Ski Season Improvements Abound in Idaho
| 20 October 2009
Boise, ID - Idaho's winter hit quickly and earlier than normal this fall, with many of the state's ski areas seeing snow before falling leaves. From the Panhandle to the Southwest to the East, recent storms brought five to 17 inches to the state's ski areas as final touches are still being applied to improvements for the ski season ahead, from additional lifts and snowmaking capabilities to brand new ski lodges and terrain parks.
Bogus Basin announced the release of Building Bogus Basin, a multi-year project creating a Bogus Basin history book. The hard cover, coffee table style book is filled with photographs and stories recounting Bogus’ past and is available through the Bogus Basin offices.
Brundage Mountain Resort remodeled their base lodge this summer with sustainability in mind. The lodge has a new roof, new windows, fresh paint, and a new layout for Smoky’s Pub. On the mountain, the run Engen now connects with 45th Parallel directly, eliminating traversing on any cat tracks.
Lookout Pass focused on safety during the summer, adding a new ski patrol and first aid lodge at the base area. For visitors’ convenience, Lookout Pass also added an additional acre of parking and a new 500 square-foot outside patio.
Lost Trail remodeled and expanded their offices, ticketing area, and built a new back deck. In order to keep skiing affordable, Lost Trail also announced they would keep their ticket prices the same as last season.
Pebble Creek enhanced their lodge’s seating area. They finished and repainted walls, installed new larger windows and new carpet to create a more comfortable, “homier” feel.
Pomerelle expanded their snowmaking abilities and added a second terrain park as a way to meet the needs of both beginner and advanced snowriders.
Schweitzer Mountain Resort finished phase two of their snowmaking system by building a lined pond at the top of Stiles Saddle, left of their Great Escape Quad. The reservoir will provide enough water to create 18 inches of snow from the top of the Basin Express lift to the bottom of the run Midway. The resort is also developing additional options to own a piece of Schweitzer through the new slope-side neighborhood Mountainside Homes, featuring the latest LEED certified techniques in sustainable building.
Soldier Mountain’s new lodge will be done before ski season starts. The new lodge will replace the old one that burned in an accidental fire last March. The new building is completely framed, siding is on, and staining/painting will be done in time to give skiers a warm place to rest.
Sun Valley Mountain Resort will open the 2009-10 ski and snowboard season with their new Roundhouse Gondola. Featuring 56 eight-passenger cabins, it will ascend 2,000 vertical feet in eight minutes and transport more than 1,800 people per hour. The gondola is the largest Doppelmayr project in North America this season, and will carry more people at a faster rate than any other lift in the state.
Grand Targhee and Sun Valley have received the most snow so far this season with Grand Targhee at 22 inches and Sun Valley at 18 inches. Both Grand Targhee and Sun Valley predict opening by the end of November.
Although it's technically in Wyoming, the only land access to Grand Targhee Resort is via Driggs, Idaho, and the ski resort thus belongs to Ski Idaho, the state's ski area marketing group.
