and up, up we go in the chill of the late afternoon. There are three faces of the mountain with 16 lifts. On some days the clouds at Whitefish Mountain Resort are low enough that skiers can literally ski above the clouds. The last time we were up here we enjoyed the US Forest Service Summit Nature Center.

Whitefish Mountain Resort is a skiing and snowboarding paradise with 111 named trails spanning roughly 3,000 acres of varied terrain on all aspects of Big Mountain. The mountain receives nearly 300 inches of snow in an average year. With a summit elevation of 6,817 feet and a base elevation of 4,464 feet, guests can descend a total of 2,353 vertical feet — nearly half a mile — down the south-facing slopes.

Billionaire Bill Foley owns Whitefish Mountain Resort through his majority share in Winter Sports, Inc., the corporation that owns and operates the resort. He became the majority shareholder of Winter Sports, Inc. in late 2006, a move that coincided with the renaming of the resort from Big Mountain to Whitefish Mountain Resort in 2007.

"A must-do summer activity! Choose an enclosed gondola or an open chairlift, then sit back and enjoy the ride while you experience breathtaking views of Whitefish Lake, the Flathead Valley, Glacier National Park and the Northern Rockies."