As Big Mountain Resort (Whitefish, Montana) looks to its 60th anniversary during the 2007-08 winter season, the resort is currently investing over $20 million into mountain and village improvements. “We’re in the process of upgrading our mountain facilities so that we can continue to provide a great skiing experience for the next 60 years,” said Fred Jones, president of Winter Sports, Inc. owners and operators of the mountain resort.

The $5.2 million reconstruction of Chair 1 with a new high speed quad began at the close of the winter season, and the U.S. Forest Service has recently granted approvals for the $1.6 million re-alignment, extension, and replacement of the fixed-grip Chair 2 double chair with a new high-speed quad. Chair 1 serves as the main access to the 7000-foot summit and Chair 2 offers service to night ski terrain, the Fishbowl Terrain Park and Super Pipe, as well as a variety of intermediate terrain.

Beginning with these two high-speed lifts, a new Village Plaza will be created over the next several years as the central focal point of the revamped village. In addition to the new lifts, the Plaza area will be home to a future hotel, new restaurant and meeting spaces, as well as a new skier and pedestrian lift that will link the new $10.6 million Day Lodge and Plaza area.