Schweitzer Mountain plans to install two new chairlifts in 2019

Schweitzer Mountain will install two new chairlifts in 2019, Tom Chasse, president and CEO of the North Idaho resort said on Thursday.

“We think it’s going to be a draw and will bring in more people,” Chasse said.

The lifts will replace the Snow Ghost lift, an aging double chair that services the Outback Bowl on Schweitzer’s back side. One lift will serve lower, intermediate terrain and will roughly top out at the midstation unloading area on the current Snow Ghost chair. The other lift will serve more advanced terrain on the Lakeside Chutes area of the Outback Bowl. Its base will be in an area known as Will’s Runout, and will top out near the Sky House lodge at 6,375 feet.

“We don’t have enough lift capacity right now,” Chasse said.

The Snow Ghost chairlift is the longest and slowest lift on the mountain. Chasse said that the two lifts will improve access for both advanced and intermediate riders.

Construction will begin in summer of 2019, Chasse said. The two lifts will be operational for the 2019-2020 season.