SCHWEITZER MOUNTAIN

'Schweitzer Mountain Resort' is a ski area in northern Idaho, 12 miles (19 km) northwest of the city of Sandpoint in Bonner County. It overlooks Lake Pend Oreille to the southeast with views of the Bitterroot, and Selkirk and Cabinet mountain ranges.
Schweitzer has a summit elevation of 6,400 feet above sea level with a vertical drop of 2,400 feet. The average annual snowfall is over 300 inches (762 cm). There are 82 named runs and open bowls on Schweitzer's skiable area of 2900 acres (12 km²).
Seven chairlifts (a "six-pack", two quads, and 3 doubles) and a T-bar surface lift serve terrain rated at 20% beginner, 40% intermediate, 35% advanced, 5% expert. The slopes on the front side (Schweitzer Basin) face east and south, those on the back side (Colburn Basin) face mostly northeast.

Contents

History

Today

Statistics At-a-Glance

Elevation

Terrain

Current Lifts

Book

Press Reception

External links

History

The peak known as Schweitzer Mountain was named after an old Swiss hermit who lived at the bottom of the basin (''Schweitzer'' is German for "Swiss"). He had been in the Swiss military but beyond that little is known about the man who gave the mountain its name.
Skiing at Schweitzer began as early as 1933, but it was not until December 4, 1963 that it proudly opened as 'Schweitzer Basin,' with a day lodge at 4700 feet (1432 m) and a mile long (1.6 km) double chairlift, which provided 1700 feet (518 m) of vertical drop. The area made no money, except for one year. Initially planned as a weekend ski area, it was operated seven days a week. Three chairlifts were added in 1967 (replacing T-bar lifts and rope tows) and the back area of Colburn Basin was developed in 1971 with two more lifts. The road to the resort was paved in 1973 and Chairlift # 7 was added in the summer of 1974 to add capacity to the front side. In 1986 summer chairlift rides were started, and in 1988 the ski area was renamed 'Schweitzer Mountain Resort,' and it began offering hiking trains and mountain bike rentals.
When owner (and co-founder) Jim Brown died in April 1989, his daughter, Bobbie Huguenin, took over the family business. Under her leadership, Schweitzer focused on becoming a destination resort; many additions and improvements were accomplished, including the replacement of the old lodge with the new 3-story Headquarters Day Lodge. A detachable quad chairlift was installed in 1991 and lights were installed for night skiing. Huguenin also saw the construction of the 82-room Green Gables Lodge.
In November 1996 the resort was put into receivership, filing for bankruptcy the following year. On December 31, 1998, Harbor Properties purchased Schweitzer Mountain Resort from U.S. Bank for the sum of $18 million. The Seattle-based company, operators of Stevens Pass Ski Area and Mission Ridge (sold in 2003) ski areas in Washington, made immediate improvements by providing equipment for slope management. A six-passenger chairlift ''(Stella)'' was installed in the summer of 2000 serving the base of Colburn Basin. With the addition of Stella, the resort totaled 2500 acres (10 km²). Finally, for the 2005-2006 season, Schweitzer added a t-bar to Little Blue Mountain, a locals' favorite hike-out. The expansion added 400 acres (1.6 km²) and five new runs.

Today

Today, Schweitzer has 2,900 acres (12 km²). There are six chairlifts, including four doubles, a high speed quad and a high speed six-pack "Stella", and three surface lifts. The longest continuous groomed run is The Little Blue Ridge Run, at 1.7 miles. There are 82 trails. Schweitzer gets 300 inches a year, on average. Schweitzer's hourly uphill capacity is 9,267 people.
Schweitzer's village has 2 lodges, one owned by Red Lion Hotels: The Selkirk Lodge the other is The White Pine Lodge. There is one day lodge housing Guest Services, a Cafeteria, and a coffee shop.
On February 15, 2007, Schweitzer announced an ambitious expansion program. Included is a $6 Million lift expansion. This includes replacing the original lift, Chair One, with two lifts: A high speed detachable quad and a fixed grip triple lift. The names of the new lifts are Basin Express and Lakeview Triple. The Basin Express uses the old Chair 7 liftline. Also included is a Lakeview Lodge remodel, increases snowmaking and new grooming capacity, not to mention $2 Million in spending for future expansion to the resort.

Statistics At-a-Glance

Elevation

★ Village Elevation: 4,700 feet

★ Bottom Lift Elevation: 3,950 feet

★ Summit Elevation: 6,400 feet

★ Vertical Feet: 2,400 feet

Terrain

★ 2,900 Inbounds Skiable acres

★ 20% Beginner

★ 40% Intermediate

★ 35% Advanced

★ 5% Expert

Current Lifts

★ No. 1 - Basin Express - High Speed Quad

★ No. 2 - Musical Chairs - Double

★ No. 3 - Great Escape - High Speed Quad

★ No. 4 - Sunnyside - Double

★ No. 5 - Stella - High Speed Six-Pack

★ No. 6 - Snow Ghost - Double

★ No. 7 - Idyle-Our - T-Bar

★ N/A - Lakeview - Triple

★ No. 8 - Musical Carpet - Magic Carpet

★ No. 9 - Happy Trails - Handle Tow

Book

A book about Schweitzer Mountain was written by Dr. Jack Fowler, the main "discoverer" of Schweitzer. In it, he chronicles all the details about how they developed the mountain into a ski resort. The book is called Looking Back on Schweitzer: The History of Schweitzer Mountain Resort.

Press Reception

★ The readers of Skiing Magazine rated Schweitzer #21 in their October 2007 Reader Resort Survey.

★ Best Ski Resort in the Inland Northwest by the Pacific Northwest Inlander Reader's Poll, 13 years running.

★ "Big Slopes and small-town charm at Northern Idaho's up-and-coming resort." - Sunset Magazine, Dec. 2003

External links

★ Schweitzer Mountain Resort - official site

★ Ski Lifts.org - photos of Schweitzer Mountain's lifts

★ Idaho Winter.org - official state tourism site

★ Schweitzer turns 40, Dec-2003 - Sandpoint Online.com - Winter 2004

★ Schweitzer Mountain History by Bob Gunter - Sandpoint.com

★ TerraServer USA.com - USGS topo map & aerial photo