Views from Schweitzer courtesy of Steve Stuebner

Triple swing to Schweitzer, Silver and Lookout a must-do tour for the skiing, culture, food – it’s got the whole package

By Steve Stuebner 

On the first day of a three-day tour of Northern Idaho’s ski areas, my partner Wendy and I stood on the summit of Schweitzer Mountain by the elegant Skyhouse lodge, and a magical moment unfolded before our eyes.

Looking off to the east, we watched a persistent cloud bank and valley fog burn off, revealing the giant expanse of Lake Pend Oreille – Idaho’s largest and deepest lake – shining cerulean blue, surrounded by  Idaho Panhandle mountains.

I’d been hoping for that million-dollar view since we arrived that morning, seeing hints of the sun hidden in the clouds above. Score! That view seemed totally mesmerizing. Wow, what a gorgeous spot in my home state of Idaho!    

Moments like that, combined with perfect snow conditions, served up a peak experience at Schweitzer on a mid-week uncrowded day. Our vacation coincided with spring-tease bluebird weather, providing sunny warm days to enjoy cold and spring snow at Lookout Pass and Silver Mountain as well.

All in all, I felt it was a homerun Ski Idaho vacation, combined with the chance to stay in Sandpoint on the lake for two nights, enjoy the unique culture of downtown Wallace, and finish it off with a night with friends in Coeur d’Alene while munching on the best pizza in town, Fire.

Wendy and I split our time between Boise and McCall, skiing Bogus Basin, Brundage Mountain and Tamarack as our main downhill destinations. We love them all. Sun Valley is a rare treat.

But it’s always fun to ski/ride new mountains. My advice? Don’t overlook a North Idaho stay-cation to spice up your ski season while you still can. Turning the page into March, we’ve got 45 days left in the season to enjoy. With Schweitzer, Silver and Lookout located in close proximity, it’s easy to hit them all in a three-day tour.

March is often a time when warmer weather in the valleys can bring other outdoor activities into play. As the Idaho forecaster for OpenSnow.com, I’m seeing long-range forecasts that are calling for wetter and colder weather than normal for the month of March. A low pressure trough is predicted to dig into the Northern Rockies from Canada by March 5, and it appears we may be getting a Northwest or Polar flow of snow storms pushing down from Canada for weeks in March.

This is all good news for skiers and riders. If the models hold true, we should have a resurgence of sweet *pow* days with multiple doses of cold snow. Bring it on!

Day 1 – Schweitzer Mountain

We left McCall on a Wednesday morning after skiing perfect groomers at Brundage Mountain the day before. We drove to Sandpoint on U.S. 95 in light traffic. It took 6 hours and change on dry roads to reach Sandpoint. Easy! We stayed at the Best Western Plus - Edgewater Resort on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille. Arriving at 3 p.m., we took a walk on the pier and the Sandpoint City Beach, all lightly covered in snow.

We had a mouth-watering halibut dinner at Baxters on Cedar, just steps from our hotel. I always appreciate chefs who don’t overcook seafood.

Thursday morning, we arrived at Schweitzer at 9:30 a.m. with boots on and ready to roll. We managed to find a parking spot about 100 yards from the base area. Even on a mid-week day, people were out in force to ski/ride Schweitzer.

From the main village area, we took the Basin Express quad to the Lakeview Triple to reach the 6,390-foot summit on the south side of the ski resort. We ripped some cold-snow turns on Bud’s Chute, a groomed black diamond run to start the day. Schweitzer is an impressive ski mountain with a ton of steep fall-lines, and Bud’s is one of them. Woo hoo! Invigorating!  

Next, we took the Great Escape quad chair to check out the black and blue runs accessible from that lift. The blacks were super fun, one run after the next, Pend Oreille, Stiles, Sundance (several times), Quicksilver and Abracadabra, working our way over to the Sunnyside lift. Due to the fresh grooming, emerging sunshine and easy-turning snow, I felt all of those runs were skiing more like blue runs, making it easier for Wendy, who is improving daily as an advanced intermediate skier. 

By this time, we were ready for lunch. We took Great Escape to the Skyhouse, a classy ski lodge with glass windows in all directions. We found a table upstairs. I had a chicken quesadilla and Wendy had a chicken sandwich. While we lunched from 12:30 to 1 p.m., the fog and clouds really began to burn off, and we knew it was going to be great afternoon.

Moving to the backside, we toured Outback Bowl. What a huge amount of terrain over there! The best skiing in Outback were on the slopes served by the Stella chairlift, ski runs in the sunshine. Man, it just felt wonderful to soak up the sun on the lift, and rip down Timber Cruiser, Cathedral Aisle, Zip Down, Stella’s Run and Springboard.

We loved the old historic structure that houses the bottom of the Stella lift. The lifties had some great tunes going. Stella is a 6-person lift, with special gates that open when you’re supposed to load. But don’t hesitate! I saw several people get pinched by those lift gates!

Finishing off the ski day, we returned to the front side by taking the Colburn Triple to the Skyhouse, and then took Sundance to the base area.

Next up, a hot tub at the hotel, followed by dinner at Trinity at City Beach restaurant, the in-house restaurant at the Edgewater Resort Hotel. I had lobster-stuffed ravioli, a hearty meal after a big ski day, and Wendy had a seafood bowl of mussels and clams. Delicious!  

Day 2 – Lookout Pass

Eagle Peak expansion area at Lookout Pass courtesy of Steve Stuebner

We drove to Lookout Pass from Sandpoint, arriving about 10:30 a.m. Knowing it’d take a few hours for east- and south-facing slopes to warm up, we weren’t in any rush. By the time we reached the charming base area at Lookout, the fog and clouds had burned off, and it was another postcard day.

We met up with friends Dave Lindsey and Randy Bell from Coeur d’Alene, and they showed us around the mountain. We visited Lookout on a Friday, because they provide free ski lessons to kids on Saturdays, so visiting the day before was perfect. The slopes were uncrowded and open for cruising.

Lookout Pass is a little bit more like a “Ma and Pa” ski area with no lodging accommodations at the base area, but just a friendly, homespun ski area that operates under a special use permit from the Forest Service.

“Schweitzer is a big-time resort, and it’s nice to have that option in this region, but we also like skiing Lookout and Silver because it’s more low-key and Private Idaho-type experience,” Randy says.

That said, “Lookout is getting more busy all the time. We’re seeing a lot of new people here from Western Montana and even Spokane.”

Skiers and riders will have plenty of elbow room at Lookout in the future, however, when the Eagle Peak expansion occurs next season, doubling the skiable acres at Lookout and increasing the vertical drop to 1,650 feet. Two new chairlifts will serve Eagle Peak, providing access to 14 new ski runs, plus glade skiing.

Lookout is offering $100 cat rides for skiers/riders to tour Eagle Peak this season. Screaming deal!

Dave and Randy took us on a tour to look at Eagle Peak, and it looks fantastic. Both Randy and Dave pack skins when the powder is good, and they’ll climb the mountain to sample the new ski runs. Much of the terrain already has been cleared, so it’s quite the perfect spot for backcountry skiing!

Lookout is a three-sided mountain, so there is quite a bit more terrain available than you might imagine, looking at the ski slopes on the front side by the lodge, known as the “Idaho side.” The sun was shining on the sunny side, known as the Montana side of the mountain, so we ripped a bunch of runs on Cloud 9 (true!), Rainbow Bridge and Keystone, all blue runs. Hero skiing in softening snow. Perfect!

We ventured back to the Lookout lodge for lunch. I grabbed a bacon cheeseburger (pre-cooked in foil and ready to go) and fries; Wendy had a burger and salad. We were burning the calories, racking up the runs, skiing with Dave and Randy, who love to ski fast.

We toured the North side of Lookout after lunch, and the Idaho side, but the Montana side was still skiing best because of the angle of the sun. We tackled Whitetail, a steep mogul-filled black diamond, which was super skiable with soft snow, almost too soft!

We finished out the day on Cloud 9 and headed for the lodge to enjoy a pitcher of beer on the 2^nd floor of the main lodge. It’s a nice roomy area with the feeling of a Sports Bar. It’s got large-screen TVs playing sports, and plenty of seating for the après ski crowd. Great way to round out the day.

The Ryan Hotel in Wallace was our destination for night 3. It was highly recommended. The interior of the hotel has a bed & breakfast feel to it being an historic building in an historic part of town on Cedar Street, where several brothels used to operate until the early 1990s.  

We did dinner at Blackboard, an Italian restaurant located just below our hotel room, in the Blackboard Marketplace. There’s a coffee shop, bookstore and retail clothing store in the charming quarters there. I had shrimp linguini for dinner, Wendy had steak alfredo. Still hungry, we had mud pie for dessert.

Day 3 – Silver Mountain

Views from Silver Mt. courtesy of Steve Stuebner (pictured: John King and his son is Connor)

Randy and Dave warned us that we might not find as much spring snow at Silver Mountain because the ski slopes are more north-facing, so we timed our visit to meet in the parking lot at 10 a.m. to take the gondola to the mountain lodge and begin our ski day by 10:30 or so. We started on Chair 2, catching a blue run called Sunrise on an east-facing ridge. It was the best slope with sunshine at the moment. We also skied Klondike Express, North Star, Northern Lights and Silver Bell on Chair 2, skiing on soft cold snow on the sides of the slopes, avoiding more icy conditions in the middle of the ski runs.

We stopped for lunch to let things warm up some more and have some beers on the lodge deck. Dave ran into two friends on the deck, two women he knew well and skied with a bunch, who joined us for the afternoon tour. I powered a burger on the deck; Wendy had a salad and shared my fries.  

The front runs on Chair 3 seemed sunny, so we ventured over there, and skied Paymaster, Terrible Edith and then dropped back over to Chair 2 on Happy Jack, a steep mogul run. Dave took me over to Chair 4 to see that area, because we had to tour the whole mountain, but that area was pretty icy. So we finished out the day on Chair 3.

Our plan that evening was to check into the Best Western Plus in Coeur d’Alene, take a hot tub, and then meet up with Dave and his wife, Carol, at their home in CDA for from Fire Artisan Pizza. Great stuff!     

We drove the I-90 to Ritzville, US 395 to Tri-Cities, and I-84 back to Boise the next day, ready for a day of rest after our N. Idaho ski tour. It’s a fast way to return to Boise on dry roads, about 6 hours and change with short stops for gas and food.

I couldn’t imagine how things could have gone better on our N. Idaho ski tour. All in all, a fantastic time, and super-affordable because it’s Idaho!

Steve Stuebner is a professional writer and the Idaho forecaster for OpenSnow.com.

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.

Photo courtesy of Lookout Pass Ski and Recreation 

Most Idaho ski areas open during the holidays.

BOISE, Idaho (Dec. 21, 2021) — Skiers and snowboarders throughout Idaho have much to celebrate this holiday season, with at least 16 Gem State ski areas either already open or opening before the New Year.

All three ski areas in North Idaho — Lookout Pass Ski & Recreation Area (skilookout.com) near Mullan, Schweitzer (schweitzer.com) near Sandpoint, and Silver Mountain Resort (silvermt.com) in Kellogg — are open for the season.

Two North Central Idaho ski areas — Bald Mountain (skibaldmountain.com) outside Pierce and Snowhaven Ski & Tubing Area (grangeville.us/snowhaven-ski-and-tubing-hill) in Grangeville — will be open for the holidays. Snowhaven opened last weekend and Bald Mountain will begin operations Dec. 26. Cottonwood Butte Ski Area (cottonwoodbutte.org) near Cottonwood hopes to open Dec. 26, but it is waiting for power to be restored after a huge storm recently downed lines across the Camas Prairie.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

Photo courtesy of Ryan Zimmer and Brundage Mountain Resort. 

Ski Idaho 2020-21 season promising despite pandemic

The Idaho Ski Areas Association, aka Ski Idaho, elected Bogus Basin general manager Brad Wilson president of the 18-resort collective at its annual membership meeting last month.

Wilson, who has worked in the resort industry for 42 years and at ski areas for all but nine of them, has helmed Bogus Basin since November 2015.

On Wilson’s watch, Bogus Basin has established robust summer operations, offering a variety of family-friendly activities from late June through early October, adding the year-round Glade Runner mountain coaster, and building a second mountain bike park. He’s also overseen improvements to winter operations, with the recreation area adding and then doubling snow-making capabilities and replacing the Morning Star Chairlift with a high-speed detachable quad.

During his four-year term as Ski Idaho president, Wilson hopes to help the state’s smaller ski areas successfully navigate challenges like managing operations with limited human and financial resources and overcoming disruptive events like the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I love small ski areas,” Wilson said. “I’ve always enjoyed them and understand their significance in the whole scheme of things. That’s why the ISAA is so important. It’s difficult for a small ski area to attend the big national ski area association conferences. Ski Idaho gives smaller ski areas a chance to glean information from the larger ones and stay in touch with the industry so they can continue to grow and prosper.”

Wilson had praise for his predecessor, Brundage Mountain president and managing director Bob Looper.

“Under Bob’s enthusiastic leadership, many ski resorts around Idaho have successfully transitioned to year-round operations,” Wilson said. “The introduction of mountain biking and other summer activities at mountain recreation areas throughout the state is generating essential new operating revenue and putting Idaho on the map as a top outdoor destination in all seasons. We appreciate Bob’s many contributions toward this end.”

Adapting to COVID-19

During the organization’s annual meeting, Ski Idaho also laid out plans on how its members can address safety concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic this winter. Wilson said National Ski Areas Association president and CEO Kelly Pawlak presented its “Ski Well, Be Well” program during the Zoom meeting, and he’s confident all 18 Ski Idaho resorts will adopt it.

“We assume the current health mitigation strategies related to COVID-19 will continue to be in place through the winter,” Wilson said. “This includes the requirement of facial coverings in public spaces – including the base area and lift lines and any time you’re allowed indoors – and maintaining physical distance in all public spaces by both guests and employees. The rule of thumb on the chairlifts and gondolas is to ride with who you came with, and many resorts are recommending that guests use their own vehicles as personal lodges.”

He said the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends you choose outdoor activities and places where it’s easy to stay 6 feet apart if you decide to go out, and skiing and snowboarding have a low risk of transmission.

“It would be tough to find a safer outdoor space than on a chairlift,” Wilson said. “Skis are about 6 feet long, so it’s easy to social distance in the lift line. There’s good directional airflow when you’re riding the lift and the chairs are spaced 50 feet apart. Skiers and boarders are already used to wearing gear like masks and gloves and goggles and helmets. And if there’s any place to social distance, it’s here in Idaho.”

Wilson said many Ski Idaho resorts are limiting or not allowing indoor seating and dining. At least one Idaho ski area, Bogus Basin, is using software that allows visitors to order food via their smartphones and establish a specific time to pick it up right outside the lodge. Kelly Canyon will also allow guests to order food via their personal devices with satellite food distribution options outside the lodge. Several mountains have purchased large tents to expand outdoor seating and dining, and at least two – Grand Targhee and Tamarack – will begin operating food trucks.

As many transactions as possible ranging from lift ticket sales to liability waivers are going online. Some long-standing annual events will be canceled. Some resorts may not offer après-ski events.

Tamarack is repurposing a dome to become the primary rental and retail space to allow for safe social distancing. The resort will also offer touchless ticket- and pass-pickup boxes as well as noncontact, pay-as-you-go, direct-lift access.

No Ski Idaho resort plans to place limits on season passholder visitation, according to Wilson.

At least one mountain, Schweitzer, will limit single-day lift ticket inventories based on historical data to ensure season passholders can maintain social distancing expectations, and another, Bogus Basin, will limit them on peak winter weekends and holidays. The latter will open up night skiing earlier – at 3 p.m. instead of 4 – and even offers a discounted night-skiing season pass.

Some resorts will offer prorated credit to this year’s season passholders based on how many, if any, days they are closed due to COVID-19. Grand Targhee calls it their 100-Day Guarantee. Silver Mountain calls theirs the Passholder Peace of Mind Policy. Tamarack announced a COVID-19 refund policy that provides 2020-2021 passholders with rollover credits in the event of a government-mandated closure prior to the season’s end.

Several ski areas will place restrictions on the Idaho Peak Season Passport, an $18 multiresort pass that lets fifth-graders ski or board up to three times for free at each of Ski Idaho’s 18 member resorts and lets sixth-graders go up to two times for free at 17 of them. This season some mountains may not allow kids to use the passport on Saturdays, while some plan to exclude weekends and holidays.

The three Ski Idaho resorts boasting backcountry snowcat operations – Brundage Mountain, Grand Targhee, and Soldier Mountain – are limiting access this winter to private bookings rather than letting guests purchase single seats. Selkirk Powder, which uses Schweitzer Mountain as a launchpad for its backcountry snowcat excursions, is making no such restrictions, although it has installed larger windows in the cabins to create more airflow and adopted robust COVID-19 safety protocols.

Wilson recommends skiers and snowboarders check online for the most up-to-date information about Ski Idaho resorts they plan to visit this season. He said skiidaho.us has links to all the resorts’ websites.

New for 20-21 season

In addition to all the new safety protocols, visitors to Idaho ski resorts will encounter an array of other enhancements this winter.

Near Boise, Bogus Basin doubled the number of top-to-bottom runs with snowmaking coverage and made updates throughout its main lodge, the Simplot Lodge.

It expanded its outdoor seating and dining options by adding large tents and four new satellite food and beverage offerings, plus visitors can order food for pickup via their smartphones.

Brundage Mountain has added a new two-acre parking lot that can accommodate up to 150 additional vehicles. Guests have access to a free shuttle that runs to and from nearby McCall, and Brundage has replaced its 12-passenger van with a new 33-passenger bus.

The resort has installed a new bathroom facility with four flush toilets that provides easy outdoor access on the edge of the main parking lot.

Two new outdoor grill areas will keep lines short in food-and-beverage facilities and expanded outdoor seating areas boast new tables and benches.

Kelly Canyon in eastern Idaho near Idaho Falls will begin operating on Sundays this season and has other improvements planned.

The Little Ski Hill in McCall has installed a new T-bar to replace the old one, plus it is upgrading the existing night-skiing lights. The goal is to light the remaining two runs next summer.

In addition, the Little Ski Hill will likely start opening at noon during weekdays this winter rather than 3 p.m. to help accommodate its altered after-school program.

This summer Lookout Pass Ski & Recreation Area took advantage of its new frontside main lift, a fixed-grip quad, by offering lift-served downhill mountain biking and scenic chairlift rides. It is something to try out in summer 2021.

In eastern Idaho near Pocatello, Pebble Creek Ski Area has expanded its snow-making capabilities and night-skiing lights in the First Timer area, significantly improving terrain for beginners during early and late-season lessons and evenings.

The South Idaho ski resort Pomerelle prides itself on keeping the mountain well-groomed every day and visitors there have come to expect that, so the resort purchased a new, high-tech PistenBully snowcat.

Plus, its summer crew spent many days clearing brush to enhance glade access and accomplished enough to feature the newly manicured area on its trail map.

Schweitzer Mountain Resort up north near Sandpoint continues to improve terrain on the backside of the mountain with logging and brush cutting occurring over 200 acres between Stella and Phineas’ Forest. More work is still planned for this fall with an additional 30-40 acres expected to be thinned before the season starts in November. The resort completed several other projects for this winter, too, including creating a “ski ready room” for KinderKamp, carpeting the Lakeview Lodge, stocking all-new Rossignol rental boots, and purchasing a new snow cat for grooming operations. Meanwhile, construction of the new 30-room ski-in/ski-out boutique hotel is proceeding well and the resort hopes to have all the concrete foundations finished heading into winter. Slated for a fall 2021 opening, the new hotel will offer impressive views of Lake Pend Oreille and feature a 50-seat restaurant and bar, an outdoor patio with a fire pit, a co-working area, a communal living room area, an outdoor spa, and additional underground parking.

Silver Mountain Resort, also in North Idaho, installed a new carpet lift to service the beginner run and tubing hill. The doublewide lift is covered, so guests are shielded from the elements. In addition, the resort opened a newly renovated hotel this summer. A less-expensive option than its Morning Star Lodge, the new Silver Inn is only two minutes away from the Gondola Village by car.

Utah-based Ascent Ventures, which counts former North American Snowboard Association president Paul Alden among its investors, purchased Soldier Mountain in southern Idaho. The new owners built a mountain bike park this summer, and two days before it was slated to open the Phillips Creek Fire broke out 2 miles away from the resort.

The wildfire completely destroyed the magic carpet lift, all the outbuildings except for the outdoor restrooms, and most of the signage on the mountain. Heat from the fire damaged Lift One, compromising the haul rope and ravaging the comm lines. (A second southern Idaho ski resort, Magic Mountain Ski Area, was recently threatened by another forest fire called the Badger Fire but survived unscathed.)

Fortunately, Soldier Mountain’s lodge and snowcats were untouched and the new owners are confident the resort will reopen this winter.

They are replacing the magic carpet and Lift One’s haul rope, comm line and chair slats, plus they are busy cleaning flame retardant off the lift shacks and bull wheels and have repainted the towers.

The new owners also plan to create Soldier Mountain’s first terrain park this winter.

With the Bald Mountain Expansion complete, Sun Valley – America’s first destination resort and birthplace of the chairlift – is opening an additional 380 acres of skiable terrain after replacing its oldest lift, Cold Springs No. 4, with a high-speed detachable quad.

The original vision for Tamarack Resort near Donnelly is finally being realized. The Village at Tamarack is open, and visitors can expect food from five new restaurants, including fresh pizza, Summit Bowls, Tilted Taco, The Alpine Diner and The Reserve, an upscale Italian-inspired establishment.

The resort will also begin operating a food truck, Mountain Bites, on the snow front this winter. Tamarack added new groomers, including a terrain-park-specific snowcat, plus touchless ticket- and pass-pickup boxes and pay-as-you-go direct lift access.Noteworthy milestones

Up in North Idaho, the state’s oldest ski resort, Lookout Pass Ski & Recreation Area, turns 85 this season, and Snowhaven Ski Area & Tubing Hill, which is owned by the City of Grangeville in North Central Idaho, turns 75.

Return of La Niña

Idaho and the Northwest should expect a cold, wet winter with heavy mountain snow because of a La Niña weather pattern that’s developing in the Pacific Ocean thousands of miles away.

According to Ron Abramovich, a retired Idaho water supply specialist and skier and rafter who’s watched the weather for more than three decades, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center sees an 85% likelihood of La Niña conditions continuing throughout the northern hemisphere until January. He said the agency also predicts there’s a 60% chance the weather pattern – which is a cooling of Pacific Ocean surface temperatures off equatorial South America – will continue February-April.

For the Northwest, that likely means colder average temperatures and above-average precipitation, Abramovich told Ski Idaho.