By Sara Kennedy
Cover photo courtesy of Sara Kennedy
After falling into a regular routine with our local season passes last winter, my family decided to shake things up and take an out-of-town snowboarding trip. After a quick Google search, we had our passes and Vrbo booked in Whitefish, Mont. My husband, LJ, and I loaded up the truck with our snowboarding gear, some snacks and three boys—our two sons and our German exchange student. We ended up leaving late Saturday afternoon due to some obligations, drove through the dark and arrived at our Whitefish Vrbo close to midnight.
Our accommodations turned out to be a remodeled double-wide with an addition in an eclectic neighborhood—but with a room for each of us, a close drive to the town of Whitefish and a reasonable price point, it was perfect.
On Sunday morning, we all packed up quickly, feeling inspired and stoked with the new blanket of snow coating the truck. After a tasty—but expensive—meal of breakfast sandwiches in the lodge, we vowed to stop at a grocery store on the way back that evening for bacon and eggs to cook ourselves.
Armed with lift tickets and an iPhone photo of the trail map, we decided to divide and conquer, with the boys heading to the park and LJ and me going on the search for pow. Our first go was an underwhelming frontside run with ice and low snow conditions, but it gave us our bearings. Additionally, we identified the chair needed to get over the summit to the backside and headed straight for it.
We quickly discovered this was the right direction for us. In the back bowl we found what we had been looking for—stashes of deep, untouched powder around every turn. We spent the morning lapping the backside, taking a different chair every time, and pitying the poor boys down in the park, wasting their time on manipulated surfaces when they could be living it up on clouds.
A few chairlift rides with skiers familiar with Whitefish proved invaluable as we gleaned tips and tricks off the knowledgeable. Over the course of Sunday and Monday at Whitefish, we adventured to different lifts, runs and areas of the park, as well as trying different spots to eat and rehydrate. Our first meal at the Summit House was an obvious choice, with fresh ramen and views of Montana all around. Another lift ride of advice sent us down to the Hellroaring Saloon for amazing service and great burgers. We would visit Hellroaring again, and it wasn’t just for the pub. One run leading directly to the Hellroaring restaurant held an eponymous title.
“The Hellroaring run was the most amazing run ever. Then eating at the Hellroaring Pub afterwards was an incredible way to finish the day,” says LJ. “But I don’t recommend bringing your kids,” he mostly jokes. He’s an avid fan of quality time with his wife, and snowboarding is one of the highest-quality activities available.
After our first foray into the backside, we knew we couldn’t in good conscience allow the boys to spend any more time in the park. We gathered them up at lunch and brought them back for the rest of the day. As much as they had enjoyed the park, the backside exceeded their expectations.
Silas, my older teenager, still dreams of Whitefish daily, and can’t wait for the snow to fall this season. “Whitefish is the perfect mix of powder and park riding,” says Silas. “It’s the place you can’t get enough of. It’s the definition of resort.”
In the town of Whitefish, we had pizza at Mackenzie River Pizza Co., which my 12-year-old recalls as his favorite memory of our trip. Afterward, we had ice cream at Sweet Peaks, which was delightful enough to inspire a purchase of a Sweet Peaks pom-pom beanie.
After spending all of Sunday and Monday at the mountain, we looked forward to our final day on Tuesday before heading home to Spokane. Tuesday morning wakened us to a glorious layer of fresh snow down in the valley. We piled into the truck to make the trek up the mountain for an epic last day.
It was then we discovered the downside of staying off-mountain. Apple Maps revealed a solid red line all the way up the single road to the resort. After waiting—and inching along—in said line for 45 minutes and not yet making it to the end of town, we unanimously voted to flip a U-turn and hit up Lookout Pass on the way home for fun and expediency.
An almost empty Lookout Pass on a February Tuesday with feet of fresh pow proved to be an excellent decision, but we are all still counting down the days until snow flies in Whitefish again.
Sara Kennedy is an elementary school librarian. When she’s not reading children’s books, she’s running, cycling and planning her next trip to Whitefish.
