FOR DISTRIBUTION 8/24/09
Whitefish Mountain Resort Adds Open Days in September
Strong Visitation Prompts Expansion of Summer Plans
WHITEFISH, Mont. – Two successful new attractions and higher-than-expected demand for nearly all summer activities has prompted Whitefish Mountain Resort to increase the number of days it will be open for summer business this September.
The resort will be open 7-days per week through Monday, Sept. 7 (Labor Day). Resort management had planned to open on Saturdays and Sundays through the end of September. After experiencing steady demand for all of their summer activities, they have decided to open on Fridays throughout September as well.
The three day weekends will include Zip Line Tours, the Alpine Slide, Walk in the Treetops, Scenic Lift Rides, downhill and cross-country mountain biking, and full operation of the Summit House Restaurant and the Base Lodge Café. Zip Line Tours and Walk in the Treetops will both be offered at the reduced price of $39 after Labor Day as well.
On June 19, Whitefish Mountain Resort opened its new 2-hour guided Zip Line Tour, along with a new Alpine Slide.
“We’ve been working the last two years to make summer more than just ‘that other season,’” said Public Relations Manager Donnie Clapp. “We discussed and researched several different ideas, and last year the board of directors approved construction of the zip lines and the Alpine Slide for summer 2009.”
Resort management was hopeful the new attractions would entice some of Glacier Park and the Flathead Valley’s many summer visitors to make the short drive up Big Mountain Road, increasing summer business in the face of a slow economy.
“We had been to different places to try other examples of these kinds of things,” said Clapp. “We had fun, and we knew our guests would too, but there were some unknowns.”
After trying several different configurations, resort management has settled on offering eleven zip line tours each day. Reservations for up to 12 zippers per tour are accepted by phone at 406-862-2900, with two additional spots available for day-of walk-up business for a maximum of 14 people per tour.
Between June 19 and Aug. 7, an average of 114 people per day had taken to the air above the resort’s forested mountainside on the zip line tours. Currently, many tours are booked days in advance and resort management highly recommends reservations.
The Alpine Slide has been a similar success story. Tickets to ride the slide are $5 when four or more rides are purchased, and a round trip up the Village Chair lift (Chair 6) and down the slide takes about 15 - 20 minutes. Riders sit on a plastic sled with roller skate-like wheels and push a lever forward to disengage the brake and increase speed.
“It was difficult to predict exactly how much demand we’d see in the first year,” said Clapp. “But anyone who’d ever ridden one was confident people would love it.”
Between June 19 and Aug. 7, there were an average of 598 rides per day on the 1600-foot-long attraction, including free rides for young children less than 48 inches tall.
“The popularity of the Alpine Slide, I think beyond everything else this summer, has been a satisfying success. Of course, one ride is all it takes to see why so many people are having so much fun on it.”
It’s not just the new attractions that are doing well at Whitefish Mountain Resort. Scenic lift rides and downhill mountain biking have also both seen increases in usage this summer.
“Toward the end of last summer, we completed construction and opened the Runaway Train, our new freeride-style downhill mountain biking trail, and that has brought more people up here to bike,” said Clapp. “But I think we’re also seeing a lot of people that were initially drawn by the new attractions and end up spending the whole day doing everything there is to do here.”
On Saturday, August 29, Whitefish Mountain Resort will host Brewfest, a fundraising event for the SNOW Bus, which is run as a public service by the Big Mountain Commercial Association. “Sip ‘N Stay” packages that combine tickets to the festival with on-mountain lodging are available for $80/person.
Reservations for Zip Line and Walk in the Treetops tours, details on lodging packages, and more information on all activities offered at Whitefish Mountain Resort are available by calling 406-862-2900.
About Whitefish Mountain Resort
For more than 60 years, Whitefish Mountain Resort has been America’s favorite destination for good times, good people, and great snow. Rising above the historic railroad town of Whitefish, in beautiful northwest Montana, the resort has gained notoriety for its laid-back vibe, world-class skiing, and spectacular summer recreation at an unbeatable value. Boasting more than 3,000 acres of bowls, chutes, and glades, and more than 300 inches of Rocky Mountain snow on average, Whitefish’s Big Mountain is the quintessential skier's mountain. Consistently ranked highly in SKI Magazine’s annual reader survey, it is just as well known for a pleasant lack of lift lines as it is for friendly people, deep powder, and wallet-friendly pricing.
When the snow melts, Whitefish Mountain Resort becomes home to thrilling zip lines and an alpine slide, world-class downhill and cross-country mountain biking, and the unique Walk in the Treetops, in addition to spectacular hiking, water sports, fly fishing, whitewater rafting, Glacier National Park, and more available in the greater Whitefish area. It is the perfect base camp for a summer visit to Montana’s majestic Flathead Valley. Call 877-SKI-FISH or visit skiwhitefish.com for more details.
Press Contact: Donnie Clapp
406/871-8295
pr@skiwhitefish.com |
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