CONTACT:
Tony Harrison, 208.880.9814, tony@COMMposition.biz
Carly Chandler, 208.667.2428 ext. 110, carly@hanna.agency
Highlights for Idaho’s 2019-2020 ski season
-
- The original vision for Tamarack will finally be realized by the 2019-20 season. Resort and ski industry veteran Jon Reveal is helming a group of investors with decades of relevant experience that has purchased the resort. The Village Plaza will be completed in time for the 2019-2020 ski season, and Tamarack is installing a high-speed, detachable, four-person chairlift to service the Wildwood trails, which haven’t been skiable by lift since 2009. This lift will provide access to the resort’s most consistently pitched intermediate and expert trails along with gladed tree skiing. Along with the new ski lift, Tamarack is expanding its grooming fleet with the addition of two vehicles. A new groomer equipped with a winch has the ability to groom Tamarack’s summit cornice and other steep terrain. The resort will also have 56 turnkey condos finished by early December. Visit tamarackidaho.com for more details about the resort.
-
- In addition to joining the Epic Pass for next season, Sun Valley also has a new Sun and Snow Pass it is offering with sister resort Snowbasin in Utah. Pass holders will receive three days at each iconic ski area, then 50 percent off each additional day of skiing or riding. With the ongoing Bald Mountain Expansion, an additional 380 acres of skiable terrain will open the following season (2020-21) after the resort replaces its oldest chairlift, Cold Springs #4, in summer 2020. Advanced skiers can get a preview of the new terrain this winter with guided Cold Springs Canyon tours. The Lower Broadway run is extending further down the mountain and lined with another 18 highly efficient snowmaking guns. Visit sunvalley.com/coldsprings for more details and updates.
-
- Up north, Lookout Pass has begun a two-year project that nearly doubles its terrain. The resort, which straddles the Idaho-Montana border (allowing you to ski two state and two time zones at one resort), is expanding to a nearby peak. In the process, they will replace their main lift on the front side with a fixed-grip quad (estimated completion is mid-October this year), install another such lift to the summit on the second peak, and install the former main fixed double lift to access additional section’s of the new terrain. Sales and marketing director Matt Sawyer may be giving journalists and bloggers tours of the new terrain next season depending on the resort’s progress before the snow flies. Visit skilookout.com for more details about the resort.
-
- In southern Idaho, Pomerelle will begin offering guided backcountry tours. They secured the necessary outfitter and guide permits this season. Sitting at 8,000 ft. above sea level, Pomerelle is in the path of a lot of the same storms that hit Grand Targhee and often vies that resort and Lookout Pass for the most powder in Idaho. Check out http://localfreshies.com/day-3-steep-n-deep-in-the-pomerelle-backcountry for a preview, and visit pomerelle.com for more details about the resort.
-
- Back up north, Schweitzer is replacing its Snow Ghost double chair this summer with two new lifts to provide better access to the Outback Bowl, which features some of the most popular terrain at Schweitzer. A new high-speed detachable quad will move 2,400 people per hour up the mountain in just over 5 minutes, while a new fixed-grip triple chair will offer a capacity of 1,800 people per hour and rise 1,360 feet in 8 minutes. Like its two-lift system in the South Bowl, the new chairs will serve different aspects of the North Bowl, helping combat weather challenges when they arise and providing a better, safer experience for skiers of differing ability levels. The project also will add four new runs and increase gladed terrain. In addition, Schweitzer broke ground this June on a new 30-room ski-in/ski-out boutique hotel directly adjacent to Selkirk Lodge. Slated to open in fall 2020, the new hotel will offer impressive views of Lake Pend Oreille and feature a 50-seat restaurant and bar, an outdoor patio with a fire pit, a co-working area, a communal living room area, an outdoor spa, and additional underground parking. The project is part of a 10-year master development plan Schweitzer finalized in 2019. Visit schweitzer.com for more details about the resort.
- Bogus Basin near Boise is replacing its Morning Star lift (Chair 2) with a new, highspeed detachable quad that will double the carrying capacity and reduce ride time from 11 minutes to just over three minutes. The nonprofit recreation area’s first new chairlift since 2011 will bring the total number of high-speed detachable quads to four. Construction will begin this spring and is expected to be complete by early December in time for the 2019-20 season. Visit bogusbasin.org for more details about the resort.
- Three Ski Idaho resorts are among three-dozen mountains nationwide participating in a new multi-resort ski pass. Now on sale for the 2019-2020 season, the Indy Pass provides two lift tickets each — 72 total days — at 36 independently owned resorts for just $199. Season pass holders at the three participating Ski Idaho resorts — Brundage Mountain, Lost Trail, and Silver Mountain — can purchase an Indy Pass as an add-on for $159 instead of $199. Visit indyskipass.com for more details.
- Ski Idaho is planning a January FAM tour of its three northernmost resorts — Schweitzer, Lookout Pass, and Silver Mountain — for Jan. 6-10, 2020. We will also likely conduct a February FAM tour of Tamarack, Brundage, and Bogus Basin (dates TBD). Contact publicist Tony Harrison via email at tony@COMMposition.biz or by phone at 208.880.9814 for more details.