Big Mountain puts furniture race to bed

Winter Sports Inc. cites safety concerns for cancellation of time-honored event

Couches, chairs and beds fashioned into makeshift sleds have sailed down Big Mountain for decades to celebrate the close of the ski season.

But no more.

Winter Sports Inc. has pulled the plug on the annual event - for the foreseeable future, anyway.

Safety was an overriding concern.

"From a safety and family-friendly standpoint, it was no longer an event that felt good to us," resort spokesman Brian Schott said. "We also wanted to look at an end-of-season event that could have broader participation."

The resort has created the "Ididitall" pond-skimming event as a replacement for the time-honored furniture race.

It involves schussing down a slope and then skimming across - or into - a pond of ice water. It takes place at 1 p.m. April 9 at the bottom of Big Ravine or Middlefork; the exact spot will be announced later. Offered to winners are $2,000 in cash prizes and gear from K2 and Rossignol.

"While we are sure that some people will be disappointed not to see the furniture races, we think that pond skimming will be an equally hilarious event," Schott said.

The furniture race has "disappeared" several times in Big Mountain's history, he pointed out, "so who knows if it will wake up again?"

Several close calls and various injuries through the years have raised the issue of liability, even though participants must sign release forms and wear helmets.

In 1999, Kalispell teenager Chelsie Stout was badly injured when the homemade sled she was on crashed through three protective nets and into the side of Kintla Lodge at the base of the ski run. She required extensive treatment and therapy and the family sued the ski resort. Two other girls on the sled were also treated for injuries.

After that accident, Winter Sports raised the participation age to 21 and required inspections and test runs before the race. The number of teams was also cut from more than 40 to just 20 teams.

The furniture race began in the early 1960s when the resort's weeklong Crazy Days ended the season.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.