Our good friends recommended Whitefish Mountain as a short snowboarding trip from Seattle. After careful considerations, we decide to visit as safely as possible and maintain social distancing during our Christmas break.

Our friends also suggested taking the Amtrak overnight train and renting a private sleeper room. We debated driving 10 hours ourselves or taking the train. With the worry of winter driving conditions, we decide to take the sleeper train following all precautions.

Thursday December 24, 2020

We arrived at King Street Station, Seattle around 4 pm. I’ve never been inside the station before but it was charming like any historic train station. We easily checked in our baggage and boarded. Not many travelers on Christmas Eve! Train travel was effortless compared to air travel —minimal travelers (at least on Christmas eve), no security screening, or long lines for checking-in.

Our private roomette was two wide seats that convert to bunk beds. It wasn’t huge but more spacious than I thought… It was more comfortable than driving, flying, or busing! However, it is the slowest transportation method and obviously doesn’t reach everywhere.

Dining was also included and we had a few dinner options. It was decent for train food but I read the regular non-covid menu is better. Although I wanted to explore the coach and dining cars, we opted to stay in our rooms to keep our distance. Sleep was comfortable but I was restless to ensure we don’t miss our stop and end up in North Dakota!

Friday December 25, 2020

We arrived around 7:00 am in Whitefish station. It was a dark, cold, and snowy Christmas morning. We rented a car to store our luggage while we visited Glacier National Park awaiting our Airbnb check-in time.

Glacier National Park was deserted and we barely saw anyone on the roads or at the visitor area. We drove up to Lake McDonald Lodge and around the lake a bit to admire the snowy wonderland in the frigid brisk air. 

It was foggy and unfortunately, no peaks were visible. But we had fun near Apgar Visitor Center throwing rocks into the thin ice. Oddly satisfying to break the ice. We hiked a short trail to enjoy the snowy scenes and also encountered a few whitetail deer.

We picked up lunch from one of the rare places that opened on Christmas and ate it in our car. It was shocking to see how filled the bars and restaurants were in Montana. We picked up groceries and also stopped by Les Mason State Park to admire Whitefish Lake. 

It was finally time to check-in and we headed to our ski-in / out condo, “Edelweiss”. We rested, made a steak Christmas dinner, and watched a Christmas movie.

Saturday December 26, 2020

It was a foggy snowy day. Fresh snow landed on the runs and we geared up to hit the mountain after a restful night. We headed to the back north side and our first run was “Gray Wolf”. It was good except for one flat spot. We rode “Whitetail”, “Silvertip”, “Goat Haunt”, and “Ridge Run”. My favorite was “Goat Haunt” —the perfect slope in my books. The worst was “Ridge Run” with flat spots near the end. Overall, the snow was pretty good and it wasn’t too cold. Visibility was poor at the top but we survived.

We skipped lunch to avoid public areas but head back to eat at our Airbnb. The rest of the evening was to stay in, make dinner, play a mystery iPad game, and watch yet another Christmas movie.

Sunday December 27, 2020

We woke up early to catch the first lifts up and attempt first tracks on the overnight snow. There was already an eager crowd in line for the lifts. We made fresh tracks on “Toni Matt” on the front side and it was fantastic. It was Chi’s favorite run. The snow was smooth and buttery, even though visibility was still poor and we couldn’t seem much.

We continued riding the blues on the front side. In the afternoon, we started to see better visibility in lower elevations. I started to see Whitefish Lake and views in the distance. It was beautiful and I’d hope for more tomorrow. 

We called it a day around 2 pm to have a late lunch back at our Airbnb. We stayed in the rest of the night, made a frozen pizza, and hung out. 

Monday December 28, 2020

No new snow but it was clear and partially sunny! Hellroaring Basin was finally opened and there was a long blue run, “Hell Fire” from the summit to the base. We gave it a tried but had mixed feelings about it…  It was somewhat challenging terrain with some rolling hills, one-sided curves, and flat areas. Also, snow coverage wasn’t ideal and one spot got pretty congested with “human pylons” left and right.

Not a great first run but we headed back to the north side. We cruised on my favorite run, “Goat Haunt”. It was even better than I remembered since we could actually see and it was a perfect cruiser to jam on my tunes. We gave “Gray Wolf “another shot but Chi still doesn’t like it. We were supposed to turn right into an alley to get past a flat spot… but we forgot. Nonetheless, the views were worth it.

The “Inspiration” run was inspirational. It was a run to soar over Whitefish Lake. “Toni Matt” also took our breath away with it’s views.

Towards the end of our day, the summit cleared up for a brief moment and I could see the majestic peaks of Glacier National Park in the distance. We were so excited and fortunate to see them on our last day.

We finished around 4 pm when the lifts closed. We had a late lunch back at our Airbnb and admired the sunset from the balcony. I could not get over the colors with the low floating clouds. I wished we had stayed up at the summit, waited until sundown, and then rode down to this remarkable sunset.

We had a basic dinner finishing all our groceries and picked up our car rental for tomorrow’s checkout. Unfortunately, we got notice that our snowmobile rental and tour were canceled due to a malfunction. So we spent the evening figuring out how to kill time tomorrow…

Tuesday December 29, 2020

We slept in as late as we could and then checked-out. We planned to rent snowshoes and hit a beginner trail but someone rented all the snowshoes 10 minutes before us! (This turned out to be a blessing since the trail didn’t have deep snow.)

We stopped in Kalispell for lunch and there was some outdoor seating that we used to enjoy our soup, wrap, and pastries. Nothing to rave about… except staff not wearing their masks properly covering their noses.

We headed to Lone Pine State Park and hiked the snowy ‘beginner” path. It was actually quite a long 2.5-mile hike with a fair bit of elevation.

With an hour of daylight left, we headed to Whitefish State Park to check out the views. Not a huge place to explore but it was a nice lake view nonetheless. What caught Chi’s eyes were the fire pits facing the lake… He suggested making a fire and hanging out here. I hesitated but then agreed… only with the condition that we walk around Whitefish town for a little bit.

Whitefish Town was very charming and would be a great nightlife spot with lots of cute shops and nice restaurants. We wandered the streets a bit and selectively entered a few shops. There were also pretty Christmas lights and decorations around the town.

We picked up noodle bowls from Tea Kettle Asian Kitchen, firewood from a gas station and headed back to Whitefish State Park. The fire eventually was going and keep us toasty for the next two hours. Had it not been Covid, we would be indoors somewhere but sitting by an outdoor fire in winter was something unique and memorable.

We boarded the 9:15 pm train from the small Whitefish station. This time, we upgraded our room to be a larger bedroom with a private shower and toilet. I was pretty exhausted and passed out shortly.

The next morning, I admired the Cascades Mountains as we pass them and arrived in Seattle at 10 am. Taking the train was pretty fun and relaxing compared to air travel. I would definitely do it again to get to Whitefish or Glacier National Park post-covid. I can see why some people love taking the train… If I had all the time and money, I’d definitely consider it more often.

While this was a contentious trip during unprecedented times, it was just nice to get outside, explore somewhere new, and end the year with our favorite winter activity, snowboarding. We’d definitely revisit Whitefish again and I hope to come back to Glacier National Park in the warmer months soon.