While some phenomena remain unexplained, snow ghosts, the eerie figures in the fog that Whitefish Mountain Resort, MT is known for, do indeed have a scientific explanation. It starts with rime. Water droplets on the verge of freezing hover about the mountaintop, insulated by the clouds. They cross the temperature threshold as they pass by obstacles, stick to them, and begin building layer upon layer of an ice shield known as rime. It’s not a soft casing, but rather something you might want to think twice about field-goaling during your all-natural jib session. With a unique arrangement every season, snow ghosts are beautiful in their own right, an iconic part of the environment, and the perfect name for the resort’s newest six-person, high-speed chair lift, The Snow Ghost Express.

ABOVE Despite any sunshine, the rime knows no mercy. Above the clouds on Chair 4. Photo: courtesy of Whitefish Mountain Resort

Completed in winter 2022-23, it replaced and extended the alignment of a rarely used fixed-grip triple seater, now destined for a repurposed life elsewhere. The new chair is one of the more recent, and more high-tech creations from Italian-based manufacturer Leitner-Poma and a smart solve for the ever-increasing need to alleviate skier congestion in the resort’s base area.

ABOVE An early season icing at the job site. Photo: courtesy of Whitefish Mountain Resort

The Snow Ghost Express utilizes a proprietary direct drive motor, eliminating the need for gears and significantly reducing energy consumption. It’s a low-maintenance product in the long term, but more complex in the upfront implementation. The $10 million dollar project has faced its fair share of delays due to supply chain fragmentation—modern-day challenges you might expect in getting a state-of-the-art lift literally up to speed—but looking past anything logistical, it also presents a new way to ride the mountain.

ABOVE All-seasons assembly. Adverse conditions be damned. Photo: courtesy of Whitefish Mountain Resort

The southern aspect The Snow Ghost Express services holds some of the steeper, more sustained pitches on Big Mountain, and climbing about 2,200 vertical feet in about eight minutes means more hot laps for all. With eighty-nine six-seater chairs equaling over 2,000 riders per hour, it’s an efficient method of dispersing a lot of guests quickly. As Whitefish Mountain Resort President Nick Polumbus says, “This was a massive undertaking that presented plenty of challenges, but we know it will have a big, positive impact on the way folks experience this mountain… shorter lift lines and better use of all types of terrain.”

In an era where it feels increasingly common to wonder where your day-ticket dollars are going, or if the resort even realizes how busy they’ve become, it’s refreshing to see tangible action towards a better ski experience. Whether or not atmospheric conditions produce the supernatural namesake of the chair will depend upon the timing of your visit, but the odds are more in your favor than ever before.