Whitebark Pine Friendly Ski Areas
List of Whitebark Pine Friendly Ski Areas (U.S./Canada):
- Sun Valley Resort (ID)- CERTIFIED in 2025
More information coming soon!
- Whitefish Mountain Resort (MT) – RE-CERTIFIED in 2019, 2023
Whitefish Mountain Resort has a long history working with whitebark pine. The current and previous mountain manager have been dedicated to protecting whitebark pine and they have incorporated education in their summit nature center. They have great support from the Flathead National Forest. There are scattered whitebark pine within the resort and along some runs, as well as some areas with high concentrations. They are the first to be certified as a Whitebark Pine Friendly Ski Area in the USA!
- Sorcerer Lodge (BC) – CERTIFIED in 2019
Sorcerer Lodge is a backcountry lodge where customers are flown in by helicopter and treated to awesome back country skiing from the lodge. There are loads whitebark pine right outside the lodge as well as all over the skiable areas. Lodge employees educate their guests about whitebark pine and have even named some of their favorite whitebark pine trees. They are the first area to be certified as Whitebark Pine Friendly Ski Area in Canada!
- Mt. Bachelor (OR) – CERTIFIED in 2020
Mt. Bachelor is a huge ski area with over 4,300 acres. There are whitebark pine galore at mid mountain both at and below treeline. They have excellent interpretative information at the Summit Trail and plans to install more interpretative signs. The resort works with the U.S. Forest Service to monitor whitebark pine via four permanent plots located across the mountain.
- Panorama Mountain Resort (BC) – CERTIFIED in 2023
Situated in British Columbia’s Purcell mountains, Panorama Mountain Ski Resort covers 2,975 acres and has been working towards whitebark pine recovery for nearly 30 years. In collaboration with the Whitebark Pine Ecosystem Foundation of Canada, Panorama participates in annual cone caging and seed collection, hosts workshops on planting seedlings, conducts outreach events with guests, and screens mature trees for resistance to white pine blister rust. In 2021, Panorama planted 5000 whitebark pine seedlings in a permanently closed area within ski boundaries as part of the BC government’s Forest Carbon Initiative. Panorama is proud of its whitebark pine stands that surround the summit, extending along Taynton Bowl Ridge to the Goldie Plateau and the Get Me Down Trail.
- Yellowstone Club (MT) – CERTIFIED in 2023
The Yellowstone Club is a private ski resort spanning 2,900 acres in Big Sky, Montana. It is the first area to be certified exclusively on privately owned lands. Since 2010, the Club has been actively managing whitebark pine by conducting studies on brood tree removal, verbenone placement, direct seeding, and regular assessments of 18 permanent plots in six different units. At each of these plots, the Club monitors for blister rust infections, mountain pine beetle activity, cone production, whitebark pine regeneration, and tree mortality. As part of their adaptive management plan, the Yellowstone Club also conducts restoration projects, including removing competing species around regenerating whitebark pine and transplanting over 500 whitebark pine trees to areas with limited regeneration.
- Brundage Mountain Resort (ID) – CERTIFIED in 2023
Located in McCall, Idaho, Brundage Mountain Resort is home to a whitebark pine population that is in the upper 25th percentile of genetic resistance to blister rust. To date, the resort has mapped whitebark pine trees across seven sites, tagged six “plus” trees that show signs of rust resistance, planted seedlings, collected cones, and identified areas for proposed restoration treatments. These treatments involve pruning infected branches, thinning competing vegetation, and planting rust-resistant seedlings. Upcoming projects include installing interactive displays to educate visitors about whitebark pine conservation and training the resort’s Green Team and Trail Crews on whitebark pine identification, restoration, and management, with assistance from the USFS Payette National Forest.
Your favorite ski area could be listed here! Learn more about the Whitebark Pine Friendly Ski Area certification program.