Whitefish Mountain Resort was welcomed with a fresh blanket of powder Thursday morning — perfect timing to crank up the stoke for skiers and snowboarders eager to carve their first turns of the season on opening day.  

Annika Ruutopold was parked in Cedar Lot by 7 a.m. prepared to sip on mimosas and grill up breakfast sandwiches with her friends to celebrate the new ski season. 

Ruutopold, 31, grew up skiing in New Hampshire and British Columbia but has been living in the Flathead Valley on and off for over a decade. She was nervous about the skiing conditions given November’s minimal snowfall that prompted only the backside of the mountain to be open. But she had nothing to complain about the morning of opening day.  

“I’m so excited. I mean, powder day on our first day? We only get that on last days when its closing,” she said while snowflakes accumulated on her shoulders.  

Within the hour, Ruutopold’s friends had joined her in the festivities. One was operating a turntable from a car’s rooftop tent blasting a party remix of Pitbull’s “Hotel Room Service.”  

But Ruutopold’s early arrival didn't compare to the quartet of friends who camped out overnight under the Chair 1 lift to grab the first spot up to Big Mountain’s summit.   

Bryson Fiedler, 19, and his friends arrived between 6:30 and 8 p.m. Wednesday night to set up sleeping bags and mats at the base of the chair lift.  

This is Fiedler’s sixth season skiing at Whitefish Mountain Resort and second year camping out to get first chair.  

The friends enjoyed beef marinara and chicken pesto pasta cooked with a Jetboil camp stove for dinner. Fiedler helped himself to macaroni and cheese the next morning before hopping in line. He said he was excited to hit the slopes, but a tad worried about the minimal snowpack early-season. 

“I’m a little worried, but like, we’re getting snow right now,” he said while a crowd continued to build behind him. 

The line had grown to well over a hundred people by 9 a.m. Face glitter was being passed around as much as the greeting: “Happy opening day,” a pleasantry shared as if Dec. 4 was an official holiday.  

“I would be taking a science test right now,” one young skier said at the base of Chair 1.  

ONLY LIMITED terrain was open Thursday due to early-season conditions. The front side of the mountain was closed, which meant skiers had to download Chair 1 to get back to the base area.  

But the backside trails that were open had amazing snow quality, said Chad Sokol, Whitefish Mountain Resort’s public relations manager.  The mountain gained at least 3 inches of new snow throughout the morning, he said.  

About 20 inches had fallen on the summit over the last week, upping the settled base to 31 inches.  

Sokol urged skiers to ease into the season, take runs slow, abide by boundary ropes and be extra cautious for hazardous vegetation jutting out from the snow.  

With the mountain expected to get well over a foot of powder in the next 10 days, Sokol said he hoped that downloading Chair 1 would be a short-lived hurdle.  

The limited open terrain failed to sully the overwhelming jolly mood on the mountain.  

Pracy Nelson, 44, was dancing to music in the Dogwood parking lot before heading up to the summit to take some turns on the back side of the mountain.  

“We are stoked on the conditions. It is winter up here and the backside is so good. It’s better than the last five years, at least,” Nelson said. “The snow is soft. People are giggling, it’s great." 

Reporter Jack Underhill can be reached at 758-4407 and [email protected].

    From left, Trent Tennison, Bryson Fiedler, Gray Petro and Brynnlea Toren get onto the first chair on opening day on Big Mountain at Whitefish Mountain Resort on Thursday, Dec. 4. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Skiers and snowboarders ride Chair 1 to the summit of Big Mountain on opening day at Whitefish Mountain Resort on Thursday, Dec. 4. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    Skiers and snowboarders wait in line at Chair 1 on opening day on Big Mountain at Whitefish Mountain Resort on Thursday, Dec. 4. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider   

    A snowboarder heads down a run off the summit of Big Mountain on opening day at Whitefish Mountain Resort on Thursday, Dec. 4. (Casey Kreider/Daily Inter Lake)
 Casey Kreider