphill policy. Timchack said she was appreciative of the interest and responses from the public regarding the uphill policy.

“Our goal is to get it right, mitigate dangerous behavior, and allow as much recreation within our permit boundary as possible,” said Powell. “That could mean more restrictions, less restrictions, different routes, or any number of things. It all depends on how well it goes this winter.”

For more information on Whitefish Mountain Resort’s Winter Uphill Traffic Policy, visit skiwhitefish.com/uphill, or send an email to pr@skiwhitefish.com.