Panhandle ski areas introduce improvements
Winter in November. That has a nice ring to it. I didn’t make it to either of the open ski areas last weekend, but I did hike for my turns. As I walked, leaning into the wind, bracing against the sideways-blowing snow, I thought, what kind of sick person am I for absolutely loving this?
The ride down was fantastic – a pure rush. The coverage was great and the snow was dry and fluffy. That’s why.
I received reports from skiers at Lookout Pass that the conditions were fun for a season-opening with good coverage and nice snow. Because there are no man-made bumps and moguls on the hill yet, it makes for a nice way to ease the legs back into shape.
So I got to thinking as I was out enjoying an early Idaho winter. I was thinking about the changing ski environment here and how North Idaho is becoming more and more known as a ski destination thanks to all the publicity the country’s newest ski resort, Tamarack, is receiving.
Idaho is now home to both the oldest and the newest ski resort in North America: Sun Valley and Tamarack Resort, respectively. In case you’ve missed all those articles, Tamarack is a ski, lake and golf resort about 90 miles north of Boise. It opened for skiing last winter with 840 acres of terrain and plans to grow to 2,100 acres.
The increased attention on Idaho has had a spill-over effect for the North Idaho ski resorts, which all have plans for expansion. While I’m not a proponent of large-scale development, I’ll confess that I am certainly a proponent of having successful ski areas that offer better skiing and amenities for me each year.
Stephen Lane, director of marketing at Silver Mountain, noted that the success Tamarack is seeing likely helped sales of its latest development rather than steal the show. Phase I of The Morning Star Lodge sold out in five days while Phase II sold out in one day.
New this year at Silver is a resort village with retail, dining, a day spa and salon. Phase I of the Morning Star Lodge is open and offers 60 furnished condominiums just steps from the gondola.
Silver has plans to add terrain and new lifts in the near future, although details are not yet announced. This fall, the resort broke ground on a 55,000-square foot waterpark scheduled for completion in December 2006.
Lookout Pass has made some immediate improvements with plans for healthy growth in the near future. This year, it added two acres of terrain in the Last Chance area and the lodge was improved with a new top floor bar and lounge. Next year’s improvements include 100 new acres accessed by the new North Star lift to be installed during summer 2006.
In 2007, Lookout plans to break ground on a 15,000-square-foot building, which will accommodate meetings, childcare and more dining options, along with eight hotel rooms.
Schweitzer Mountain, meanwhile, will debut 400 new acres of advanced and intermediate terrain in the North Bowl accessed by a new T-bar. With 2,900 acres, Schweitzer remains the largest ski resort in the state. The new conveyor ski lift in the beginner’s area is designed to make the learning experience less intimidating, and the addition of Hermit’s Hollow Tubing Center brings more non-ski activities that attract families.
Schweitzer announced a new ownership structure this summer with a mind toward more expanding the pedestrian village, meaning more lodging, real estate, and dining and shopping options.
What I’m getting at is this: The whole word-association game is going to change. When you say “ski trip,” what do you think? Colorado, Utah – that pendulum is going to start to swing back and find us happy Idahoans sitting here with powder-eating grins enjoying it all to ourselves. Luckily, there’s still plenty of room for all of us.