This is Whitefish

By: Stella Holt, Media Coordinator

This is Whitefish. 

It’s small, relatively 6,500 people. And most of them like to play. That’s why we’ve chosen to hole up in the very Northwest corner of Montana. Because this is a place where work and play mingle. 

I grew up in this town and came right back as soon as I finished college in Vermont. Even though I’m young, I know that Whitefish is where I want to live - if I can make it work.

I’m just hitting my seventh month of navigation from hometown kiddo to (semi)independent adult, and I couldn’t be more excited. I have four part-time jobs that mesh together leaving me just enough time to get outside. I’m a barista at a bike shop, a guide for a bike tour company, a cross country ski coach, and of course a media coordinator here at Wheelie Creative. I’m busy, but everything I do feeds into the next thing and keeps me going. And I spend at least one day a week on the mountain. I’m passionate about all my jobs and about the way I spend my time outside of “work”. But I’m not unique. That’s what people do here.

The excitement on the kids’ faces when their team wins the game of capture the flag at the end of Tuesday evening ski practice fuels my smile when I walk in the door of Wheelie Wednesday morning. And it’s the accomplishments and new projects and connections I leave Wheelie with Thursday afternoon that send me bouncing into the bike shop on Friday and Saturday morning. And on Sunday I’m checking my phone at 7 am to see the snow report on the mountain. New snow is the best alarm clock. Just one full day of skiing can be enough to reset my energy for the week ahead. And you can bet I’m grinning ear to ear Monday morning when I show up at the bike shop, ready to share stories of powder turns with any customer willing to listen. On the occasional week that I take off to ride my bike as a guide, I come back even more motivated, full of new ideas and projects and passion for the outdoors. 

We didn’t choose Whitefish to get rich. We chose to live here and work here because it makes us happy and balanced. If you feel similarly, about Whitefish or another bustling mountain town across the nation, we get you.