Northern Rockies/Alberta Northern MT/ID Independent Ski Area Recommendations

[TDCSPRINGS]

Hoping to get some recommendations from the northern Montana and possibly northern Idaho members. My wife and I are taking my parents to Whitefish for Christmas so they can see their lifelong friends. While they are hanging with their friends, my wife and I will be skiing 3 or 4 days while we are there. We will definitely do a minimum of one day at Whitefish Mountain Resort, but would also love to visit some of the small local hills in the area. Although we have Epic Passes here in CO, some of our favorite places to ski are the small independent ski areas like Loveland, Cooper, Monarch, etc.

I have done a google search and found Blacktail and Turner ski areas. Does anyone here have experience at either place? Are there any other ski areas within a couple hours of Whitefish that we should think about visiting?

Thank you in advance for the help. I really appreciate the recommendations and look forward to visiting your independent mountains while we are visiting.

 

[Nathanvg]

Fernie is the only other option under 2 hours and it requires a boarder crossing which may be a pain this year. Turner is pretty cool with 2k vert and very few people. Fyi It usually is closed Monday to Wednesday. Snowbowl and Lookout are the next closest at 2.75 hours. I'd stay at whitefish unless conditions were much better elsewhere.

 

[TDCSPRINGS]

Thanks for the information. When we started talking about this trip a couple of years ago the plan was WMR and Fernie. We have since ditched the Fernie plans since I have no desire to get stuck across the border.

Turner looks like a fun little hill, and the kind of place I would love to check out. Based on their website, it looks like they are trying to get open this Friday. Will probably add it to the itinerary.

 

[Mazama]

You could take the train from Whitefish to Sandpoint and ski Schweitzer. You would have to get from Sand Point to Schweitzer (shuttle?), which is 30 minutes or so, but that would be a fun day or two of skiing.

 

[TDCSPRINGS]

Thanks Mazama. I was born in Bonners Ferry and have spent some time at Schweitzer. Definitely a good mountain and a place I hope to spend a whole lot of time when I retire in about 15 years. For this trip, I am really looking to hit a couple of the smaller, off the beaten path independent hills. I hope to find your versions of Monarch and Ski Cooper.

 

[Talisman]

In addition to Turner some other MT areas to consider:
Lookout Pass
Discovery Basin
Skibowl
Blacktail Mt
Lost Trail
Great Divide
Showdown

Some aren't open certain days of the week so check the operating days.

 

[TDCSPRINGS]

Thanks Talisman! I will definitely do some research on these. If all goes well, we should be able to visit 2 or 3 of these smaller hills while we are in town. There is something really special about these homegrown little hills that I absolutely love.

 

[chris_the_wrench]

Turner can get some decent snow, and with their closed schedule and few people. Powder can stack up on closed days and not many people can really stretch that snow!

edit: forgot to mention there’s a snowcat operation just north of town about 15 minutes. Greatnorthernpowderguides

 

[Bad Bob]

Blacktail and Turner would be a piece of cake from Kalispell. Not too much driving. Blacktail was just acquired by Mission Ridge so it should be growing in the next couple of years.
Missoula Skibowl will probably be right at the outside of of you 2 hour drive.

 

[TDCSPRINGS]

I really appreciate it everyone. I think we will definitely hit Turner and probably Blacktail. Any idea what the next closest to Whitefish is? Or maybe a local favorite within 3 hours that is worth the trip?

I enjoy Big Mountain but am really stoked about visiting some of these local ski areas.

 

[Nathanvg]

Any idea what the next closest to Whitefish is? Or maybe a local favorite within 3 hours that is worth the trip?

I think I already answered this: "Snowbowl and Lookout are the next closest at 2.75 hours." Unless I'm forgetting one, there isn't anything else within 3 hours. Discover, lost trail, teton pass, showdown, great divide are all 4ish hours. Silver and other areas in N ID and E WA are 3:15+

 

[TDCSPRINGS]

Thanks brother! Genuinely appreciate the help. I am thinking WMR Christmas day and Turner for their opening on December 26. Hoping with the snow coming your way we snag a couple of powder days. God knows we need them given the year we are having in CO!

 

[Talisman]

Thanks Talisman! I will definitely do some research on these. If all goes well, we should be able to visit 2 or 3 of these smaller hills while we are in town. There is something really special about these homegrown little hills that I absolutely love.

Some of these "small" areas aren't so small other than the markets they serve. For example Turner has 2100 feet of verticle, Great Divide 2000 feet of verticle with 1500 acres and Discovery has 2300 feet of verticle with 2200 acres. Good luck with your trip planning.

 

[TDCSPRINGS]

It is the same here in CO. Our "small" hills normally have lots of vertical and plenty of acreage. The main factor making them small is they only have 1 -3 lifts. I ski plenty at all of the big mountains here but my absolute favorite places after a storm are our little local hills where powder can hold for days. I am definitely looking forward to checking out some of these smaller ski areas in a couple of weeks.

 

[Sibhusky]

In addition to Turner some other MT areas to consider:
Lookout Pass
Discovery Basin
Skibowl
Blacktail Mt
Lost Trail
Great Divide
Showdown

Some aren't open certain days of the week so check the operating days.

They are only here 3 or 4 days, I wouldn't even send them to Blacktail. Blacktail is going to take them an hour and 45 minutes (you've just lost 3 hours of your day in a car.). There is a long dirt access road that ends up taking way longer than you expect. That at least is doable for day skiing. Turner is two hours, 40 minutes. Almost an overnight, but I guess if you're young and nuts and really into belt-notches, it's worth it. But SNOWbowl is 3 hours each way, so is Lookout, and the rest are clearly overnight.

There's no interstate until you get down to Missoula.

 

[TDCSPRINGS]

Thanks Sibhusky. We will be in Whitefish for 7 days and plan to ski 3 or 4 of those days. A couple of hours drive time each way doesn't really bother us. We fight I-70 traffic in the Colorado front range every weekend so we are pretty immune to it. We usually leave the house really early and get to the hill around the time they start loading them.

Thanks to everyone for the information and recommendations. We are really stoked to check out some new spots. We are especially excited to visit Turner on opening day. We just skied one of our small local hills on their opening last weekend and it was tremendous. Hoping for the same experience at Turner.

 

[Slide of Hans]

If you drive over to Lookout Pass, keep in mind it's on the Pacific Time Zone, so your drive time would be an hour less, time just disappears..

Also, I believe Blacktail is less wind prone than Whitefish although it's mellow. I spent a day skiing the low lift at Whitefish during a wind event but found out later Blacktail was running all of its three lifts.

 

[chris_the_wrench]

spent a day skiing the low lift at Whitefish during a wind event but found out later Blacktail was running all of its three lifts.

I hear Whitefish can get some pretty gnarly fog too!

 

[TDCSPRINGS]

I hear Whitefish can get some pretty gnarly fog too!

I have definitely been in some near fog-out conditions at WMR over the years.

Side rant - can we please change the name back to Big Mountain?

 

[TDCSPRINGS]

If you drive over to Lookout Pass, keep in mind it's on the Pacific Time Zone, so your drive time would be an hour less, time just disappears..

Also, I believe Blacktail is less wind prone than Whitefish although it's mellow. I spent a day skiing the low lift at Whitefish during a wind event but found out later Blacktail was running all of its three lifts.

Good tip! I wasn't tracking the magical free hour of time!

Unless someone has a better recommendation, I think our plan is first day at Big Mountain, next day at Turner (opening day), and then Blacktail. Will probably go back to whichever place we enjoy most for our last ski day. Will definitely have a day or two off in between trips.