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.
Bogus Basin also bought three new Tier-4 PistenBully snowcats for grooming different types of terrain, including a Nordic cat for the ski area’s extensive cross-country trail system, a park cat for sculpting terrain parks, and the resort’s second winch cat for grooming its steeper terrain. Dining options continue to grow, too, with a new food truck and expanded outdoor seating at the bottom of the Pine Creek Chairlift. Plus, Bogus Basin added 200 more parking spots and installed live cameras in each lot so guests can assess parking availability before making the 16-mile drive from Boise.
Brundage Mountain near McCall has memorialized longtime owner and president Judd DeBoer, who passed away in 2020, by renaming one of his favorite runs, Lower Slobovia, as Judd’s Gem. The resort also added a PistenBully 400 snowcat to its grooming fleet. Rated Tier 4 for its low emissions, the new snowcat boasts an AlpenFlexTiller that lays tight, velvety corduroy. It added a PistenBully 100 with a passenger cabin, too — the fourth such vehicle in its backcountry fleet. Plus, ongoing brush-cutting efforts this summer will improve early season conditions and ease access to favorite powder lines.
Getting to the mountain will be easier, too. In partnership with Mountain Community Transit and the City of McCall, the resort has transformed the Brundage Express shuttle into the Bluebird Express Blue Line. The new Ford Aerolite shuttle accommodates up to 35 passengers and will provide free shuttle service to Brundage Mountain daily during winter break, Fridays-Mondays from early January through early March, and Saturdays-Sundays mid to late March.
Brundage was just nominated for USA Today's 10Best Readers' Choice travel awards for the second year in a row. It is among 20 nominees vying for a Top 10 spot in the 2021 contest and took second place last year.
Four miles over the Wyoming border in “Wydaho,” Grand Targhee — which affiliates with Ski Idaho because the only way to get to it is through Driggs, Idaho — spent $20 million on capital improvements this summer. Enhancements include a new parking lot that increases capacity by 30 percent, new employee housing units, two new Prinoth Tier-4 Bison X groomers, and a new state-of-the-art, environmentally conscious mountain operations and maintenance facility.
Construction on The Ghee’s new Peaked lift began this summer with the chair slated to open for the 2022-2023 season. Meanwhile, the resort will offer snowcat skiing in this area for the last time this winter.
Kelly Canyon in Eastern Idaho is replacing one of its double chairlifts, Chair 4, with a new Skytrac fixed-grip triple lift. The new lift — the resort’s first since the 1970s — ascends 600 vertical feet beyond the old one, allowing guests to easily reach terrain that was once only accessible by bootpacking.
The resort has cleared a great deal of trees to open up more skiable acres on the mountain and replaced the Bunny Hill rope tow with a magic carpet lift. In addition, Kelly Canyon bought a brand-new Latitude 90 snowmaking machine it might also use during summers to stage rail jams, plus it added fiber optic Internet for improved guest WiFi connections.
Up in North Idaho near the historic town of Wallace and straddling the Idaho-Montana border, Lookout Pass Ski & Recreation Area has upgraded its Chair 2 double, transforming it to a fixed-grip triple chair. Moreover, the resort is opening its Eagle Peak expansion this winter via snowcat trips that offer 1,650 feet of vertical and 14 trails of powder access. The new terrain will be lift-served next winter (2022-2023), with the Eagle Peak expansion nearly doubling the size of the resort to 1,023 skiable acres.
Renowned for its glade skiing, Lost Trail Ski Area on the Idaho-Montana border conducted extensive tree trimming and cleanup along existing trails this summer. The resort also renovated its downstairs bathrooms and is deploying new technology to simplify lift ticket purchases.
Pomerelle in Southern Idaho near Albion has deployed new RFID technology that will streamline the on-mountain experience. Guests can load their RFID cards from any Web browser or mobile device and purchase lift tickets, rent gear ahead of time, and purchase food vouchers.
The resort conducted extensive brush clearing this summer to enhance glade skiing and riding on the east side of the Triple 88 lift, with improved off-trail access near the runs Instructor, Stampede, and Steer. Additionally, Pomerelle will make on-trail skiing and riding even better with the acquisition of a new PistenBully snowcat.
In an effort to accommodate guests during peak times, Pomerelle created a new parking lot over the summer that is located a half-mile up the road to Lake Cleveland and is considered a ski-in, ski-out access point.
Rotarun, a community ski area near Hailey, joined the Idaho Ski Areas Association in October as the group’s 19th member. Established in 1948, Rotarun has eight named runs and a vertical drop of 441 feet served by a Doppelmayr platter surface lift. It also sports a terrain park and offers night skiing.
Dubbed “the little mountain with the big heart,” Rotarun is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, operated by paid staff and volunteers, that offers affordable youth snowsport programming and public skiing. Its Rota-Rippers community-supported, tuition-free, learn-to-ski-and-snowboard program enriches the lives of underrepresented, financially underprivileged, and at-risk youth throughout the area.
Idaho’s northernmost ski resort, Schweitzer, near Sandpoint, anticipates its new boutique, 31-room Humbird Hotel will open in mid-December. Humbird will offer ski-in, ski-out access and a 50-seat Bavarian-inspired restaurant and bar called Crow’s Bench.
Schweitzer is also boosting uphill capacity on Stella, Idaho’s only six-person chairlift, by 600 riders per hour by adding 14 new chairs to its inventory. And it has added a new on-mountain food and beverage option at the Chair 5 Saddle between the top of Stella and Down the Hatch.
The resort improved Internet connectivity by installing fiber optic cable around the mountain. Schweitzer’s new direct-to-lift ticketing system allows guests to purchase tickets online, pick them up at a kiosk, and go directly to the chairlift. And it added 150 more parking spaces.
Silver Mountain Resort, in the historic North Idaho mining town of Kellogg, installed a cover on its new magic carpet to shield beginners and snow tubers from the wind on the ride back to the top of the bunny and tubing hills. It also added a winched mulcher, which will allow it to open more terrain earlier in the season and enhance glading between trees.
In addition, the resort purchased and installed a beacon park that allows guests to test their avalanche beacons before venturing out of Silver Mountain’s many backcountry gates.
The new owners of Soldier Mountain in Southern Idaho near Fairfield have been investing a great deal over the last year. The resort upgraded the snowcat for its backcountry operations and purchased a new PistenBulley groomer for the frontside, plus staff conducted extensive brush clearing and tree trimming to expand skiable terrain. Meanwhile, new RFID technology will provide faster, direct access to lifts. Guests can load their RFID cards from any Web browser or mobile device and buy lift tickets, rent gear ahead of time, and purchase food vouchers.
For the second consecutive year, SKI Magazine named Sun Valley the top ski resort in North America in its 2021/22 Annual Ski Resort Awards and Reader’s Poll. Sun Valley ranked No. 1 in Grooming, Lifts, Service, Dining, Lodging, Family, Local Flavor, and Overall Satisfaction.
In partnership with the National Forest Foundation, the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and members of the local community, Sun Valley Co. initiated the Bald Mountain Stewardship Project to improve forest health, reduce fuels and associated fire risk, and preserve the recreational experience on and around Bald Mountain, home of Sun Valley Ski Resort. As a result, the resort will open up new terrain for glade skiing this season that has previously been inaccessible due to the amount of standing dead and downed trees.
Additional improvements Sun Valley guests will enjoy this winter include a new servery at the River Run Lodge that will assist with guest flow. Local foodie favorite Konditorei has been added to River Run, so guests can enjoy fresh coffee and pastries at both River Run and Warm Springs this season, as well as the Wok and Bowl station that will feature Asian cuisine. The resort will continue to have bag storage this year at River Run, as well as an Apres Bar outside the lodge, so guests can remain in the fresh air après ski.
Tamarack Resort near Donnelly in Southwest Idaho has invested more than $40 million over the last three years. On-mountain upgrades since last winter include enhanced snowmaking capabilities on lower-elevation terrain, an expanded grooming fleet featuring two new Prinoth groomers, and an Axess ticketing system that allows guests to pick up passes at kiosks throughout the resort and use RFID gates at base-area lifts for quicker uphill access.
Growth of the destination resort’s alpine village continues with the addition of Tamarack Outfitters, a new skier services shop housing ticket sales and ski and snowboard rentals, repairs, and retail, as well as the Jon Reveal Ski & Sports School. Bumps & Brews beer bar, a new tenant in Tamarack’s Rendezvous Food Hall, complements The Village’s full spectrum of food and beverage options. And the Spa at Tamarack located in the Lodge at Osprey Meadows has reopened.
Tamarack has also expanded parking, adding 200 spaces, and system-wide fiber-optic upgrades have improved WiFi connectivity across the resort.
The remaining Ski Idaho members — Bald Mountain (in Pierce), Cottonwood Butte, the Little Ski Hill, Magic Mountain, Pebble Creek, and Snowhaven — have not announced any major upgrades for the 2021-2022 ski season beyond usual maintenance and upkeep.
Noteworthy milestones
Sun Valley, America’s first destination ski resort and the birthplace of the chairlift, turns 85 on Dec. 21 while Brundage Mountain celebrates its 60th birthday on Nov. 23.
Multi-resort passes
Sun Valley is partnering with the Epic Pass again, plus it offers a Sun & Snow Pass with Snowbasin in Huntsville, Utah, that allows passholders to ski up to three days at each resort. Schweitzer has joined the IKON Pass partnership. Six Ski Idaho members — Brundage Mountain, Lost Trail, Pomerelle, Silver Mountain, Soldier Mountain, and Tamarack — are partners in the Indy Pass. Grand Targhee is a member of the Mountain Collective. And Bogus Basin and Silver Mountain are partners in the Powder Alliance.
La Niña is back
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.
Adapting to COVID-19
All Ski Idaho resorts adopted the National Ski Areas Association’s “Ski Well, Be Well” program last winter, and Ski Idaho president and Bogus Basin GM Brad Wilson anticipates member ski areas will remain vigilant. He said ski areas in Idaho and beyond continue to develop innovative contactless technologies that enable a touch-free experience.
“Last year’s health mitigation strategies related to COVID-19 served us well last winter,” Wilson said. “There is definitely renewed interest in outdoor recreation throughout the state, and the support and cooperation from guests helped Idaho’s ski areas successfully navigate the season’s challenges.”
This season 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.
About Ski Idaho
Founded in 1982, the Idaho Ski Areas Association, a.k.a. Ski Idaho, is a nonprofit association funded in part by the Idaho Travel Council via the state’s 2 percent lodging tax paid by travelers and collected by hotel, motel, and private campground owners. Boasting 28,000 vertical feet of terrain spanning more than 20,000 acres, Idaho is the birthplace of lift-assisted skiing, home to America’s first destination ski resort, and often considered the soul of skiing. Its 19 family friendly Alpine ski areas offer trails and backcountry for skiers and snowboarders of all ages and skill levels, breathtaking views, hundreds of inches of fresh powder, and short lift lines. Many Ski Idaho resorts open for the summer season, as well, to serve up lift-served mountain biking, scenic chairlift rides, hiking and trail running, disc golf, and more. Visit skiidaho.us for more details.
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.
NORTH IDAHO
Close to the historic town of Wallace, LOOKOUT PASS SKI AND RECREATION AREA and THE ROUTE OF THE HIAWATHA, which the resort operates under a special-use permit of the U.S. Forest Service, are open.
Considered the crown jewel of the nation's rails-to-trails initiative, the 15-mile Route of the Hiawatha's gentle 1.6-percent to 2-percent, all-downhill ride straddles the Idaho-Montana state line, delves 10 tunnels, crosses seven sky-high train trestles, and has a shuttle service back to the top. Attracting more than 70,000 riders last summer, the Route of the Hiawatha is by far the most popular ski area bike trail in the country.
It opened May 28, is accessible daily through Sept. 19, and is offering full-moon night rides June 24, July 24, and Aug. 22 by reservation only. In fact, the Route of the Hiawatha strongly encourages guests make reservations this year for the day they want to ride -- especially when renting equipment.
Meanwhile, Lookout Pass opened its ski area for the summer June 12. It offers lift-served mountain biking and hiking trails, scenic chairlift rides up and down the mountain, a mountain summit nine-hole frisbee golf course, a bungee jump, and huckleberry picking later in the season. Lookout Pass will operate Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through Sept. 19 with the exception of July 9-11, when only scenic lift rides and bungee jumping will be offered during the three-day Mountain Archery Festival 3-D archery shoot.
New as of last summer, the Lookout Pass mountain bike park offers impressive views of the St. Regis Basin and offers five top-to-bottom downhill mountain bike trails with more on the way. There are no jumps or wooden features on its family friendly trails, which vary from singletrack that winds through the woods and across ski trails to wider mountain-access roads.
Visit SkiLookout.com and RideTheHiawatha.com for more details.
Meanwhile, SILVER MOUNTAIN RESORT in Kellogg opened summer weekend operations -- which include mountain biking and scenic rides on North America's longest gondola -- May 29. Daily operations commence June 19 and run through Labor Day, Sept. 6. At that point weekend operations will continue through Oct. 3.
Voted Best in the Northwest for four consecutive years in the MTBparks.com Riders' Choice Awards as recently as 2017 and earning second place in 2018 (the most recent survey), Silver Mountain Bike Park sports nearly 40 singletrack trails that span 3,300 vertical feet.
It recently added e-bikes to the fleet at Silver Mountain Sports. The new rentals allow guests to more easily explore sections of the nearby Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes.
The resort also boasts the state's largest indoor waterpark, Silver Rapids, which opened for weekends over the Memorial Day holiday and began daily operations June 11. However, due to COVID-19 concerns, the resort is limiting waterpark access on such high-occupancy days as Saturdays and holidays to Silver Mountain lodging guests only. Regardless, the resort does not sell walk-up tickets to Silver Rapids -- all tickets must be booked ahead of time online or over the phone.
Activities at Silver Mountain also include trail hiking and running, and the resort's exquisite nine-hole Galena Ridge Golf Course is tucked away in the mountains of the Silver Valley.
The Stix and Stones Silver Mountain Xtreme Challenge returns June 19-20 after taking a hiatus last summer due to the pandemic. Hundreds of enduro motorcycle racers from all over the world compete on one of the gnarliest dirt bike courses in the country, racing up, down, around, and through some of Silver Mountain's most popular ski runs.
The resort celebrated five years of hosting the North American Enduro Cup last weekend. The international event is a qualifier for the Enduro World Series and attracts a bevy of noteworthy mountain bikers each summer.
The resort will begin hosting its Friday evening Ride & Dine Series of mountaintop barbeques featuring live music and 360-degree views of the surrounding peaks June 25.
Silver Mountain will host its annual 4th of July fireworks show at 10 p.m., with the pyrotechnics display launching from the back of the resort's gravel parking lot.
It will host Brewsfest, an annual mountaintop craft beer-tasting event, Aug. 14.
Negative Split is making Silver Mountain the second stop on its Back to Nature Race Series Aug. 22. Entrants can choose from 6k (3.7-mile), 9k (5.6-mile), and 18k (11.2-mile) courses.
And Silveroxx, its annual three-day mountain bike festival, returns Sept. 24-26.
Visit SilverMt.com for more details.
Biking season at SCHWEITZER near Sandpoint begins June 18, with daily operations continuing through Sept. 6. The resort maintains more than 40 miles of mountain bike trails, and it also offers a 2-hour hosted E-bike tour daily.
Schweitzer's summer visitors also can play disc golf on its 18-hole course and enjoy scenic chairlift rides on the Great Escape Quad to the summit. The latter serves up breathtaking views of Lake Pend Oreille and the Selkirk, Bitterroot, and Cabinet mountain ranges.
Other summer activities include hiking and trail running, geocaching, bungee trampolines, a 25-foot climbing wall, gold panning, huckleberry picking, and horseback riding.
The resort is hosting the Race the Wolf Ultra Trail Race June 27. Entrants can choose from 52k ultramarathon, 26k, and 8k courses.
The Northwest Winefest at Schweitzer is slated for July 17-18. Guests can sample upwards of 80 wines from 20 different Pacific Northwest wineries.
The family oriented Huckleberry Color Fun Run & Walk returns Aug. 8. Participants can choose between 5k and 2.5k courses.
Schweitzer hopes to hold Fall Fest again Sept. 3-6. The annual event offers four days of beer tasting and fun over Labor Day weekend, but the resort is still working through some of the event details.
All events are subject to change due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Visit Schweitzer.com for more details.
SOUTHWEST IDAHO
TAMARACK RESORT near Donnelly opened for the summer May 28 and expects Sept. 12 will be the last day of the season. The big news this summer is the resort is operating seven days a week for lift-served mountain biking and hiking and scenic chairlift rides. Its new Summer Express Card provides guests with discounts on summer bike park tickets.
The International Mountain Bicycling Association created Tamarack's 27-mile trail system, which the resort is expanding this year. It will complete a new one-mile intermediate flow trail by midsummer that features wide berms and jumps designed to be most fun for advanced riders while still being friendly to less-experienced riders.
The resort will host the Northwest Cup Downhill Race June 25-27 billed as a rough, raw, fast single-stage downhill race. Twisted Turtle Racing is staging the Tamarack Twister cross-country and Tamarack Enduro races Aug. 7 and Aug. 8, respectively. And the Trail Party Aug. 21 features 100 percent downhill racing with participants able to ride each stage as many times as they like.
Resort guests also can rent motorized and nonmotorized boats at its Waterfront Cabana on Lake Cascade. Waverunner rentals are now available in addition to surf and pontoon boats, kayaks, and paddleboards.
New amenities also include an outdoor axe-throwing facility in the Village and a nine-hole disc golf course just steps away from the Village at the base of West Mountain.
Tamarack also offers zip line canopy tours that explore 3,500 feet of terrain, including eight different zip lines, two suspension bridges, and a 105-foot-high tree house. Plus, it conducts guided whitewater rafting trips on the Cabarton stretch of the North Fork of the Payette River.
The resort's outdoor Sunset Concert Series on Thursday evenings kicks off July 1, and it will stage a fireworks celebration July 3.
Visit TamarackIdaho.com for more details.
BOGUS BASIN near Boise began opening for weekends over the Memorial Day holiday, but only for scenic chairlift and Glade Runner Mountain Coaster rides and gem panning due to unseasonably wet conditions. Daily operations -- including lift-served mountain biking -- begin June 19 and continue through Aug. 15.
Beginning June 19, all hiking and biking trails and a nine-hole disc golf course will be fully accessible. The mountain coaster, climbing wall, bungee trampoline, food and beverage services, chairlift, and tubing hill open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The nonprofit recreation area completed the first phase of The Basin Gravity Park, a new and robust downhill-only mountain bike trail network off its Morning Star Express chairlift. The Basin Gravity Park offers nine new downhill trails to challenge riders with a range of skill levels. In addition, Bogus Basin maintains 18 cross-country trails in partnership with Ridge to Rivers.
MTBproject.com ranks Around the Mountain, an intermediate cross-country trail at Bogus Basin that offers spectacular views over 10 miles, as the number-one mountain bike trail in Idaho. The recreation area also serves as the main access point to the Mahalo and Dry Creek trails, collectively ranked number two in the state.
Bogus Basin plans to host 70 events on the mountain this summer, including the Boise Mountain Biking Festival on Sept. 18 to bring the local MTB community together and raise awareness for local shops, services, teams, and groups.
Its popular Music on the Mountain series returns after being on hiatus last year. The free events are slated for June 26, July 24, Aug. 14, and Sept. 4 from 3-6 p.m. Additionally, free Yoga on the Mountain and a local Farmer's Market on the Mountain are scheduled throughout the summer.
Limited summer operations begin Aug. 16 with the mountain only open on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays besides Labor Day. It will shift to limited fall operations Sept. 7, opening Saturdays and Sundays through early October.
Visit BogusBasin.org for more details.
In the West Central Mountains near the resort town of McCall, BRUNDAGE MOUNTAIN will commence summer operations June 18. The BlueBird Express lift will operate Friday-Sunday for the last two weekends of June and then Wednesday-Sunday from July through Labor Day, with bonus days Monday and Tuesday July 5-6, and Monday Sept. 6.
Brundage continues to expand its mountain bike park, ensuring its 26-mile trail system has a fresh experience to offer all types of mountain bikers. This summer the trail crew will add a section to the popular four-mile Lakeview Vista Trail, which the resort opened in 2019 to rave reviews.
The mountain also offers scenic chairlift rides that afford a 360-view at the summit that includes silhouettes of Idaho's Seven Devils Wilderness, Oregon's Eagle Cap Wilderness, and sweeping vistas of the Payette Lakes. Hikers can take the chairlift to the top and explore short, scenic trails from the summit or choose longer multi-use routes to soak in more of the mountain's beauty.
Brundage also boasts a 2,500-foot-long, nine-hole disc golf course in the base area, outdoor dining at Smoky's Bar & Grill, and a grassy amphitheater that provides a charming, spacious, fresh-air environment for summer concerts. Highlights for summer 2021 include the return of the Fourth of July Music Fest and the free TGIF Concert Series, which is slated to run from late June through Labor Day weekend.
Other events on the calendar include the Fourth of July Cat Track 10K/5K foot race, Twisted Turtle Racing's July 10 Brundage XC and July 11 Send it @ Brundage enduro races, and the 10th Annual McCall Trailrunning Classic July 17.
Visit Brundage.com for more details.
SOUTH CENTRAL IDAHO
World-famous SUN VALLEY RESORT will begin lift-served mountain biking June 26. The trails Mind Bender and Saddle Up will open after being closed for the 2020 summer season due to major forest-health projects and the construction of the Broadway lift.
The resort's three championship golf courses and area driving ranges are open daily.
America's first destination ski resort and birthplace of the chairlift, Sun Valley boasts hundreds of miles of singletrack and more than 3,000 vertical feet of descent. Riders also have easy access to more than 30 miles of paved, car-free bike paths throughout the Wood River Valley.
In addition, the resort offers an array of activities, including scenic gondola rides, a spa, a shooting range, bowling, fly fishing, hiking, trail running, ice skating, tennis, horseback rides, three outdoor swimming pools, and concerts at the Sun Valley Pavilion.
The popular Sun Valley on Ice shows and the Sun Valley Music Festival return this summer. Other events include the Sun Valley Wellness Festival June 25-28, Ballet Sun Valley July 12-13 and July 22-23, Yoga on the Mountain, Yoga at River Run Plaza, and its Movie on the Lawn series.
Visit SunValley.com for more details.
SOUTHERN IDAHO
SOLDIER MOUNTAIN opened its new mountain bike park May 21 after the Phillips Fire prevented the resort from opening it last summer. It is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays through the end of October depending on weather.
Soldier Mountain boasts 7.7 miles of gravity mountain biking on four new trails. Hailey-based Titus Trails and Apex Trail Construction from Park City, Utah, designed and built the bike park with generous help from Southwest Idaho Mountain Bike Association, Wood River Trails Coalition, and other volunteers.
The trails are made for all skill levels and consist of easy, intermediate, advanced hand-cut, and extreme machine-cut jump trails. Soldier Mountain also boasts a skills park and plans to add a longer, hand-cut intermediate trail this summer.
Ketchum-based Idaho Cycles will have its mobile bike studio on hand for guests who have bike repair or tune-up needs.
The resort's restaurant and bar are open during operating hours.
Soldier Mountain has limited mountain bike rentals due to current mountain bike and bike parts supply chain issues that have persisted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Visit SoldierMountain.com for more details.
POMERELLE MOUNTAIN RESORT near Albion is booked for many private events this summer and at this time only plans to open to the public for lift-served mountain biking and hiking July 30-Aug. 1. The 2021 Utah Gravity Mountain Bike Series will stage the Pomerelle Pounder that Saturday and Sunday, with racers practicing there Friday. Pomerelle will open the Slopeside Grill and its lodge and cafeteria that weekend, as well.
Visit Pomerelle.com for more details.
EASTERN IDAHO
KELLY CANYON SKI RESORT near Ririe will open for its third summer on June 18. It will offer lift-served mountain biking Thursdays-Saturdays.
This summer Kelly Canyon plans to make improvements to the lodge and landscaping to enhance its mountain bike park experience.
Meanwhile, the resort continues to smooth and refine its 18 miles of trails. Riders also can explore less-steep trails at the foot of the mountain without using the lift. World-renowned bike trail developer Alpine Bike Parks out of Whistler, B.C., provided initial design consulting.
Citing a growing number of National Interscholastic Cycling Association teams and hundreds of local youths joining, Kelly Canyon created a four-mile loop last summer designed especially for NICA teams to practice their riding skills on days the lifts are not turning in the bike park.
Visit SkiKelly.com for more details.
Just across the border in Alta, Wyo., GRAND TARGHEE affiliates with the Idaho Ski Areas Association because the resort is only accessible via Driggs, Idaho. It will open for downhill biking on June 18. The Shoshone and Dreamcatcher lifts will run daily through Sept. 19.
The resort is opening a new intermediate trail from the summit called Nice Marmot that offers two miles of machine-built trails and is perfect for progression. And the new cross-country trail Double Dipper connects the trails Andy's and Action Jackson.
Grand Targhee offers 2,200 vertical feet of lift-serviced downhill, 17 miles of downhill trails, more than 70 miles of multi-use trails for biking and hiking and running, and a mountain bike school. MTBparks.com Riders' Choice Best Bike Parks Awards has ranked its bike park among the Northwest's top five for six consecutive years, and it won a silver medal for best biking in the 2021 Best of Jackson Hole contest.
It will host the Pierre's Hole 50/100 Mountain Bike Race Aug. 7. Participants can choose from 100-mile, 100k, and 50k courses.
Ninja Mountain Bike Performance will stage a variety of camps July 24-25. Plus, the Teton Dirt Series of mountain bike races will return to Grand Targhee July 21 and Aug. 18.
Other activities at Grand Targhee include scenic chairlift rides, a nature center, horseback riding, 105-minute sessions in the outdoor pool, a bungee trampoline, a summer kids camp, the GTR Mining Co., and an 8,000-foot-long, 18-hole disc golf course.
Camping and overnight parking at Grand Targhee Resort have been suspended until further notice due to staffing issues and parking lot construction.
Visit GrandTarghee.com for more details about the resort.
BOISE, Idaho (May 21, 2020) -- In concert with Gov. Brad Little's Idaho Rebounds phased approach to reopening the state economy in the wake of COVID-19, 10 Ski Idaho resorts will offer summer mountain biking adventures and more. In fact, some will open just in time for Memorial Day weekend.
TAMARACK RESORT in Donnelly begins scenic chairlift rides May 21, opens its Waterfront Cabana for motorized and nonmotorized boat rentals May 22, and will initiate lift-served mountain biking May 28 depending on mid-mountain snowmelt. The lift will operate Thursdays-Sundays for scenic rides and mountain biking through Sept. 13 and on Memorial Day and Labor Day. The International Mountain Bicycling Association created the resort's 25-mile trail system.
Beginning June 6, also depending on mid-mountain snowmelt, Tamarack will offer zip line canopy tours that explore 3,500 feet of terrain, including eight different zip lines, two suspension bridges, and a 105-foot-high tree house. The resort's guided whitewater rafting trips on the Cabarton stretch of the North Fork of the Payette River will kick off mid-June.
Tamarack resumed its dining and lodging services, opened its meadow hiking and biking trails for complementary use, and restarted real estate tours May 16.
Visit TamarackIdaho.com for more details about the resort and https://tamarackidaho.com/covid-19-health-and-safety-plan for its COVID-19 plan.
LOOKOUT PASS SKI AND RECREATION AREA, close to the historic town of Wallace, is opening the ROUTE OF THE HIAWATHA Memorial Day weekend on May 22.
Considered the crown jewel of the nation's rails-to-trails initiative, the 15-mile Route of the Hiawatha's gentle 2-percent, all-downhill ride straddles the Idaho-Montana state line, delves 10 tunnels, crosses seven sky-high train trestles, and sports shuttle service. Attracting more than 60,000 riders last summer, the Route of the Hiawatha is by far the most popular ski area bike trail in the country.
It is accessible daily through Sept. 20 and is offering full-moon night rides June 5, July 5, Aug. 3, and Sept. 2 by reservation only. Phone (208) 744-1234 ext. 19 to reserve a full-moon night ride.
New this summer, Lookout Pass will begin offering scenic chairlift rides on its new Peak 1 Quad June 12 and lift-served mountain bike trail rides from the summit June 19. Both will operate Fridays-Sundays and over all holiday periods through early October.
The resort will construct more trails and enhance existing ones over the course of the summer. However, there is still a fair amount of snow on the trails, so construction on mountain biking trails can't begin at the moment. At the beginning of the season, Lookout Pass visitors can ride down existing trails and access roads, with the resort adding new trails (very old cross-country trails that will be cleaned up) throughout the summer.
Visit SkiLookout.com and RideTheHiawatha.com for more details about the attractions and https://skilookout.com/covid-19 and www.ridethehiawatha.com/Covid-19 for their COVID-19 plans.
The Wallace Inn, a lodging partner with Lookout Pass, is offering three deals this summer:
* Ride and Stay -- One night of lodging in a deluxe single queen room for $159 weekdays / $169 weekends includes two adult trail passes and two adult shuttle passes for the Route of the Hiawatha.
* Hiawatha Extravaganza -- Two nights of lodging in a deluxe single queen room for $218 weekdays / $239 weekends includes two adult trail passes and two adult shuttle passes for the Route of the Hiawatha.
* Family Fun Package -- One night of lodging in a double queen room for $259 weekdays / $279 weekends includes two adult trail passes, two child trail passes, two adult shuttle passes, and two child shuttle passes for the Route of the Hiawatha.
Visit TheWallaceInn.com for more details about the hotel.
Meanwhile, 27 miles west of Lookout Pass, SILVER MOUNTAIN RESORT in the North Idaho town of Kellogg is opening for summer over Memorial Day weekend, too. Weekend operations -- which include mountain biking and scenic rides on North America's longest gondola -- start May 23, with daily operations commencing June 26-Sept. 7. Weekend operations will continue through Oct. 4.
Snow still remains in the resort's Chair 3 Zone, so mountain biking will only be open for gondola-served top-to-bottom runs on opening weekend. Since Silver Mountain's easiest mountain bike trails all reside in the Chair 3 Zone, the resort has reserved opening weekend for experienced bikers only.
Voted Best in the Northwest on four separate occasions in the MTBparks.com Riders' Choice Awards as recently as 2017 and earning second place last year, Silver Mountain Bike Park maintains almost 40 singletrack trails that span 3,300 vertical feet. This year the resort has rerouted some trails to improve flow and added some bigger berms and jumps on the advanced trails.
The resort also boasts the state's largest indoor waterpark, Silver Rapids, which opens Memorial Day Weekend, too. However, due to COVID-19 concerns, the resort is limiting waterpark access to Silver Mountain lodging guests only.
Activities at Silver Mountain also include trail hiking and running, and the resort's exquisite nine-hole Galena Ridge Golf Course is tucked away in the mountains of the Silver Valley.
Although many summer events at the resort have been cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns, the resort currently plans to host its Friday night Ride & Dine mountaintop barbeques that feature live music and 360-degree views of the surrounding peaks.
The Northwest Cup, a premier mountain bike race series for all ages and abilities, is still slated for July 17-19. Brewsfest, Silver Mountain's mountaintop craft beer-tasting event, is slated for Aug. 15. And Silveroxx, a three-day celebration of all things mountain bikes, will take place Sept. 25-27, the closing weekend for the resort's summer operations.
Silver Mountain will open its newly renovated hotel, the Silver Inn, June 6. A less-expensive option than the resort's Morning Star Lodge, the Silver Inn is only two minutes away from the Gondola Village by car.
Visit SilverMt.com for more details about the resort and https://silvermt.com/mountain-news/details/covid-19 for its COVID-19 plan.
KELLY CANYON SKI RESORT in Eastern Idaho is targeting May 29 as opening day for its second summer season. Like last summer, the resort will operate Thursdays-Saturdays. Kelly Canyon is planning a grand opening event (date TBA) this summer since 2020 will be its first full summer season of operations.
Kelly Canyon is currently smoothing and refining the initial 18 miles of lift-served mountain bike trails it completed last year, and more trails and features are in the works. Riders can also explore less steep trails at the foot of the mountain without using the lift. World-renowned bike trail developer Alpine Bike Parks out of Whistler, B.C., provided initial design consulting.
Citing a growing number of National Interscholastic Cycling Association teams and hundreds of local youth joining, Kelly Canyon will complete a 4-mile loop designed especially for NICA teams to practice their riding skills on days the lifts are not turning in the bike park.
In addition, the resort announced it is in the design phase of its first-ever overnight lodging facilities. Kelly Canyon hopes to roll out some lodging units in late summer.
Visit SkiKelly.com for more details about the resort.
Just across the border in Alta, Wyo., GRAND TARGHEE affiliates with the Idaho Ski Areas Association because the resort is only accessible via Driggs, Idaho. It will open for downhill biking on June 19, conditions permitting.
Ranked among the Northwest's top-five bike parks in the MTBparks.com Riders' Choice Best Bike Parks Awards for six consecutive years, Grand Targhee offers 2,200 vertical feet of lift-serviced downhill and more than 60 miles of multi-use trails.
Other activities include scenic chairlift rides, a nature center, horseback riding, trail hiking and running, and an 8,000-foot-long, 18-hole disc golf course.
Grand Targhee is not selling pool season passes this summer due to COVID-19 concerns, but it will offer 90-minute pool sessions with 30-minute breaks between each so employees can clean the pool area, changing rooms, and restrooms.
The resort has also canceled its annual music festivals this summer, including Targhee Fest, Grand Targhee Bluegrass Festival, and Targhee Music Camp. In addition, all other events and group functions have been cancelled through July 13.
Grand Targhee has not yet determined if it will offer a summer kids camp, bungee trampolines, climbing wall, or gold panning.
Vacation rentals at the resort will resume June 1, and it is currently working through the final details for on-mountain lodging and summer food and beverage services.
In addition, Grand Targhee will offer RV, sprinter, car, and tent camping this summer, and a designated number of spaces may be purchased online.
Visit GrandTarghee.com for more details about the resort.
In Southwest Idaho's West Central Mountains near the resort town of McCall, BRUNDAGE MOUNTAIN is targeting June 20 for its opening day this summer. The BlueBird Express lift will operate the last two weekends of June and then Wednesday-Sunday from July through Labor Day.
Brundage Mountain Bike Park has a fresh experience to offer all types of mountain bikers this year as trail crews improve and expand options for downhill and cross-country riders. Last summer, the resort completed Lakeview Vista, a new 4-mile XC trail at the top of the mountain, as well as a base-area XC trail, Hammerhead, bringing the bike park's total mileage to 26 miles.
This summer, work will focus on creating a new XC trail that connects to Thorn Creek and a new downhill trail, Wildcat, off the existing Elk trail. Crews will also break ground on a new stretch of trail that skirts around the mountain linking Lakeview Vista on the south side with Grouse near Sargent's Peak and traverses the entire bike park area.
The mountain also offers scenic chairlift rides that afford a 360-view at the summit that includes silhouettes of Idaho's Seven Devils Wilderness, Oregon's Eagle Cap Wilderness, and sweeping vistas of the Payette Lakes.
Hikers can take the chairlift to the top and explore short, scenic trails from the summit or choose longer, multi-use routes to soak in more of the mountain's beauty.
Brundage also boasts a 2,500-foot-long, nine-hole disc golf course in the base area, outdoor dining at Smoky's Bar & Grill, and a grassy amphitheater that provides a charming, spacious, fresh-air environment for summer concerts.
Visit Brundage.com for more details about the resort and https://brundage.com/covid-19 for its COVID-19 updates.
Biking season at SCHWEITZER MOUNTAIN RESORT in North Idaho near Sandpoint begins June 26, with daily operations continuing through Sept. 7. The resort maintains more than 40 miles of mountain bike trails, and it also offers a 2-hour hosted E-bike tour daily.
Schweitzer's summer visitors also can take side-by-side rides on dual, 700-foot zip lines, play disc golf on its 18-hole course, and enjoy scenic chairlift rides on the Great Escape Quad to the summit. The latter serves up breathtaking views of Lake Pend Oreille and the Selkirk, Bitterroot, and Cabinet mountain ranges.
Other summer activities include hiking and trail running, geocaching, bungee trampolines, a 25-foot climbing wall, gold panning, huckleberry picking, and horseback riding.
Schweitzer still plans to host its Northwest Winefest July 18-19, the Huckleberry Color Fun Run Aug. 9, and Fall Fest over Labor Day weekend. All events are subject to change.
Visit Schweitzer.com for more details about the resort and www.schweitzer.com/covid-health-and-safety for its COVID-19 plan.
BOGUS BASIN in Southwest Idaho near Boise plans to open for the summer June 27. It will operate seven days a week through Aug. 16 and will remain open Fridays-Sundays through Labor Day weekend. From that point, the resort will open Saturdays and Sundays through the first weekend of October, weather permitting.
MTBproject.com ranks Around the Mountain at Bogus Basin as the number-one mountain bike trail in Idaho. The recreation area also serves as the main access point to the Mahalo and Dry Creek trails, collectively ranked number two in the state.
The nonprofit recreation area currently maintains 23 mountain bike trails, but it is developing a new bike park off its Morning Star Express high-speed quad chairlift. Alpine Bike Parks, the world-renowned Canadian bike trail developer that assisted Kelly Canyon, will construct four new downhill trails designed to serve a range of skill levels that are scheduled to be complete for use this summer.
Bogus Basin has spent nearly $22 million on infrastructure improvements over the past four years, transitioning the area into a year-round destination for recreation and education.
Beyond biking, Bogus Basin operates the Glade Runner, the Pacific Northwest's first mountain coaster. The recreation area also offers scenic chairlift rides, summer tubing, gold panning at the Shafer Butte Mining Co., and trail hiking and running.
Bogus Basin has currently suspended its Music on the Mountain series for this summer as a precautionary measure. In addition, the area's climbing wall and bungee trampoline will not operate -- at least for the beginning of the summer.
Visit BogusBasin.org for more details about the recreation area and https://bogusbasin.org/covid19-faq for its COVID-19 FAQ.
World-famous SUN VALLEY RESORT in South Central Idaho has not announced when it will begin lift-served mountain biking this summer. However, it did begin a phased reopening May 16, and the resort's three championship golf courses and most area driving ranges are already open for daily operations. Lodging is expected to resume May 30.
The nation's first destination ski resort and global birthplace of lift-assisted skiing, Sun Valley boasts hundreds of miles of singletrack and more than 3,000 vertical feet of descent. Riders also have easy access to more than 30 miles of paved, car-free bike paths throughout the Wood River Valley. In addition, the resort offers an array of activities, scenic gondola rides, a spa, a shooting range, bowling, fly fishing, hiking, trail running, ice shows, ice skating, tennis, paddle boats, fishing, beach volleyball on Sun Valley Lake, three outdoor swimming pools, and concerts at the Sun Valley Pavilion and River Run.
Visit SunValley.com for more details about the resort and www.sunvalley.com/covid19 for COVID-19 updates.
POMERELLE MOUNTAIN RESORT in Southern Idaho near Albion hasn't determined the extent of its summer operations yet. An announcement is forthcoming in the next week or so.
During typical summers, the resort offers lift-served mountain biking, but Pomerelle has no rentals so riders must bring their own cycles. It also maintains an 18-hole course that serves up some of the finest high-altitude disc golfing in the state. Discs are available for rent, but play is free unless visitors want to ride the chairlift to the top of the course. They also can play volleyball, enjoy scenic chairlift rides, and hike and run trails.
Visit Pomerelle.com for more details about the resort.
RE: COVID-19 PLANS
Ski Idaho resorts have collaborated with the Idaho Ski Areas Association to create and implement COVID-19 operational and safety guidelines to address the spread of the novel coronavirus and to ensure the safety of staff and the public. The sources for these protocols are CDC-guided policies and best management practices along with OSHA guidelines, state and federal rules and guidelines, and guidance from the National Ski Areas Association.
With the health and wellness of staff and guests the top priority, Ski Idaho resorts have established COVID-19 taskforces that meet daily to develop and implement safety protocols.
For employees, these protocols include: Required COVID-19 testing for all employees; completion of a daily health survey prior to work; extensive training on proper disinfecting, sanitizing and PPE use; requirement to wear face masks when unable to maintain physical distance guidelines, or in a communal area, such as restrooms; instructions to deep clean and disinfect all areas, using cleaners approved by the EPA; and a specific COVID-19 janitorial department to assure frequent, effective sanitizing and disinfecting occurs in all areas, and on all equipment, especially where guest contact occurs.
For guests, these protocols will include: Requirement to follow physical distancing guidelines; requests that anyone experiencing potential COVID-19 symptoms refrain from visiting; strong recommendations to wear face masks when in line or in designated communal zones; and implementation of a range of precautionary measures, such as hand sanitizer, reduced contact at points of purchase, satellite first-aid services, and more.
ABOUT SKI IDAHO
Founded in 1982, the Idaho Ski Areas Association, a.k.a. Ski Idaho, is a nonprofit association funded in part by the Idaho Travel Council via the state's 2 percent lodging tax paid by travelers and collected by hotel, motel, and private campground owners. Boasting 28,000 vertical feet of terrain spanning more than 20,000 acres, Idaho is the birthplace of lift-assisted skiing, home to America's first destination ski resort, and often considered the soul of skiing. Its 18 family friendly Alpine ski resorts offer trails and backcountry for skiers and snowboarders of all ages and skill levels, breathtaking views, hundreds of inches of fresh powder, and short lift lines. Many Ski Idaho resorts open for the summer season, as well, to serve up lift-served mountain biking, scenic chairlift rides, hiking and trail running, disc golf, and more. Visit skiidaho.us for more details.
Ski and snowboard season has officially begun in Idaho.
Lookout Pass Ski & Recreation Area (skilookout.com) in Mullan, Idaho, is the first northwest ski resort to open this season and the only one open in Idaho and five of the six contiguous states (Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming). It is one of only 12 U.S. ski resorts that have opened to date this winter and among 15 resorts currently operating in North America.
Plus, at only $52 for a full-day, non-holiday, weekend walk-up adult lift ticket and $40 for a youth one, Lookout Pass is among the least expensive. Even better, single-day lift tickets were discounted Saturday to $29 for adults, military, and college students and $24 for youths 7-17 and seniors 62 and older. Sunday and today they were discounted to $37 and $29, respectively. As always, children 6 and under are free with an adult ticket purchase.
The resort operated two chairlifts — the Peak 1 Quad and Success Triple — from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday and today. Fourteen trails are open, five of them groomed. Lookout Pass warns early season conditions with thin areas and obstacles exist, and it advises visitors to bring equipment they feel matches early season conditions.
Lookout Pass will be closed this Tuesday through Thursday and will reopen on Friday through at least Sunday.
One of three alpine ski resorts in the Idaho Panhandle, Lookout Pass has received 58 inches at the base and 69 inches at the summit so far this season.
The lodge is open for food and drinks, bar service, bathrooms, and season pass printing at 8:30 a.m. The resort asks visitors to use their cars as their lockers and put their boots and masks on there.
The state’s oldest ski resort, Lookout Pass turns 85 this season.
Meanwhile, seven more Ski Idaho resorts — Bogus Basin, Brundage Mountain, Grand Targhee, Pomerelle, Schweitzer, Silver Mountain, and Sun Valley — expect to open this month.
The next Ski Idaho resort projected to open is Grand Targhee (grandtarghee.com) Nov. 20. Only 4 miles across the Wyoming border in Alta, “Whydaho,” Grand Targhee affiliates with the Idaho Ski Areas Association because the only way to access it is via Driggs, Idaho. It was recently ranked No. 28 among Western U.S. ski areas in SKI Magazine’s annual resort guide.
Pomerelle (pomerelle.com) in Southern Idaho near Albion anticipates opening Nov. 25.
Sun Valley (sunvalley.com) reports chairlifts will begin turning as usual Thanksgiving Day Nov. 26. America’s first destination resort and the birthplace of the chairlift, the Central Idaho resort was recently recognized for the first time as the top U.S. ski resort in SKI Magazine’s annual resort guide.
Near Boise, Idaho’s capital city, Bogus Basin (bogusbasin.org), which opened its hike-to Hike Park terrain park Oct. 31, plans to start lift operations Nov. 27 — potentially earlier if conditions allow. So do Brundage Mountain (brundage.com) in Southwest Idaho near McCall and Schweitzer (schweitzer.com) and Silver Mountain (silvermt.com) in North Idaho, near Sandpoint and Kellogg, respectively.
Brundage Mountain is a finalist in the USA Today Readers’ Choice Award in the Best Ski Resort category. The awards, which are based on online voting, will be announced Nov. 20. Brundage was in consistently in the top 10 among the 20 contending ski areas before USA Today stopped reporting results.
The remaining 10 Ski Idaho resorts anticipate opening before Christmas.
Lost Trail (losttrail.com) on the Idaho-Montana border near Sula, Mont., expects to begin winter operations Dec. 3.
Magic Mountain (magicmountainresort.com) in Southern Idaho near Twin Falls reckons it will open Dec. 5.
Pebble Creek Ski Area (pebblecreekskiarea.com) in Eastern Idaho near Pocatello and Tamarack Resort (tamarackidaho.com) in Southwest Idaho near Donnelly are projected to open by Dec. 11 but will open early if enough snow falls beforehand.
Soldier Mountain (soldiermountain.com) in Southern Idaho near Fairfield plans to open by Dec. 17, but that could change due to several variables.
One of only a few U.S. city-run small-town ski hills, Snowhaven Ski Area & Tubing Hill (grangeville.us/snowhaven-ski-and-tubing-hill) in Grangeville is slated to open Dec. 20. The North Central Idaho ski hill is celebrating its 75th anniversary this season.
The Little Ski Hill (payettelakesskiclub.org/little-ski-hill) in the Southwest Idaho resort town McCall expects to open Dec. 21.
Back in North Central Idaho, Bald Mountain (skibaldmountain.com) near Pierce and Cottonwood Butte (cottonwoodbutte.org) near Cottonwood expect to open Dec. 26.
Kelly Canyon (skikelly.com) in Eastern Idaho near Ririe has not announced an opening date yet, but owners report the resort has good early snow and it will likely open in early December.
Ski Idaho cautions patrons to be extra careful of early season conditions, which require skiers and snowboarders to pay closer attention to the terrain.
Idaho’s ski areas are following the National Ski Areas Association’s “Ski Well, Be Well” guidelines for COVID-19 safety. Please visit skiidaho.us/covid for more details.
NAMPA, Idaho (Jan. 14, 2019) — I had the pleasure of showing off our three northernmost ski resorts to several journalists last week. Two hail from the East Coast and had never visited Idaho before, but they thought it was very easy to reach the region by flying to Spokane, Wash., via Seattle.
The terrific resorts we visited — Schweitzer, Lookout Pass, and Silver Mountain — and our wonderful lodging and dining partners were consummate hosts. Highlights included:
SUBLIME SKIING — My companions and I fell in love with our resorts up north on this trip. It was my first visit to Lookout Pass and Silver Mountain, and I hadn’t skied Schweitzer since 1985 when I was a junior at University of Idaho. I won’t be waiting another 34 years to return and desperately wish it won’t take me even 34 days to get back. Boasting the most acreage among Ski Idaho resorts, Schweitzer offers plenty of diverse terrain to explore and epic views of Lake Pend Oreille and the Selkirk Mountains. It’s no wonder SKI magazine dubbed the resort “the best kept secret in North America.” Lookout Pass was a lot of fun, too. It straddles the Idaho-Montana border, so you can ski two states and two timezones at one resort. Plus, Lookout averages more than 400 inches of annual snowfall, so there’s always plenty of pow stashes to play in. Last, but definitely not least, was Silver Mountain. A quarter of the world’s silver supply has come out of Idaho’s Silver Valley, and it’s pretty wild to think while we were skiing on top of this grand mountain people were actively mining it far underneath. Like Schweitzer, the views from Silver’s two summits, Kellogg Peak and Wardner Peak, are incredible. So’s the skiing!
EASY, SCENIC DRIVES — Schweitzer, Lookout Pass, and Silver Mountain lie within the Idaho Panhandle's lofty and lush evergreen mountains that are also home to historic and illustrious mining and timber towns and ethereal lakes. All three resorts are within 30 minutes to 2 hours and 20 minutes of each other. All but 83 of the 311 miles we drove on our five-day trip were on I-90, with the remainder on state highways that traverse flat valleys. Total drive time between the airport and the resorts over the course of the journey was only 7 hours and we would’ve clocked in right around 6 hours if we hadn’t encountered snow on our drive from Schweitzer to Wallace Tuesday afternoon. Visit https://goo.gl/maps/5zGcP19q2Fu to see our route map.
AMAZING ACCOMMODATIONS — We stayed slope side at Schweitzer in the cozy condos at Selkirk Lodge our first night in rooms overlooking the Village Plaza. Night two found us two hours southeast at The Wallace Inn, a nice hotel about 15 minutes from Lookout Pass with comfy rooms and a lovely indoor pool area. The posh rooms at Silver Mountain’s Morning Star Lodge, which included wonderful kitchenettes, are essentially slope side, too, with the gondola — North America’s longest — only a couple hundred feet away. Silver Mountain is also home to Idaho’s largest indoor waterpark, Silver Rapids, which is loads of fun and immediately adjacent to the lodge. We spent our last night in North Idaho at Ski Idaho’s newest lodging partner, the elegant Blackwell Boutique Hotel. This luxurious historic mansion and gourmet bed-and-breakfast is nestled along Sherman Avenue, the picturesque main street of Idaho’s iconic mountain-lake resort town Coeur d’Alene just 40 minutes east of Spokane International Airport. The Blackwell’s restoration, regional significance, artwork on display, frittatas, and hospitality are staggering.
CRAFT BEER GALORE — Chimney Rock Grill at Schweitzer served up a fantastic dinner our first night that paired each of the four courses with a different Idaho beer. The next evening we enjoyed some tasty hopped cereal-grain beverages and satisfying pub fare at City Limits Brew Pub in Wallace and heartily recommend their Loft Honey beer brewed in honor of the Loft Pub at Lookout Pass. Lamentably Radio Brewing in Kellogg was closed on Wednesdays this month, so we diverted to Hill Street Depot, which has an excellent array of craft beers and ciders on hand. And our last night in North Idaho we dined at Daft Badger Brewing in Coeur d’Alene — my favorite watering hole on the trip — and enjoyed a nightcap at Mad Bomber Brewing Co. in nearby Hayden.
It was a truly memorable trip, and I must say if you haven't skied North Idaho, you really haven't skied.
Visit the Ski Idaho 2019 North Idaho FAM photo album on my Facebook page if you’d like to check out more photos from this super-fun FAM.
Cheers!
Tony Harrison, Ski Idaho publicist
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.
McCALL, Idaho (Dec. 22, 2018) — Skiers throughout Idaho have much to celebrate this holiday season, with all 18 of the state's alpine ski resorts either already open for the season or opening before the New Year.
Up in the Idaho Panhandle, Bald Mountain Ski Area (skibaldmountain.com) in Pierce plans to open Friday Dec. 28.
Bogus Basin (bogusbasin.org) near Boise is open seven days a week, with night operations beginning last night, Dec. 21. The resort has 25 inches of snow at the base and has received 47 inches total this season. The mountain is among resorts of the year for Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming identified in SKI magazine's annual "Resorts of the Year" issue for 2019.
In McCall, Brundage Mountain (brundage.com) is open seven days a week. The resort has 37 inches of snow at the base and has received 74 inches total this season. It earned an Editor's Choice-Next Best Places award for up-and-coming areas in SKI magazine's 2019 "Resorts of the Year" issue.
Meanwhile, up on the Camas Prairie, Cottonwood Butte Ski Area (cottonwoodbutte.org) near Cottonwood plans to open Dec. 26 depending on snow.
Just across the state's eastern border, Grand Targhee Resort (grandtarghee.com) in Alta, Wyo., is open seven days a week. The resort, which has 54 inches of snow at the base and has received 140 inches total this season, affiliates with Ski Idaho because it's only accessible via Driggs, Idaho.
Kelly Canyon Ski Resort (skikelly.com) in nearby Ririe is open six days a week and closed Sundays. This season it has received a total of 47 inches of snow.
Likewise, the Little Ski Hill (payettelakesskiclub.org/little-ski-hill) in McCall is open six days a week beginning today, Dec. 22, but closed Mondays.
Back up north, Lookout Pass (skilookout.com) near Mullan is open seven days a week. The resort has 54 inches of snow at the base.
Straddling the Idaho-Montana border, Lost Trail (losttrail.com) near Conner, Mont., is open daily through Jan. 6 and then open Thursdays through Sundays and major holidays the rest of the season. It has 20 inches of snow at the base and has received 61 inches total this season.
Down south, Magic Mountain (magicmountainresort.com) near Hansen is open daily though Jan. 6 except Christmas and then open Thursdays through Sundays and major holidays the rest of the season. The resort has 29 inches of snow at the base.
Pebble Creek Ski Area (pebblecreekskiarea.com) in Inkom is currently open Fridays-Sundays but will begin daily operations Dec. 26. It has 19 inches of snow at the base.
Pomerelle Mountain Resort (pomerelle.com) near Albion is open seven days a week. Night operations begin Dec. 26 and run Tuesday-Saturday nights. The resort has 32 inches of snow at the base and has received 81 inches total this season.
Idaho's northernmost alpine ski area, Schweitzer Mountain Resort (schweitzer.com) in Sandpoint is open seven days a week. The mountain has 38 inches of snow at the base and has received 79 inches total this season. It is among resorts of the year for Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming identified in SKI magazine's annual "Resorts of the Year" issue for 2019. SKI magazine also singled out Schweitzer as "an up and coming four-season resort" whose "views of sparkling Lake Pend Oreille give the Tahoe areas a reason to be nervous."
Nearby Silver Mountain Resort (silvermt.com) in Kellogg is also open seven days a week. It has 41 inches of snow mid-mountain and has received 80 inches total this season.
Snowhaven Ski & Tubing Area (grangeville.us/snowhaven-ski-and-tubing-hill) to the south near Grangeville on the Camas Prairie opened today, Dec. 22. It has 12 inches of snow at the base.
Back down south, Soldier Mountain Ski Area (soldiermountain.com) near Fairfield is open daily through New Year's Day except Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Beginning Jan. 3 the resort, which has 17 inches of snow at the base, will open Thursdays through Sundays and on major holidays the rest of the season.
North America's first destination ski resort and the global birthplace of lift-assisted skiing, Sun Valley Resort (sunvalley.com) in Sun Valley is open seven days a week. It has received a total of 25 inches of snow this season, but thanks to the resort's fantastic snowmaking capabilities it has 33 inches of snow at the base. Sun Valley earned first place in western North America for charm and lift service in SKI magazine's annual "Resorts of the Year" issue for 2019 and third place for "overall satisfaction" among readers.
Tamarack Resort (tamarackidaho.com) in Donnelly is open seven days a week. The mountain has 19 inches of snow at the base and 26 inches mid-mountain.
Founded in 1982, the Idaho Ski Areas Association, a.k.a. Ski Idaho, is a nonprofit association funded by the Idaho Travel Council via the state's 2 percent lodging tax paid by travelers and collected by hotel, motel, and private campground owners. Boasting 28,000 vertical feet of terrain spanning more than 20,000 acres, Idaho is the birthplace of lift-assisted skiing, home to America's first destination ski resort, and often considered the soul of skiing. Its 18 family friendly alpine ski resorts offer trails and backcountry for skiers and snowboarders of all ages and skill levels, breathtaking views, hundreds of inches of fresh powder, and short lift lines. Visit skiidaho.us for more details.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. (Dec. 5, 2018) — This month Skis.com, Snowboards.com, and Ski Idaho are giving away a trip for two to visit three North Idaho ski resorts in The Great Idaho Ski Getaway sweepstakes promotion.
"With over 28,000 feet of vertical and 18,000 acres of skiable terrain, Idaho is quintessential ski and snowboarding country," Ski Idaho board chair and Brundage Mountain Co. president Bob Looper said. "And if you win The Great Idaho Ski Giveaway you'll get to explore some of the very best our state has to offer."
One grand prize winner and a guest will fly to Spokane International Airport courtesy of Alaska Airlines to ski or ride Lookout Pass, Schweitzer, and Silver Mountain amid the Idaho Panhandle's vast lakes, winding rivers, lush evergreen mountains, and historic mining and timber towns. Schweitzer has 2,400 vertical feet and Silver has 2,200 vertical feet, so expect epic views and choose from 92 and 77 trails, respectively. Meanwhile, Lookout Pass boasts two mountains and straddles the Idaho-Montana border so you can actually ski in both states at the same resort.
Also worth noting: Schweitzer was just singled out in SKI magazine's annual Resorts of the Year issue for 2019 as "an up and coming four-season resort" whose "views of sparkling Lake Pend Oreille give the Tahoe areas a reason to be nervous."
The winner will also receive an overnight stay at the acclaimed Coeur d'Alene Spa Resort in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho -- ranked as one of the top resort spas in America by Condé Nast Traveler.
Visit Skis.com/skiidaho to enter and for official contest rules. No purchase is necessary.
The grand-prize package includes:
Skis.com and Snowboards.com are Internet extensions of Summit Sports, a retailer with five stores in Michigan and five in Texas that's been serving skiers and snowboarders in a brick-and-mortar capacity since 1990 and online since 1997. It offers the best gear and apparel from Atomic, Burton, DC, Flow, Forum, GNU, K2, Libtech, The North Face, Salomon, Ride, Rossignol, Ugg, Under Armour, and other leading brands. The Summit Sports family of sites also includes InlineSkates.com, WaterOutfitters.com, CampGear.com, ACK.com, and RackBoys.com. Visit SummitSports.com for more details.
Founded in 1982, the Idaho Ski Areas Association, a.k.a. Ski Idaho, is a nonprofit association funded by the Idaho Travel Council via the state's 2 percent lodging tax paid by travelers and collected by hotel, motel, and private campground owners. Boasting 28,000 vertical feet of terrain spanning more than 20,000 acres, Idaho is the birthplace of lift-assisted skiing, home to America's first destination ski resort, and often considered the soul of skiing. Its 18 family friendly Alpine ski resorts offer trails and backcountry for skiers and snowboarders of all ages and skill levels, breathtaking views, hundreds of inches of fresh powder, and short lift lines. Visit skiidaho.us for more details.