Photo courtesy of Lookout Pass Ski & Recreation Area
Miracle in March.
Best snow conditions at Idaho’s ski areas are happening now!
By Steve Stuebner
Ullr the Snow God has truly delivered the powder goods to Idaho’s ski areas recently, boosting base levels by multiple feet.
Maybe Ullr was snoozing early in the ski/ride season, but my oh my, he’s fully awake now, and he’s on a tear!
A whole series of cold, powder storms keep rolling through Idaho, and it’s frankly been hard to keep up if you’re trying to hit the slopes every single powder day. Just to drop a few examples, Schweitzer near Sandpoint has gotten more than 2 feet in the last 72 hours and 5 feet in the last week. In Southeast Idaho, Pebble Creek Ski Area has had more than 50 inches in the last week. Brundage Mountain Resort has received measurable snow every day since February 25 — a total of 44 inches in the last 10 days. Put another way, Brundage received more snow in the last 10 days than they received in the whole month of December 2023. As of March 5, they have surpassed the snow base levels they had last year.
Even though we had a slow start to the season, things have changed dramatically statewide.
Gotta grab your snorkel at Pebble Creek! Photo courtesy of Steve Stuebner.
“Oh man, my legs are hurting today after skiing so much powder on Sunday,” said John O’Connell, a Pocatello skier who skied multiple feet of light *pow* at Pebble Creek.
“I am so happy, I just skied the best light powder at Bogus Basin on Sunday,” said Norman Nelson, an avid Boise skier. “We skied a whole bunch of top-to-bottom runs and notched 20,000 vertical feet. Man, that felt good.”
“It’s truly a March miracle,” said Brad Wilson, general manager of Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area. “I lived through quite a few El Nino years, and a lot of times, we have a strong comeback in March. This year is no exception. We are now 121 percent of average at Bogus, and we just surpassed 200 inches of snow this year.”
Matt Sawyer, director of marketing for Lookout Pass Ski & Recreation Area, said they have received 92 inches of snow since mid-February. Last weekend, Lookout Pass was so busy their parking lots filled to the brim.
“Yes, no doubt, we’ve got the best snow conditions of the winter with the frequent storms and cold temperatures that are helping to keep our snowpack in great shape,” Sawyer said. “All of this new snow is certainly keeping us on track to ski thru April 14th.”
At Tamarack Resort near Donnelly, “Mother Nature came in with a vengeance in January where we saw record snowfalls and the snowiest month in recent history — 162 percent more snow at summit and 290 percent more snow at our base than we saw last year,” said Wolfe Ashcraft, a spokesman for the resort. “March is historically our snowiest month of the season, and we are geared up for a great spring season. We could hit our 300 inches annual snowfall if these storms keep coming.”
Suffice to say, the snow is piling up nicely everywhere. All of Idaho’s major ski areas are 100 percent open. All lifts, terrain parks and Nordic trails are in operation. We are seeing the best conditions of the year right now everywhere. Sun Valley, voted the No. 1 ski resort in North America, has received 29” of snow in the first 6 days of March.
Skiing Brundage. Image courtesy of Steve Stuebner.
“There is no doubt that these are the best snow conditions of the season,” says April Whitney, Brundage Mountain spokesperson, who also used the term “March Miracle.”
“This has been a nice, cold storm cycle with low temperatures and dry, fluffy snow, and all of the off-trail areas people love to explore have great coverage right now. It’s definitely prime time on the Best Snow in Idaho!”
Pomerelle and Magic Mountain have enjoyed deep snow much of the ski season, since a number of our storms hit the mountains south of the Snake River early on. Pomerelle has received 341 inches of snow this ski season, the most statewide by far. Soldier Mountain near Fairfield also has been getting its share of powder since February. You can still book a seat on their coveted snowcat trips. They’ve gotten 7 inches of new snow this week, which means fresh pow when they reopen Thursday.
Spring season pass sales — with the best discounted pricing available for the 2024-25 season — are happening right now in many locations. Don’t miss out on those deals! Check ski area websites and social media for the latest information. If you buy a pass in the spring sales, it’s typically good for the rest of this season and all of next season.
Bogus Basin just had its second-best season pass sale in history, just behind last year, between Feb. 23 and March 3, Wilson said. A special deal of $119 to ski/ride the rest of this season until mid-April is still available for sale.
Tamarack reduced their season pass prices to 2004 levels in their 20th anniversary year, Ashcraft noted. If people haven’t visited and experienced Tamarack’s newly completed base area, with multiple restaurants and food options, as well as retail shops and lodging, you need to go there.
“Tamarack has changed so much in the last few years that it is like visiting again for the first time,” Ashcraft said.
Taylor Prather, Schweitzer marketing and communications manager, agreed that “conditions are prime, the best of the season without question.” At Schweitzer, season passes go on sale March 15, with an option to buy a 2024/25 season pass or ski/ride from March 18 to Closing Day with a Spring Fling pass for $169.
Views from Schweitzer. Image courtesy of Steve Stuebner.
Now, as we move into March. when valley temperatures start warming up, people start thinking about golf, tennis, biking, paddling and gardening. That’s all good. But don’t overlook the spring skiing/riding experience at Idaho’s ski areas, knowing that we have the best conditions of the year.
All of the new snow in the last 10 days was attributable to a series of major low pressure troughs that stalled out over the top of the Mountain West and the Sierras in California. The weather system has been dumping copious amounts of precipitation everywhere. Perhaps you’ve read about the 16 feet of snow that fell in the Sierra-Nevada range.
In Idaho, sunshine and fair-weather skiing/riding conditions are forecast for the rest of this week with slightly warmer temperatures each day. Another storm system is moving into Idaho by Saturday night/Sunday, March 9-10. OpenSnow.com is predicting another 23 inches at Schweitzer through next Wednesday, March 13, 23 inches at Brundage, 20 inches at Tamarack, 15 inches at Lookout Pass, 14 inches at Silver Mountain, 14 inches at Bogus Basin and 8 inches in Sun Valley.
Get out and enjoy these amazing conditions while you can! Most ski areas will be open through mid-April. The time is now!
Steve Stuebner is the Idaho forecaster for OpenSnow.com and a longtime ski writer in the West.
Image courtesy of Pomerelle Mountain Resort
Ski Idaho passport program sports new perk: AirFlare
BOISE, Idaho (Jan. 17, 2024) — The Idaho Peak Season Passport lets 5th-graders ski or ride three days for free at each of the 17 participating Gem State ski areas and offers 6th-graders two days free at those mountains for only $29. This winter it also comes with a complimentary family subscription to AirFlare, the app that turns your smartphone into an outdoors rescue locator, offering families an extra layer of safety and peace of mind.
“The family friendly reputation of Idaho ski resorts is well deserved,” Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area General Manager and Idaho Ski Areas Association Board Chair Brad Wilson said. “Our incredible, uncrowded terrain offers some of the most spectacular skiing and snowboarding on the planet regardless of your age and ability, and our Idaho Peak Season Passport makes it a lot easier for families to take advantage of our good wintertime fortune. And Ski Idaho’s new partnership with AirFlare makes it an even better value by helping your family members stay connected on the mountain and giving Patrol the ability to locate them quickly in emergencies.”
Image courtesy of Airflare
He said the Idaho Peak Season Passport offers families a tremendous value. For 5th-graders, the overall value is upwards of $2,373.99 counting the complimentary AirFlare subscription and up to $1,628.99 for 6th-graders.
AirFlare is currently in use by patrol teams at seven Idaho ski areas, including Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area, Brundage Mountain Resort, Lookout Pass Ski & Recreation Area, Schweitzer, Silver Mountain Resort, Soldier Mountain, and Tamarack Resort. However, the location-sharing features can be used to check-in with loved ones at any resort — or anywhere with the slightest chance of connectivity.
Image courtesy of Silver Mt. Resort.
Last winter AirFlare even helped save the life of an Idaho skier who got lost in the fog at Soldier Mountain in Southern Idaho and wound up out of bounds. She phoned the resort’s front office to report herself lost and a staff member sent her a text message with a hyperlink to the AirFlare app, which she was able to download. With the help of AirFlare, patrollers pinpointed her on the map and broke trail through at least 2 feet of fresh, wet snow for nearly two hours to get her out.
Visit airflare.com/life-save for more details about the rescue.
“Mishaps can happen to anyone at any time — sometimes it’s weather, lack of preparedness, or just bad luck,” Eliot Gillum, inventor and CEO of AirFlare, said. “But AirFlare is serious protection that everyone can have on them all the time. Research shows more than 90 percent of people bring their phone on outdoor activities.”
Image courtesy of Airflare.
Friends and family can also use the app to check in via the same Internet-based technology as rescuers.
Meanwhile, new AirFlare Family Packs make it easier for heads of households or superfans to share the app with loved ones. Now, one person can keep friends and family safe with a single purchase or low-cost yearly subscription like the complimentary one issued with the Idaho Peak Season Passport from Ski Idaho.
Image courtesy of Brundage Mountain Resort.
The applications go far beyond ski areas. Gillum said virtually anyone who adventures in the outdoors can benefit from using AirFlare. He said you can even use it to find your family and friends at theme parks and music festivals. In all those environments, cellular service is often less than perfect and AirFlare’s unique technology shines.
Gillum said the core functionality of AirFlare’s smartphone app, which is designed for strong, spotty, or zero connectivity, makes the phone instantly locatable by rescuers via even a fleeting Internet connection. In addition, the company offers rescuers their proprietary detector hardware that uses WiFi and Bluetooth to find a phone from up to 1km away.
To order an Idaho Peak Season Passport for your child, complete the online application at skiidaho.us/passports and pay a $29 processing fee. Ski Idaho will email you a passport you can print out prior to hitting the slopes or pull up on your smartphone when you walk up to the ticket window. Your child must have a parent or guardian present to use the passport, and it must be shown at the resort in order to receive the lift ticket.
Image courtesy of Silver Mt. Resort.
Ski Idaho will also email Idaho Peak Season Passport holders with instructions and a link to redeem their complimentary AirFlare Family Pack subscription. Those who’ve already signed up for a passport with receive a similar email soon. The email bears the signatures of the patrol directors at all seven Idaho ski areas that partner with AirFlare.
The program is open to any child from any state or country — NOT just Idaho kids.
Ski areas participating in the Idaho Peak Season Passport program include:
- Bald Mountain Ski Area — skibaldmountain.com
- Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area — bogusbasin.org
- Brundage Mountain Resort — brundage.com
- Cottonwood Butte Ski Area — cottonwoodbutte.org
- Grand Targhee Resort — grandtarghee.com
- Little Ski Hill — payettelakesskiclub.org/little-ski-hill
- Lookout Pass Ski & Recreation Area — skilookout.com
- Lost Trail Ski Area — losttrail.com
- Magic Mountain Ski Resort — magicmountainresort.com
- Pebble Creek Ski Area — pebblecreekskiarea.com
- Pomerelle Mountain Resort — pomerelle.com
- Schweitzer — schweitzer.com
- Silver Mountain Resort — silvermt.com
- Snowhaven Ski & Tubing Area — grangeville.us/snowhaven-facebook2
- Soldier Mountain — soldiermountain.com
- Sun Valley Resort — sunvalley.com
- Tamarack Resort — tamarackidaho.com
Although Kelly Canyon Resort near Ririe does not participate in the Idaho Peak Season Passport program, this will be the second season it hosts Kids Ski Free Days on Jan. 27 and Feb. 3. Visit kellycanyonresort.com for more details.
Participating ski hills reserve the right to limit passport use for ski racers, on race days, and on any scheduled blackout dates that may apply. Visit skiidaho.us/passport-blackout for a list of scheduled blackout dates, and check with your ski hill for full details.
Why 5th- and 6th-graders?
According to Wilson, the Idaho Peak Season Passport targets 5th- and 6th-graders because a lot of them don’t know how to ski or snowboard yet. In addition, he said nationwide ski resorts have found that kids in those grades are at an age where they can learn quickly and enjoy the sports of skiing and snowboarding.
Image courtesy of Lookout Pass.
Wilson also said keeping children active in winter can be challenging. Plus, he said 5th- and 6th-graders are at a crucial age in their development where they are choosing healthy lifestyle activities — including lifelong sports like skiing and snowboarding — over more sedentary activities.
On top of that, Wilson said a lot of middle schools and high schools offer after-school ski and snowboard programs or have ski and snowboard teams or clubs, so 5th and 6th grade is a great time to prepare kids for that.
He said it’s also a good time to reengage former skiers and snowboarders, because their kids are old enough the whole family can enjoy riding together.
Grand Targhee photo courtesy of Gary Peterson for Ski Idaho
Idaho 2023-24 ski and snowboard season begins
ALTA, Wyo. (Nov. 17, 2023) — Ski and snowboard season officially begins in Idaho today. Well, technically in “Wydaho.”
Grand Targhee Resort, which opens today with very limited terrain, is the first Ski Idaho destination to open this winter. The resort lies four miles beyond the Gem State’s border and affiliates with Ski Idaho because the only way to reach it is through Driggs, Idaho.
Only the Shoshone Chairlift and the new Huckleberry Conveyor Lift will be open. There will be one groomed run off of each lift and some other ungroomed terrain off of Shoshone.
According to Mark Neff, Grand Targhee’s director of mountain operations, the resort has had a slow start to the winter with warm temps and limited precipitation. He said it has very limited snowmaking and relies on Mother Nature to provide enough for opening day.
“The start to every season is a little bit different,” Neff said. “This year we have had limited snowfall and warm weather leading up to opening day. We decided to only open the Shoshone and Huckleberry lifts for the time being, so there will only be a few runs open. We need quite a bit more snow until we can safely open Dreamcatcher and the south side of the resort.”
He said the resort will keep people up to date on additional lift and trail openings via its smartphone app.
Photo courtesy of Bogus Basin
In addition, Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area will open The Explorer Terrain Park this Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 18-19, as planned from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It is free on Saturday, and $10 (plus tax) on Sunday.
However, the likely scenario next week is that Bogus Basin will only operate The Explorer Terrain Park Nov. 24-26 instead of starting to spin the chairlifts as originally planned.
“If temperatures drop as forecasted, we can launch snowmaking and hopefully operate the Coach Chairlift,” Susan Saad, the mountain’s community relations director, said. “We will not be opening on Thanksgiving. Hours that weekend will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A limited number of tickets will be available online for purchase beginning Wednesday Nov. 22.”
Kelly Canyon photo courtesy of Gary Peterson with Ski Idaho
Meanwhile, Kelly Canyon Resort and Sun Valley Resort will open Thanksgiving Day. Kelly Canyon’s new snow-tubing hill at Ryder Park in Idaho Falls, Gateway to Kelly Canyon, is slated to open Nov. 23, too.
Sun Valley photo courtesy of Gary Peterson with Ski Idaho
Three more Idaho ski areas plan to open Thanksgiving weekend. Lookout Pass Ski & Recreation Area, Silver Mountain Resort, and Schweitzer intend to open Nov. 24. Lookout Pass and Schweitzer both need help from the weather, and the former may push its opening back to Dec. 1 if Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate.
Photo courtesy of Schweitzer
Beyond that, four other Ski Idaho destinations have announced tentative opening dates. Soldier Mountain is targeting Dec. 8, Tamarack Resort plans to open Dec. 9 or earlier if Mother Nature permits, and the Little Ski Hill and Snowhaven Ski Area and Tubing Hill are eyeballing Dec. 22 and Dec. 23, respectively.
Opening dates for Ski Idaho’s remaining eight destinations — Bald Mountain Ski Area near Pierce, Brundage Mountain Resort, Cottonwood Butte Ski Area, Lost Trail Ski Area, Magic Mountain Ski Resort, Pebble Creek Ski Area, Pomerelle Mountain Resort, and Rotarun Ski Area — are to be determined based on weather. Check the mountains’ websites and social media feeds for updates.
Photo courtesy of Tamarack Resort
14 Idaho ski areas open during the holidays
BOISE, Idaho (Dec. 21, 2023) — Despite Mother Nature being pretty stingy so far this winter, at least 14 of the Gem State’s 19 ski areas will be open during the holiday season.
All three ski areas in North Idaho — Lookout Pass Ski & Recreation Area near Mullan, Schweitzer near Sandpoint, and Silver Mountain Resort in Kellogg — are open daily. Skiers and snowboarders dressed from head to toe as Santa can purchase a lift ticket at Lookout Pass for only $20 on Saturday Dec. 23.
Photo courtesy of Lookout Pass
All three North Central Idaho ski areas — Bald Mountain near Pierce, Snowhaven Ski & Tubing Area in Grangeville, and Cottonwood Butte Ski Area near Cottonwood — have been forced to delay opening.
Three of the four ski areas in Southwest Idaho — Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area near Boise, Brundage Mountain Resort near McCall, and Tamarack Resort near Donnelly — are open daily. Although the Little Ski Hill in McCall cannot spin its lift yet, it will open a hike-to rail park and sell food and beverages in the lodge on Dec. 26 from 2-7 p.m. Visit Tamarack dressed up in your best Santa or holiday costume on Christmas Day, Dec. 25, and receive a free lift ticket while enjoying the VIP Santa Soiree at mid-mountain from 9 a.m. to noon sponsored by Monster Energy.
Sun Valley Resort in Central Idaho has been open since Thanksgiving, and Lost Trail Ski Area on the Idaho-Montana border near Conner, Mont., is open daily throughout the holidays from Dec. 21-Jan. 1. However, Rotarun Ski Area in Hailey has been forced to delay its opening.
Photo courtesy of Tamarack Resort
In Southern Idaho, Magic Mountain Ski Resort near Hansen is open daily Dec. 22-Jan. 2 and Pomerelle Mountain Resort near Albion is open daily for the season, although both are closed Christmas Day. Soldier Mountain near Fairfield will spin both chairs Saturday Dec. 23 with lift tickets at half price. The resort will open four trails — North Ridge on Chair 1, a.k.a. the High Trail Express, and Atomic, Bruno, and Coaster on Chair 2, Bird’s Eye. North Ridge is in decent shape from top to bottom thanks to the resort’s recently restored snowmaking system. Although the trails on the Bird’s Eye lift will get prettier they are definitely skiable and there’s some nice powder to be found if you’re willing to explore a bit. Soldier Mountain has not announced any other dates beyond that.
The two ski areas in Eastern Idaho — Kelly Canyon Ski Resort in Ririe and Grand Targhee Resort in “Wydaho,” a.k.a. Alta, Wyo. — are open daily. So is Gateway to Kelly Canyon, a brand-new snow-tubing park in Idaho Falls that Kelly Canyon operates in partnership with Eagle-based Gateway Parks.
Southeastern Idaho’s sole ski area — Pebble Creek Ski Area near Inkom — is open daily, although it is closed Christmas Day.
Check the ski areas’ websites for more details and operating hours.
Early season conditions exist at many of these destinations, so skiers and riders should use caution.
Matt Lorelli, trending news editor at POWDER and BIKE magazines, skis terrain that Kelly Canyon Resort's new summit rope tow will serve. Photo by Aaron Theisen.
Idaho ski areas feeling the stoke as 2023-24 season looms
BOISE, Idaho (Nov. 9, 2023) — Winter 2023-24 promises to deliver another great ski and
snowboard season in Idaho, with ski areas throughout the state making plenty of upgrades.
Brundage Mountain Resort, Kelly Canyon Resort, Schweitzer, and Sun Valley Resort installed new chairlifts over the summer, including Ski Idaho’s third six-pack at the latter destination. Plus, Lookout Pass Ski & Recreation Area shaved significant time off ascending the Eagle Peak Express, which debuted last winter, by reworking the gearing. And Grand Targhee Resort replaced its magic carpet with a covered Sunkid moving carpet.
Two of the eight Idaho ski areas offering night skiing — Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area and the Little Ski Hill — added new lights. Bogus Basin replaced night lighting on two trails and the Little Ski Hill finished lighting its terrain park, ensuring the entire mountain is lit from top to bottom.
Lookout Pass and Lost Trail Ski Area, both of which straddle the Idaho-Montana border, opened up new tree lines for this winter, and Kelly Canyon cleared out upwards of 30,000 square feet of terrain near Chair 4. Bogus Basin conducted extensive brush-cutting efforts on more than 50 acres of popular runs throughout the ski area. Sun Valley created a new black-diamond trail and 54 acres of new gladed tree skiing. And Tamarack Resort cleared 63 acres and added 50 in-bounds acres along its southern boundary.
Grand Targhee created a new, improved beginner area. And Tamarack added a new interactive family friendly zone called Lumberjack Land, as well as a 5.5-acre, sculpted-terrain learning area by the Discovery Lift.
Magic Mountain Resort added Sno-Go trikes to its rental fleet, with 11 Ski Idaho destinations allowing skibobbing, a.k.a. ski biking, and eight offering fat biking.
More Idaho ski areas are getting into the snow-tubing business, with Kelly Canyon unveiling a brand new tube park in Idaho Falls this winter that will also offer free ski and snowboard lessons. Plus, Magic Mountain has expanded its tube park, and Soldier Mountain plans to enhance its tubing hill.
Several Idaho ski areas made significant snowmaking improvements since last winter. Bogus Basin installed four new snowmaking towers on the Morning Star trail. Kelly Canyon invested more than $1 million to ensure the resort opens by Thanksgiving every winter. Rotarun completed its snowmaking system with the purchase of another snow gun.
Soldier Mountain now boasts a fully functional snowmaking system from its base area to the top of Chair 1, allowing the resort to open Chair 2 earlier. And Tamarack boosted its snowmaking capacity by 30 percent with the addition of six new snow guns and increased water capacity.
A half-dozen destinations completed noteworthy upgrades to their lodges and food-and-beverage offerings. Bogus Basin remodeled restrooms at both lodges and installed a new HVAC system at the Pioneer Lodge. Grand Targhee will complete the second half of its slopeside Teewinot Lodge makeover by December.
Kelly Canyon’s lodge sports new carpet, new windows, remodeled restrooms, and improved ventilation. Plus, the resort signed on renowned Blackhawk BBQ Pit to run the restaurant and operate grab-and-go food trailers at the ski resort and its new tube park in Idaho Falls.
Lookout’s new Sprung Structure adjacent to the lodge adds more indoor seating. Pebble Creek Ski Area added a new public, ADA-compatible restroom. Pomerelle Mountain Resort is staging a mobile food cart and restrooms at its ski-in, ski-out upper parking lot. And Silver Mountain Resort added a sundeck to its new Jackass Snack Shack at midway Chair 4.
Meanwhile, construction on Brundage’s new base area lodge and Tamarack’s mid-mountain lodge continues, with both slated to open during winter 2024-25.
Bogus Basin’s weekend and holiday public bus service will resume and add stops in Nampa, and Brundage is working to expand the free shuttle service between McCall and the resort to daily operations during winter.
Visit Southern Idaho, an important Ski Idaho partner, engaged Local Freshies to create a digital backcountry skiing and snowboarding guide for the region that just went live.
And despite the emergence of El Niño, the jury’s still out on how that will impact winter
weather here in Idaho, according to OpenSnow. Its Idaho forecaster, Steve Stuebner, recently conducted an analysis of seven strong El Niño winters over the last four decades, with only two of them being genuinely crummy and one being among the Gem State’s biggest snow years.
NORTH IDAHO
Near the historic town of Wallace and straddling the Idaho-Montana border and the Mountain and Pacific time zones, Lookout Pass Ski & Recreation Area finished reworking the gearing of the Eagle Peak Express Lift, shaving off two and a half minutes of ride time.
With a summit elevation of 6,150 feet, Eagle Peak, which debuted last winter, offers 1,650 feet of total vertical — 500 feet more than the original Lookout Pass summit. It is served by the new Chair 5, a 400-hp fixed-grip quad that stretches just under a mile at 5,640 feet and can move at least 1,500 people uphill per hour. Eagle Peak delivers more and drier snow than Lookout’s already snowy reputation thanks to the 500 feet in elevation gain.
Other improvements include a brand-new 50- by 96-foot Sprung Structure adjacent to its historic lodge to provide more indoor seating and comforts. The addition will offer an extra 150 seats, representing a 43 percent increase in seating at the mountain. The resort also purchased a new Prinoth Bison X groomer, added new skis and snowboards to its demo fleet, and installed a White Peaks point-of-sale ticketing system.
Idaho’s northernmost ski resort, Schweitzer, near Sandpoint, will enjoy its first season under new ownership since the Alterra sale was finalized in August. The addition of Schweitzer will bring Alterra to 17 year-round mountain destinations in North America.
The Cambium Spa features a sound lounge to calm the nervous system and stimulate mind and body, as well as reflexology stations and HaloIR saunas. Photo courtesy of Schweitzer.
The Cambium spa will also have its first full year of operations this season. The 3,600-square-foot retreat features five treatment rooms, a community gathering space, and relaxation and recovery areas with outstanding views of the mountain. Cambium’s treatments are designed to help guests shorten recovery time and get back on the mountain faster and more comfortably with help from reflexology stations, sound loungers, and HaloIR saunas.
Schweitzer is also debuting a high-speed detachable quad lift this winter called the Creekside Express that replaces the Musical Chairs fixed-grip double. The new lift’s detachable design will make it easier for beginner skiers and riders to load and unload. It promises quicker access and an increase in capacity to 2,400 riders per hour. The Creekside Express sets the stage for the upcoming Schweitzer Creek Village, a multiyear project to develop a brand-new arrival zone for day visitors.
Schweitzer's new Creekside Express high-speed detachable quad replaces the Musical Chairs fixed-grip double. Photo courtesy of Schweitzer.
Silver Mountain Resort in the historic mining town of Kellogg added a deck to the Jackass Snack Shack for guests to soak up the sun while refueling this winter. The Midway Chair 4 food-and-beverage outlet debuted late in the season last winter. It is located on the site of the original ski lodge back when the mountain was named Jackass Ski Bowl in honor of Bill the $12 Million Burro, who accidentally assisted in founding the Bunker Hill Mine underneath Silver Mountain. The snack shack is open Fridays-Sundays and holidays, stocks snacks and beverages, and has restrooms.
The resort continues to make improvements to its existing infrastructure with new carpet in the Mountain House. It has been maintaining runs with mulching and a D6 dozer to cut brush, which will let the resort open more terrain earlier in the season.
It will be offering big savings this winter with huge discounts for midweek lodging and skiing packages, which are available to book now. Between its Morning Star Lodge at the base of the gondola (North America’s longest) and the nearby Silver Inn, Silver Mountain offers guests 250 rooms with multiple floorplans and options available to accommodate families and groups of any size and on any budget.
NORTH CENTRAL IDAHO
Bald Mountain Ski Area was recently nominated for Best Place for Snowboarding in the USA TODAY 10Best Readers' Choice 2023 awards. Photo by Gary Peterson for Ski Idaho.
The three destinations encircling the Camas Prairie — Bald Mountain Ski Area near Pierce, Cottonwood Butte Ski Area near Cottonwood, and Snowhaven Ski & Tubing Area near Grangeville — have not announced any upgrades for the 2023-24 ski season beyond usual maintenance and upkeep. These mountains, the former two nonprofits and the latter municipally owned, serve as living proof that volunteerism lives on, offering throwback experiences where it’s all about snow riding, family, and happy vibes with adult lift tickets costing only $20-25.
CENTRAL IDAHO
Renowned for its glade skiing, Lost Trail Ski Area on the Idaho-Montana border between Salmon and Missoula is stoked for new tree lines on Chair 2 in the Moose Creek area and between the runs Southern Comfort and Far Out. Lost Trail is also bringing back Epic Mondays — adding six more days of skiing this season by opening every Monday in January and February.
Photo courtesy of Lost Trail Ski Area.
Three miles west of Hailey, Rotarun Ski Area has completed its snowmaking project by adding another SMI PoleCat tower snow gun. The nonprofit ski area also added a Prinoth Bison snow cat to its fleet.
As the 2023-24 season gets underway, Rotarun continues to focus on its support of youth and families through affordable and inclusive learn-to-ski programming. It also celebrates winter sports and mountain-town culture with free public skiing under the lights on Wednesday evenings, “Friday Night Lights” skiing with local Mexican cuisine in the base area, an annual New Year’s Eve Party, and special community classes and events throughout the season.
World-famous Sun Valley Resort has given some of its most renowned terrain serious upgrades that debut this winter.
Photo by Ray Gadd for Sun Valley Resort.
Its Warm Springs Enhancement Project replaces the old Warm Springs Lift with two successors, Challenger and Flying Squirrel, and adds 54 acres of new gladed tree skiing in Little Scorpion. The effort will not only boost lift quality, efficiency, and sustainability, but it will also improve circulation on the mountain and provide multiple options for accessing the mountain from the Warm Springs area.
Looking down towards the Warm Springs base area from the top of one of the new Challenger Lift's tower. Photo courtesy of Sun Valley Resort.
The initiative also adds a new run — Lower Flying Squirrel. Boasting a black-diamond rating, a steep pitch with a 38-percent slope (21.8 degrees), 1,500 feet of vertical, and 14 snowmaking towers, POWDER Magazine’s Ian Greenwood opines, “Sun Valley’s new trail looks like an instant-classic.”
The original Flying Squirrel Lift was lost to fire in 2014, and its replacement this year brings back lift access to the Frenchman’s terrain network from the Warm Springs base. Challenger replaces its namesake, too, but the new lift is a six-pack — Idaho’s second after Schweitzer’s Stella Lift, and Ski Idaho’s third after Targhee’s Colter Lift. It features a convenient mid-lift unload, which replaces the old Greyhawk Lift and streamlines access to the Greyhawk terrain and popular race venues.
Map courtesy of Sun Valley Resort.
The birthplace of the chairlift and American’s first destination resort, Sun Valley was designated North America’s no. 1 ski resort by SKI Magazine’s reader’s poll three years in a row for the 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23 seasons.
More details regarding development progress and updates are available at FutureOfSunValley.com.
SOUTHWEST IDAHO
Visitors to Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area near Boise, Idaho’s capital city, will enjoy slope enhancements, fleet and technology upgrades, lodge renovations, and improved night skiing this winter.
Cyrus Corbet enjoys night riding at Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area. Photo by Gary Peterson for Ski Idaho.
As part of the ongoing forest restoration project in partnership with the Idaho Department of Lands’ and the U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Health Initiative, Bogus Basin improved several runs. The project removed overgrown vegetation and underbrush to ensure a clear surface for winter. One of the nation’s largest nonprofit ski areas, Bogus Basin also added four new snowmaking towers on the Morning Star trail.
It added a new PistenBully 600 winch cat to its fleet, too, which will allow for better grooming on steep terrain. It is equipped with a SNOWsat measuring system to determine exact snow depth, yielding for more efficient snow management and grooming.
The mountain also renovated its lodges and other buildings. It completely remodeled the rental shop to offer a fresh, updated feel and purchased new equipment to provide guests more options. Plus, Bogus Basin remodeled Pioneer Lodge’s first-floor restrooms and installed a new HVAC system, and it remodeled the Simplot Lodge’s men’s restrooms.
Bogus Basin replaced night lighting on Alpine and Showcase to improve visibility on both runs. It offers a total of 200 lit acres — the largest night operations in the state — with night-riding terrain for beginners to experts.
The ski area will also resume its public transportation service and add a new stop in Nampa to the route. Bogus Basin will continue to subsidize the cost, bringing a one-way or round-trip ticket down to $10, including tax.
Brundage Mountain Resort between McCall and New Meadows installed a new high-speed quad chairlift, conducted trail maintenance, deployed a new point-of-sale system, and improved transportation options.
Robert Hoskinson descends terrain served by Brundage Mountain Resort's new Centennial Express. Photo courtesy of Burndage Mountain Resort.
The new Centennial Express high-speed detachable quad takes a 16-minute lift ride down to a swift 6 minutes. With the new lift, Brundage offers riders two high-speed quads on the front side of the mountain, minimizing any potential congestion over the resort’s 1,920 acres.
Brundage Mountain Resort's new Centennial Express. Photo courtesy of Brundage Mountain Resort.
It is also expanding its free shuttle service between McCall and the resort. Brundage and its partner, Mountain Community Transit, plan to offer a seven-days-a-week schedule instead of operating five days a week during peak periods and three days a week during off-peak times.
The resort also purchased a new RFID point-of-sale system to streamline ticketing and provide a more efficient way to make reservations for the resort’s signature guided snowcat adventures, showing real-time availability to its 18,000 acres of pristine backcountry terrain. Plus, the mountain’s trail-maintenance efforts included removing hazardous trees around the Centennial Lift on top of annual brush cutting to facilitate an earlier opening.
Just outside McCall, the Little Ski Hill finished lighting its terrain park over the summer, meaning the entire ski area, including its terrain park, is now lit top to bottom.
The Little Ski Hill. Photo by Jon Conti for the McCall Area Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau
Tamarack Resort near Donnelly is getting a boost this winter with a new interactive family friendly zone located off Waltz called Lumberjack Land. The resort also added 5.5 acres of sculpted terrain to its learning area near the Discovery Lift and expanded its beginner terrain park.
Two snowboarders descend Upper Serenity at Tamarack Resort. Photo by Sherri Harkin for Tamarack Resort.
The Buttercup chair will operate on weekends and holidays to offer more ski-in, ski-out access.
Snowmaking improvements include the addition of six new TechnoAlpin TT10 snow guns and one mile of new snowmaking pipeline, increasing the resort’s snowmaking capabilities by 30 percent and covering 150 acres of named runs. Modernized and improved snowmaking capabilities across the mountain will support a longer and more consistent ski season.
Riders can now skip the ticket line and go straight to the lift with the new automated ticket kiosk in the Village Plaza. More pass products are available, too, including Tamarack’s multi-day consecutive-day tickets.
Upgrades also include a brand-new Nordic Center located in The Lodge at Osprey Meadows that offers rentals, retail, and lessons. Tamarack’s 20K+ trail system is family friendly and perfect for cross-country skiing, skate skiing, snowshoeing, and fat biking.
Visitors traveling with recreational vehicles will be interested to learn Tamarack recently began offering paid overnight RV camping in the lower Aspen Parking Lot.
SOUTHERN IDAHO
Magic Mountain Ski Resort near Kimberly is expanding its tubing area this winter, adding more lanes and tubes for guests. The lodge, mountain, and tubing area are now available to rent privately by businesses and other groups. Weekday group tubing is also available on a reservation basis.
Alex Silgalis from Local Freshies descends one of the many chutes and cliffs found at Magic Mountain. Photo courtesy of Local Freshies.
The resort has also added new Sno-Go trikes to its rental and retail shop, allowing more folks to experience the thrill of sliding on snow.
Magic Mountain added a third snowcat to its grooming fleet and initiated aggressive brush-cutting efforts to allow the resort to open terrain in most areas earlier in the season.
Pomerelle Mountain Resort near Albion will expand its services in the upper lot to encourage visitors to park there since parking can be a bottleneck when the resort is busy. It will operate a new mobile food cart in the upper lot and provide bathroom facilities that, coupled with the convenience of ski-in, ski-out access, will hopefully compel more visitors to park there.
Over the last two summers staff at Soldier Mountain near Fairfield has restored its snowmaking system, which was first installed in 1976 but laid dormant for decades and was damaged by the Phillips Fire that swept through the area in August 2020. This year the mountain will have a fully functioning snowmaking system from the base to the top of Chair 1 for the first time since the late 1970s, allowing Soldier Mountain to start spinning Chair 2 earlier, too.
Soldier Mountain also expanded its brush cutting, adding two more trails to the existing list of trails it mows to open more terrain earlier in the season and let it stay open longer. In addition, the resort replaced one of its three snowcats with a top-of-the-line Piston Bully PB600.
The resort also plans to redesign its tubing park this winter to make it more enjoyable and user friendly.
Soldier Mountain is already booking seats on the snowcat for its renowned backcountry experiences, and staff are gearing up for a busy season. They are also taking reservations for the resort’s “My Mountain” package. For $6,000 this package allows you to privately book the mountain during nonoperational days (Mondays-Wednesdays) for corporate retreats or personal events.
EASTERN IDAHO
Grand Targhee Resort — which lies four miles across the border in “Wydaho” and affiliates with Ski Idaho because the only way to reach it is through Driggs, Idaho — anticipates its longest season ever. A great spring-skiing candidate with a base elevation of 7,400 feet above sea level, The Ghee holds the snow well late into the season and plans to remain open until April 21, adding an extra week of ride time.
The Colter Lift, a high-speed six-pack that debuted last winter, transports up to 2,000 people per hour and gains 1,815 vertical feet in 5 minutes. The addition of Peaked Mountain, formerly only accessible via snowcat, provides 30 percent more skiing and riding. The extra 600 acres gives guests the ability to spread out on the mountain even more and access varying types of terrain, including awesome tree skiing and steep pitches.
Over the summer the resort created a brand-new beginner area by the Shoshone Lift that is wider and regraded to create a safe and easy place to learn. It also replaced the Papoose magic carpet with a covered Sunkid moving carpet and renamed it Huckleberry, allowing riders to catch a break from the outside elements while learning.
This winter the resort will unveil its brand new characters in its kid’s zone by the Shoshone Lift that it has dubbed Targaritaville. The characters are full of Targhee personality and will bring more fun and adventure to the area.
Grand Targhee will complete the remainder of the Teewinot Lodge remodel by December, so the entire lodge — just steps from the lift — will boast updated rooms and amenities. The lodge used to only offer queen beds, but the resort now offers king rooms, too.
Kelly Canyon Resort near Ririe has been busy since last winter making numerous improvements to virtually every aspect of the mountain.
Photo by Aaron Theisen
It replaced every mechanical element on Chair 4, and like its predecessor, the new Gunpowder Lift is a fixed-grip double. Plus, it removed more brush and trees in that area, clearing another 20,000-30,000 square feet of skiable terrain.
The resort also installed a new bull wheel and new seats on Chair 3, the Lost Treasure Lift on Beginner’s Mountain.
In addition, Kelly Canyon installed a rope tow at the top of Chair 2, the Gold Rush Lift, that will pull riders all the way to Chair 4 or let them jump off anywhere in between. The new summit surface lift will improve flow on the mountain and ease access to terrain that was previously only accessible via bootpacking.
The owners also invested more than $1 million over the summer to significantly expand its snowmaking efforts to ensure it consistently opens between mid-November and Thanksgiving every year moving forward. The resort dug a new well, installed a network of underground pipes, built a million-gallon retention pound, and placed new snow guns practically everywhere on the mountain.
Kelly Canyon is also getting into the snow-tubing business. It is partnering with Gateway Parks — which also operates tube parks in Eagle, Idaho, and Spanish Fork, Utah — on a huge snow tube park in Idaho Falls that will debut this Thanksgiving. Dubbed Gateway to Kelly Canyon, the park will be a great place to get kids on skis and snowboards, offering a free rope tow on the south side of the hill for free snowboard and ski lessons. The park will operate seven days a week through Easter with seven 1.5-hour tubing sessions daily.
Back at the ski resort, Kelly Canyon completed upgrades to the lodge following damage from an ice dam during its record snow year last winter. The lodge sports new carpet and windows, fully renovated bathrooms, and an improved HVAC system. Plus, the resort signed a long-term agreement with Blackhawk BBQ Pit, a popular fleet of food trucks in the region, to run the lodge’s restaurant and serve up its authentic “low- and-slow-cooked” brisket, pulled pork, smoked sausages, and other specialties.
The vendor will also operate a grab-and-go food trailer by Chair 2, as well as a food truck at the snow-tube park with hot drinks, waffles, pretzels, candy, and other easy-to-grab snacks.
Last but not least, Kelly Canyon rebuilt its lower parking lot over the summer and will employ full-time parking attendants all winter to ease transportation matters.
Pebble Creek Ski Area near Inkom will stage a torchlight parade and other gatherings throughout the season to celebrate its 75th anniversary.
The resort spent the summer focused on maintenance and upkeep to prepare its trails for the winter. It also installed a new ADA-compatible restroom with easy access from the parking lot and beginner’s hill.
Plus, Pebble Creek added new gear to its rental fleet and purchased a Prinoth snowcat to improve its grooming capabilities.
Noteworthy milestones
In addition to Pebble Creek observing its 75th birthday, Lost Trail is entering its 85th ski season and Bald Mountain near Pierce will turn 65 this winter. Plus, Pomerelle and Schweitzer are celebrating their 60th anniversaries and Grand Targhee will turn 55.
Multi-resort passes
Sun Valley and Schweitzer are partners with the Ikon Pass. Idaho has seven Indy Pass partners, including Brundage, Kelly Canyon, Lost Trail, Pomerelle, Silver Mountain, Soldier Mountain, and Tamarack. Grand Targhee and Sun Valley are members of the Mountain Collective. Bogus Basin, Lost Trail, and Silver Mountain are part of the Powder Alliance. And Sun Valley offers a Sun & Snow Pass with its sister resort, Snowbasin in Huntsville, Utah, that allows up to three days at each destination.
EL Niño is here
Despite an appearance by El Niño, there is still hope for a wet and snow-filled winter. Steve Stuebner, a freelance journalist and author focused on the outdoors who serves as OpenSnow’s Idaho forecaster, remains optimistic about the upcoming ski season.
Comparing seven prior strong El Niño winters over the last four decades, Stuebner said this weather event where unusually warm ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific affect weather around the globe is not always universally bad in Idaho. The first strong El Niño winter, in 1982-83, was one of the biggest snow years ever in Idaho, with Bogus Basin getting a record 493 inches. Two other El Niño winters, 1997-98 and 2009-10, were about average in terms of snowfall, and 2002-03 was just a little below average.
He said only two El Niños in the last 41 years — 1986-87 and 1991-92 — led to somewhat crummy winters, and pretty much everywhere in Idaho was short on snow those years.
Furthermore, Stuebner said the state is entering winter with a very moist soil base from rain in August, September, and October, and when the ground freezes it should allow the snow to rest on top of the ground better. He said Idaho’s wet fall should also benefit runoff next spring, with the wet soil profile preventing snowmelt from sinking into the ground as much as it would if the soils were dry.
Southern Idaho backcountry skiing guide
Visit Southern Idaho just posted a digital backcountry skiing and snowboarding guide for the region curated by Alex Silgalis and Jaime Pirozzi from Local Freshies. Local Freshies is a website that provides the local scoop on where to eat, drink, and play in mountain towns throughout North America.
The new guide provides advice, photos, maps, and other important details for exploring backcountry and sidecountry at three ski areas — Magic Mountain, Pomerelle, Soldier Mountain — and other Southern Idaho destinations. Check it out at:
visitsouthidaho.com/get-away-from-everyone-backcountry-skiing-in-southern-idaho
USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice 2023 nominees
Idaho ski areas, communities, and restaurants were recently nominated in all nine categories of USA TODAY 10Best Readers’ Choice 2023 awards:
- Best apres-ski bar — Apple’s Bar & Grill in Ketchum and The Trap Bar & Grill at Grand Targhee Resort
- Best cross-country ski resort — Bogus Basin
- Best place for snow tubing — Bogus Basin and Silver Mountain
- Best place for snowboarding — Bald Mountain near Pierce, Idaho
- Best ski hotel — Best Western Plus Kentwood Lodge in Ketchum, Knob Hill Inn in Ketchum, Morning Star Lodge at Silver Mountain, and Sun Valley Lodge
- Best ski resort — Grand Targhee and Sun Valley
- Best ski restaurant — The Reserve at Tamarack and The Roundhouse at Sun Valley
- Best ski school — Ski + Ride School at Brundage and the Sun Valley Snowsports School
- Best ski town — Ketchum
You can vote once per day in each category between now and noon EST Nov. 20. Winners will be announced Dec. 1. Visit 10best.usatoday.com/interests/outdoor-adventures to vote for your favorites.