Ski Idaho-ho-ho stocking stuffer ideas
BOISE, Idaho (Dec. 7, 2021) -- Having trouble deciding what to get the skier or snowboarder in your family for Christmas? Ski Idaho has a couple stocking stuffer suggestions that might suffice: an Idaho Peak Season Passport for any 5th or 6th graders in your family, personalized specialty license plates for those with vehicles, and customizable souvenir plates for anyone on your "nice" list. All three are important revenue sources for the nonprofit, which represents 18 alpine ski areas.
The Idaho Peak Season Passport lets 5th graders ski or board three days for free at ski areas throughout the state and offers 6th graders two days free at each mountain. The program is open to any 5th or 6th grader from any state -- NOT just Idaho kids -- as well as children ages 10-12 from any country.
Complete the application available online at skiidaho.us/passports and pay an $18 processing fee to order a passport for your child. 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. Children must have a parent or guardian present with them to use the passport, and they must show their passport to receive the lift ticket.
Image courtesy of John Webster and Tamarack Resort
The stoke is high in Idaho this season as 2021-22 ski season nears.
BOISE, Idaho (Nov. 4, 2021) — All signs point to a promising 2021-2022 ski season in Idaho. SKI Magazine just named Sun Valley the top ski resort in North America for the second year in a row. Schweitzer will open a new slopeside hotel next month. Kelly Canyon is replacing one of its double chairlifts with a new triple that climbs 600 feet higher, improving access to terrain you had to bootpack to before. And another ski area, Rotarun, is joining the Idaho Ski Areas Association.
Near Boise, Bogus Basin spent more than $6 million on 52 capital projects this summer, bringing the total investments in improvements over the past five years to $30 million. This year the nonprofit ski area has doubled its snowmaking capacity, increased uphill capacity by 30 percent on its Superior and Morning Star lifts by adding more chairs, and increased lighting for its night operations.
Image courtesy of Ryan Zimmer and Lookout Pass
Idaho 2020-2021 ski and snowboard season begins
Ski and snowboard season has officially begun in Idaho.
Image courtesy of Grand Targhee
SKI IDAHO THIS SUMMER
BOISE, Idaho (June 14, 2021) -- Eleven of Idaho's ski areas offer lift-served mountain biking, and four -- Lookout Pass (plus the Route of the Hiawatha), Silver Mountain, Soldier Mountain, and Tamarack -- have already opened their trails for the season. Five more -- Bogus Basin, Brundage Mountain, Grand Targhee, Kelly Canyon, and Schweitzer -- open up their mountain biking trails this weekend.
Meanwhile, Sun Valley will open downhill mountain biking June 26. Although Pomerelle has not announced its plans yet, the resort typically is open weekends in July and August.
Sun Valley voted top resort in Ski Magazine's 2021 Annual Ski Resort Awards. Photo courtesy of Sun Valley Resort.
SKI Magazine lauds four Idaho resorts
SKI Magazine gives four Ski Idaho resorts serious props in its November issue — chief among them naming Sun Valley as the top mountain in the 2021 Annual Ski Resort Awards.
In addition to Sun Valley taking gold for the first time ever in the annual Resort Guide, Grand Targhee made the list at No. 28. The issue also boasts a three-page travel feature about Schweitzer Mountain with a sidebar about five under-the-radar ski resorts that includes Silver Mountain.
SKI Magazine’s annual Resort Guide is based on the results of its Reader Resort Survey, the most comprehensive and longest-running rankings in the industry. Sun Valley ranked No. 1 in the categories of Lifts and Down-Day Activities and ranked in the top five in the categories of Grooming, Dining, Lodging, On-Mountain Food, Service, Accessibility, Local Flavor, Charm, and Overall Satisfaction.
“Sun Valley truly does cater to all levels of skiers,” senior editor Samantha Berman writes. “But if you have a soft spot in your heart for corduroy (Grooming, No. 2), you’ve come to the right place. (‘Best grooming I’ve ever skied,’ says one such reader.)”
“At the end of the day,” Berman continues, “if you know where to look, or can hook up with a friendly local to point you in the right direction, you will have a blast at Sun Valley on or off the slopes (Down-Day Activities, No. 1).”
Meanwhile, contributing writer Lily Krass says, “Targhee boasts a warm, friendly spirit that’s everything you love about skiing without any of the overpriced fluff” and that “skiing Targhee for the first time feels like visiting an old friend.”
The Alta, Wyo., resort affiliates with the Idaho Ski Areas Association because it is only accessible via Driggs, Idaho.
In its Schweitzer Mountain feature, titled “Party in the Panhandle,” contributing writer Paul Tolme describes Idaho’s northernmost alpine ski area as “the biggest little resort you’ve probably never visited.”
“With 2,900 acres of inbounds terrain — and an open boundary policy — it’s Idaho’s largest ski area,” he writes, “bigger than Sun Valley and larger than any resort in neighboring Washington as well. Who knew?”
Regarding Silver Mountain, Tolme writes in the accompanying “5 Under-The-Radar Resorts that Ski Big” sidebar: “No wonder Idaho is called the Gem State. Silver Mountain claims some gorgeous tree skiing across its two mountains, plus few crowds to compete with.”
SKI Magazine isn’t the only noteworthy media outlet doling out accolades to Ski Idaho resorts. Brundage Mountain is a finalist for USA Today’s Readers’ Choice Award in the Best Ski Resort category. The awards are based on online voting, which ends Nov. 9 at noon. Brundage is currently in the top spot among the 20 contending ski areas.