More Big Mountain Ski Area Information.gif)
The Dreaded Big Mountain Road
The Big Mountain ski area has one, and only one, road leading
up to it. This road is 5 miles long. And the road is not
the greatest. While the road is not gravel like is found
over at Blacktail, sometimes I wish it was, since it probably
would provide better traction and be safer.
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| The
Mountains of Glacier as seen from the Big Mountain
Ski Area |
You see, the Big Mountain Road as it is called has to be
one of the worst designed mountain roads in the history of
western road building. This sorry excuse for a road twists
and turns and has numerous switchbacks. While this is bad,
what is far worse is that the corners on the road are frequently
banked DOWN. Thus, when you go around a corner, instead of
your vehicle banking around the corner (with your vehicle
leaning in towards the mountain) like is normal on tight
turns, this road instead banks your car DOWN the mountain.
In other
words, if you hit a corner at too high of speed, it is
all to easy to simply slide right off the road since
there is no banking to help vehicles stay on the road.
The weight of your car can, in fact, literally slide your
vehicle
right off the road on these turns if not taken slowly and
carefully.
And,
should the worse happen and you begin to slide off the
road, don’t look for a guard rail to slow you down.
Only a few areas on the road actually have a guard rail – although
all the trees that line the road usually do a pretty good
job of catching cars before they disappear down the side
of the mountain.
Moreover,
the traffic on the Big Mountain Road in the mornings
is less than fun. While the road crews do a decent job of
keeping the road clear of snow, generally Big Mountain Road
has icy spots on it. These icy spots, combined with lots
of traffic, can lead to lots of accidents – some of
which can be nasty. And, if that wasn’t enough, people
in the morning drive up this road like it is the Indy 500.
Even if you go the speed limit of 25mph you are still very
likely to have a train of dozens of cars behind you by the
time you reach the ski area. Some of these yahoos will even
attempt to pass you on blind corners.
You
can avoid this fun commute, though, by hopping
on the Snow Bus. The Snow Bus is a free shuttle bus that runs from
downtown Whitefish (7 road miles away) to the base area of
Big Mountain. On weekends these buses can fill up – but
on weekdays one can usually get a space on the bus. Riding
the Snow Bus is a good way to get a free ride to the top
of the mountain without putting your car in mortal danger
of permanent damage. Ride time generally runs about 30-40
minutes from downtown Whitefish to the base area on Big Mountain.
Conclusion
Well,
there you have it. A detailed look and review at the Big
Mountain Ski Area by someone who has spent quite a bit
of time skiing
on the mountain.
As you
can probably tell, I’m torn two ways by Big
Mountain. On the one hand, I hate seeing Big Mountain turn
into a Montana “Vail”, as this is leading to
lots of little inconveniences, longer lift lines, higher
prices and more people on the slopes. Yet, on the other hand,
Big Mountain still has some wonderful skiing when conditions
are right.
To avoid
the crowds that swarm up on Big Mountain during the weekend,
try to ski during the weekdays – especially
Monday-Thursdays (Fridays can be moderately crowded at times).
And, if you are stuck skiing up there on the weekends, look
at skiing on the back side and/or using the two triple chairs
that Big Mountain opens up on the weekends.
An additional
word also needs to be mentioned about the stunning views
you get from the summit of Big Mountain. On a clear day,
the view from on top of Big Mountain is one of the finest
in Montana - with the sprawling Flathead Valley, Flathead
Lake and Whitefish Lake all seen to the south, while the
mountains of Glaicer and the Canadian Rockies rise to the
east.
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