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15-451: Winter Sports, Inc. (WSI) formed 77 years ago in 1947 as a public company of community shareholders, opened Big Mountain that December 14. It hosted the U.S. Alpine Championships in early March 1949, where future Olympic champion Andrea Mead of Vermont won all three women's titles at age sixteen. The mountain originally had a single T-bar , which was replaced by chairlifts installed in 1960, and 1968. After sixty years, it

30-410: A 15-for-one reverse stock split, further reducing to about 50 remaining shareholders in order to provide a tax advantage as a Subchapter S corporation . Again, all shareholders without enough shares to exchange for a post-split share were required to cash-out their stock. WSI's handling of the reverse split was criticized and resulted in animosity within the local community, where there were objections to

45-1092: A preponderance of revenue generated by the ski area derives from the sale of alpine and Nordic ski area passes and lift tickets, revenue from alpine, Nordic, and other snow sport instruction, and gross revenue from ancillary facilities that support alpine or Nordic skiing and other snow sports." Ski areas can extend over several municipalities (ex: La Plagne in France , Alta Badia in Italy , etc.) or several countries (ex: Portes du Soleil in France and Switzerland). A municipality can have several ski areas (ex: Chamonix-Mont-Blanc in France, Davos in Switzerland, Kitzbühel in Austria , etc.). The largest ski areas connect several ski resorts (ex: Les Trois Vallées in France). Alpine ski areas require substantial capital investment,

60-570: A significant labor force, and maintenance of an infrastructure that provides dining and retail services to skiers and that assures reliable snow that is appealing to skiers in locations that are accessible to them. Consequently, they require a fee structure and ancillary attractions that provide the revenue to sustain them economically. The natural settings of ski areas require the management of their environmental impacts, according to legal standards. The profession of ski area management requires specialized training in degree programs. Specialities include

75-625: The Canada–US border . Alpine skiing at the 1952 Winter Olympics At the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo , Norway , the six alpine skiing events were held from Thursday, 14 February, to Wednesday, 20 February. The downhill and giant slalom events were held at Norefjell in Krødsherad , Buskerud , and the slalom events at Rødkleiva in Oslo. The giant slalom made its Olympic debut, and

90-618: The combined event was dropped as an Olympic medal event for four decades, until 1988 . It returned as a medal event at the World Championships two years later in 1954 , and for the concurrent World Championships in Olympic years from 1956 through 1980 . For fourteen World Championships (1954–1980), the combined was a "paper race," using the results from the three events (and required the completion of each). Source: Twenty-eight nations sent alpine skiers to compete in

105-537: The Glacier View alignment), which services the eastern front side and East Rim. The western aspect of the mountain contains the Hell Roaring basin. Serviced by Hellroaring (a triple chairlift), Hell Roaring basin is the most advanced skiing on the mountain with cliffs, vertical chutes, and tight tree skiing. The intermediate Hellfire trail is the longest on the mountain; it runs 3.3 miles (5.3 km) from

120-808: The Swift Creek Express (formerly the Glacier Chaser), services beginner and intermediate terrain. The front side has seven of the mountain's eleven chairlifts. The backside of the mountain is serviced by the Big Creek Express, also a high-speed quad. The backside has more tree skiing terrain, and additional terrain can be accessed by the Bigfoot T-Bar on weekends and during select holiday periods, as well as Flower Point (a used triple chairlift acquired from Kimberley Alpine Resort ), and East Rim (a triple chairlift relocated from

135-400: The U.S. Alpine Championships in 2001. That event is remembered for the failed comeback attempt, and life-altering crash, of 1984 Olympic downhill champion Bill Johnson . In May 2004, WSI conducted a 150-for-one reverse stock split . Its stated purpose was to lower expense by reducing the number of shareholders to below the threshold that imposed public reporting requirements. At the time

150-626: The events in Oslo. Ski area A ski area is the terrain and supporting infrastructure where skiing and other snow sports take place. Such sports include alpine and cross-country skiing, snow boarding, tubing, sledding, etc. Ski areas may stand alone or be part of a ski resort . The US Forest Service defines a ski area as: "a site and associated facilities that has been primarily developed for alpine or Nordic skiing and other snow sports, but may also include, in appropriate circumstances, facilities necessary for other seasonal or year-round natural resource-based recreation activities, provided that

165-694: The resort reversed the decision and announced that 2008–09 winter season passes would again convey unlimited foot-passenger lift access for summer 2009. The mountain is separated into three faces. The front side is primarily serviced by the Big Mountain Express high-speed quad out of the Village base area and the Snow Ghost Express high speed six pack from the Base Lodge, and has the most skiable terrain. A second high-speed quad,

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180-563: The summit to the base of Chair 8. On some days the clouds at Whitefish Mountain Resort are low enough that skiers can literally ski above the clouds. The vertical drop of the ski area is 2,353 feet (717 m), with a summit elevation of 6,817 ft (2,078 m) and a base of 4,464 ft (1,361 m). The average annual snowfall is 300 inches (760 cm). The ski area is about nineteen miles (31 km) north of Glacier Park International Airport and 35 miles (56 km) south of

195-533: The timing of the related announcements and the loss of a community connection to the resort by the local residents. In early 2008, an avalanche occurred in the Flathead National Forest, within hiking distance of the backside of Big Mountain and killed two skiers on January 13. Later that year, the resort discontinued summer lift access for winter season pass holders, granting several free lift tickets instead. In September of that same year,

210-409: The transaction was proposed, 664 shareholders, or 72% of investors in the company, each separately held less than 150 shares. In total, these investors held a 2.5% equity (and voting) stake. The board expressed concern that the transaction might be viewed as coercive, but after review and outside consultation, decided the transaction was fair to the affected shareholders. In December 2006, WSI conducted

225-518: Was renamed "Whitefish Mountain Resort" in June 2007; by then the ski area had expanded to include ten chairlifts. Olympic champion Tommy Moe (b.1970) learned to ski and race at the mountain, where his father was on the ski patrol . Moe won the gold medal in the downhill and the silver in the super-G at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer , Norway . The mountain again hosted

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