toast21602

Still in for the morning as of right now.

Schweitzer Monday, Lookout Pass Tuesday, 49° North yesterday, Silver Mountain today. I only had about 2 hours before I had to catch my flight so I figured I'd squeeze in one last day somewhere new. I'm glad I did. In addition to the snow that they received over the last two days, the continued snow overnight into the morning, and the wind, the conditions were 9/10 fantastic. Definitely some of the best off-piste turns of this short trip. Silver Mountain is unique. You need to take a gondola from town to get to the actual resort which is a crazy 3.1 miles long and was once the world's longest gondola, but is now 5th longest. Originally named Jackass Ski Bowl, the first GM for the place was actually from Big Boulder. Today, the place still has a small mountain vibe when you get up there. The original double still stands and gets you access to some of the best terrain on the mountain, with the exception of the North Face glades which have some ass-puckering chutes and trees accessible through gates. The best stuff I've skied in a while. I wish I had more time to enjoy this place because the crowds were small and the lines to ski were pretty much endless because I only saw one other person while skiing anywhere off of Wardner Peak. Only a few pictures because it was snowing and I was short on time. Gotta say, Idaho was not high on my list of places to go but I would replicate this trip over a long weekend again anytime. The places were great, the people were friendly, the snow was good, and for a "holiday week" the places were empty. Thanks for reading my random reports.

Schweitzer Monday, Lookout Pass Tuesday, 49° North today. One ski trip, three areas, three different states. Trekked up there this morning under cloudy skies, chilly temps, and a hefty breeze as the small storm front rolled in. I ended up taking one run before the snow moved in and was greeted with a light snow the rest of the day. Only about 2" fell throughout the day but it sat nicely on top of everything else and skied nicely. The last time I skied in Washington all it did was rain, so skiing in snow, even if a little, felt like redemption to that soaking trip. Anyway, 49 is fun. And empty. They have plenty of mellow groomers and a nice touch of spicy steep groomers to get moving on. The open mogul runs and trees were pretty lovely and a lot of the terrain to the far sides of the resort. The place skis pretty big and having a centralized high speed lift makes it easy to explore. Overall, I skied a bit of everything. I did spend a lot of time on groomers the second half of the day to preserve my hip. I don't know the names of all of the runs that I did. I just ski what looks fun. Although, I did find a run named after @GrilledSteezeSandwich and a run that @C1erArt would appreciate. Again, check this place out. Garlic parmesan cheese curds and a few pints to end the day. Still snowing out so I'm planning on hitting Silver Mountain tomorrow morning before flying out, if possible.

I can believe that. Ghost town with crushable terrain that you don't really have to think about. Easy. Nice little airport close to the city which is a cool spot too. I'm staying in Coeur d'Alene and it is a good central location to a lot of different hills.

In addition to hitting up Schweitzer yesterday I wanted to check out another new place. I went to a cool brewery in Spokane when I landed on Sunday and the bartender told me to check out Lookout Pass if I wanted something off the beaten path and fun. I made an early morning hot tub decision to head there even though it wasn't on Indy or Ikon. I got there to find out that they give 1/2 off to season pass holders from other places so I got a ticket for $30 which is a freakin steal nowadays. Possibly another spot that hasn't been hit by PASR? This place is a gem. It is 90 years old and has old school Powder Mountain vibes. Nothing too technical but the groomers were incredibly fun and the trees had stashes in them from the storms over the last few days. Old slow fixed grip lifts kept trails and trees pretty empty. It was a beautiful little hill and I had an absolute blast there. It was hard not to smile ripping down some runs with titty sparkles in the sky. One of the unique features of the place is that it sits on the Idaho and Montana border so you get to ski in both states on the same run or lift ride. It was also super confusing because it is also the border of time zones, so my phone and watch kept shifting back and forth an hour depending on where I was. The snow was incredible and sun filled the sky. Would also highly recommend if you're in the area. That's all. Looking for a dinner spot in town now. Then back in the hot tub to consider a place to ski tomorrow.

Yep but taking it day to day with no plan or agenda. Sitting in a hot tub now pondering that decision.

Schweitzer is a pretty cool place. The windy road up there was a bit sketchy covered in snow. Anyway, some fun steeps and small cliffy areas to mess around in. The trees are top notch here and the groomers were great to rip with some fresh snow on them. I really enjoyed it and I had to add it to the stat manager so either it hasn't been skied much, if at all, from people here or I missed it on the list. First time in Idaho and it really seems like a cool place to live if you're into the outdoors. It's been snowing a lot here lately and maybe a bit more to refresh things over the next few days. My hip held up for about 3.5 hours and then I had to take it easy getting back down to the lot. Check it out if you're ever in northern Idaho. Here are some pictures of the place when I remembered to take out my phone, and a food picture on my drive back for Doug.

It's on my calendar.

This is actually pretty decent and I listened a few times. Nicely done.

That isn't a rumor, that has been true for a while.

24th is the only day that would work for me.

I'm glad you didn't get buried in the perder.

LMK

Ah, looks incredible! Be safe and enjoy!

What a trip! As always, well done! Looks like a hoot.