Let It Snow, Let It Snow Winter Recreation Enthusiasts Crowd Festival Seeking Bargains
They want a bad winter, and the worse it is the happier they’ll be.
They’re snow people - those winter hounds who hunger for the most brutal winter season Mother Nature can muster.
To them, a bad winter means good skiing, snowboarding and snowmobiling.
Hundreds of them flocked to the Silver Lake Mall Saturday for the Winter Festival and ski swap.
“I want it to snow tons,” pined Kim West, 18, of Post Falls, as she perused the rows of snowboards.
“I want a good bad winter,” said Russ Trueblood, an avid snowmobiler, as he hawked the large machines from a booth in the mall.
As the afternoon sun warmed the outdoors, the snow people pored over rows of ski boots, coats and sweaters - visions of snowstorms swirling in their heads.
They sized up the racks filled with skis and snowboards and eyed the red, green and yellow snowmobiles that lined the center walkway.
“All it takes is one cool day and people start getting the bug,” said Dale Sandberg, owner of the Lifestyle Sports store.
“I get the bug all year round.”
He and his wife organized the ski swap and helped make the Winter Festival a mallwide event.
“It’s supposed to be a rougher winter than last year,” Sandberg said. “We hope so, rougher is better.”
For the festival, which lasts through today, all three North Idaho ski resorts have set up booths in the mall to pass out ski pass information and answer questions.
“We already have snow up there,” said Dean Cooper, director of marketing for Lookout Pass ski area. He hopes Lookout will be the first to open this year.
“Fifteen feet of powder - that would be nice,” said Kerry Latscha, 17, of Coeur d’Alene, as he signed up for a drawing at the Schweitzer Mountain Resort booth. “It’s tough to drive in, but that’s all right. You get to the ski resort and it’s worth it.”
The festival also includes free ski pass giveaways, a pellet stove display and a snowmobile display.
A keen-eyed shopper might find a pair of skis for $10 at the swap. Others sold for more than $300. Snowboards - the hot item this year - ranged from $100 to $450.
As with many snow cravers, last winter did little to satisfy West’s winter addiction.
“I want it to snow so much it blocks the roads so we can’t go to school and have to snowboard all winter,” she said.
“I want it to be a bad winter.”
Of course, not everyone is so ecstatic about the onslaught of winter.
Cliff Crismore of Rathdrum, said he would rather enjoy the mild fall season since he has to make the commute to Spokane for work - even in heavy snow.
“It’ll get here when it gets here,” he said.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo