More than a thousand viewers summit Big Mountain for eclipse
WHITEFISH, Mont. - More than 1,000 viewers hiked, biked and rode the chairlift today to summit Big Mountain. The half-mile elevation gain from the base gave a 360-degree view of the eclipse and entire Flathead Valley.
"We've had hikers coming in all morning and we opened the lift early. I expect this will be one of our bigger days," said Riley Polumbus, public relations manager at Whitefish Mountain Resort.
NBC Montana spoke with visitors from around the continent, from the west coast to the east. One middle school science teacher even made her own viewing box.
"I remember it from when I was a little girl and this was how we watched the eclipse years and years ago when I was a little girl. You could see it through the pinhole with the focal point for the image so you can see and don't burn your eyes out," said Deb Hunt.
The U.S. Forest Service set up a viewing telescope for those who didn't have glasses. It projected the eclipse onto a sheet of paper.
Polumbus says that today did not set a record for most visitors in one day, but it was one of the highest this summer because of the location.
"It's a really good spot to be watching the eclipse from because we have 360-degrees of views from right here on top of the mountain," said Riley Polumbus. "It's just fun! We have a lot of people and families in here from in-town and out-of-town."
