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Schweitzer - Feb 12th - 17th

Joined
Sep 15, 2011
Messages
331
Points
18
Location
Northern CT
We got lucky!

Watched the weather for quite awhile leading up to this trip and wasn't optimistic about the results, especially knowing it was a bit warmer the week before we left. No worries....

Day 1 was a bit of getting to know the mountain, even though there was a bit of leftover pow from previous week. Our ski club was fortunate to have the Schweitzer leader group of Tom Chase (CEO) and "the Matts", marketing and ski school directors giving us a day 1 tour of the massive place. 33k vertical later we succumbed to the jet lag and waited for the impending overnight storm.

Day 2 was forecasted for 9 inches, ended up being over a foot (or more) and we skied trees and untracked groomed all day. The Snow Ghost double was our go to as it opened up the entire Outback Bowl with steeps and trees and unending powder. We skied off the Stella six-pack towards the end of the day with "Glade-Iator" and "Kathy's Yard Sale" trees that were perfectly spaced.

Day 3 began as a bluebird day and since the T-bar was open Thursday - Sunday we made our way over to the upper Outback area and were the 4th T up. We skied trees and powder for a few runs and then relented back into the Snow Ghost chair area for more trees and untracked. Weather changed as snow came in later in the day and we had an event in Sandpoint that night so called it an early day at 2:50 PM.

Day 4 (our last ski day) began with snow, a bit of grapple and then more snow. We skied powder and trees all day, beginning on the Lakeview Triple, but found the visibility tough so worked our way down through the Schweitzer Bowl and skied trees all morning with every run filling in with fresh powder. As per our usual trend, we ended up in the Outback bowl, skiing off the Snow Ghost for the remainder of the day. Schweitzer has night skiing Friday-Sunday so we caught a couple of twilight runs of the Basin Express as our last couple of runs of our trip. Our plan was for only one run, but we found some incredible trees (surprise, surprise), so decided to take another.

4 days, 110,499 vertical (as per Ski Tracks), and a whole hell of a lot of fun! If you have a chance to experience this 2900 acre gem with only two distinct bowls, do it. Granted we were fortunate with the conditions, but the terrain and trees and steepness was one of the best 2 or 3 trips I've experienced, and I've been skiing forIMG_7633.jpgIMG_7597.jpgIMG_7584.jpg a long time.
 

skimagic

Active member
Joined
Jan 13, 2012
Messages
361
Points
28
Location
Western New England
Nice trip report! Good read while waiting for winter to return. Schwitzer bowls are fun,not too steep but just wide open bliss.

Spokane is an underrated ski hub from East coast. I was fortunate to do a Schweitzer, Fernie trip a while back and need to get back.
 
Joined
Sep 15, 2011
Messages
331
Points
18
Location
Northern CT
Have been to Fernie and see the similarity. Thought the visibility and vastness of the 2900 acre Schweitzer vs Fernie bowls made the Schweitzer bowls seem larger even though they're about the same snow and vertical.

Agree about Spokane....so much access to unique experiences. Have skied Crystal and want to get back!!

Nice simple airport as well. Reminded me of a smaller BDL with access to better ski areas.

Wish I was back there.....LOL.
 

bdfreetuna

New member
Joined
Jan 12, 2012
Messages
4,300
Points
0
Location
keep the faith
My God, that looks beautiful. Will definitely be including this in my "powder highway" trip -- probably once the kid/s are old enough.
 

jimk

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 1, 2012
Messages
1,790
Points
113
Location
Wash DC area
Thanks for sharing. One of those mtns that's a little off the beaten path for many of us.
 
Joined
Sep 15, 2011
Messages
331
Points
18
Location
Northern CT
A few more pics....with the weather in the northeast the way it is, I'm still day-dreaming about last week and how incredible it was in idaho.IMG_7582.jpgIMG_7672.jpgIMG_7652.jpgIMG_7620.jpgIMG_7684.jpg

Top to bottom:

- Looking across Outback Bowl towards the "Misfortune" area
- Nicely spaced trees
- Bluebird day
- You know it's going to be a good day when you see this contraption in the AM
- Shit happens - Too much snow + unexpected gully LOL
 

mikestaple

Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2008
Messages
286
Points
16
Location
Duxbury, MA
Great report. Idaho is fantastic and I’ve been thinking about a powder highway trip that starts in Spokane. Appreciate the info.


Sent from my iPhone using AlpineZone
 

Vince

Member
Joined
Apr 7, 2008
Messages
104
Points
18
Location
Boston
Great write up. Has anyone skied the cat operation the operates off the top of the mountain? I believe its called Selkirk Cat Skiing
 
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