Ski Southeast Messageboard

Alright, so I FINALLY have figured out how to post pictures and I’m now going to post my first TR.



My sister-in-law is working at the Selkirk Lodge at Schweitzer Mountain Resort in Sandpoint Idaho. Lucky for me we are doing xmas up here where I have a free place to stay a few miles from the mountain and a number of free lift tickets since she works there. I had been planning to venture out to some other resorts nearby, but Schweitzer is turning out to be a very solid mountain, and who can argue with free skiing so close. I imagine later in the week we may hit up places such as 49 Degrees North WA, Lookout Pass ID/MT, and Silver Mountain ID.



So some background on Schweitzer since I imagine most SE people go to other better known locales out west:



300 inches a year

2900 skiable acres

2400 feet vertical drop

6400 feet at the peak

4000 feet at the base

92 named trails



Front side trailmap:http://winter.schweitzer.com/upload/pho ... erBowl.pdf



Backside trailmap:http://winter.schweitzer.com/upload/pho ... ckBowl.pdf



Schweitzer is known for fantastic glade skiing and luckily they had a massive November allowing them to open 2 weeks early. According to their website they have the most open terrain in the country right now and are 100% open. However, they have not had much snow since December.

So 12.23.11 we left the dump known as Dirtyham Alabama to head to Spokane WA about 80 minutes from Sandpoint. We were supposed to get in at 12:50 PM, but took a bump and scored two $400 vouchers for future travel on Delta and got in 5 hours late. NICE!

12.24.11 we woke up to an inch of new snow at the mountain and it continued to snow a total of 3 inches. This really freshened things up and luckily, despite little snow the past month the base was firm but not icy. This day was a REALLY big deal for me to be skiing since it was 6 months to the day post-op ACL reconstruction. I freaking slayed rehab and was cleared to ski by my ortho with a low-profile activity brace. The knee held up GREAT the entire day. Sorry if the pics are not the best and the lack of action shots. I was focused on skiing and was just using my Iphone 4s to snap pics.



On to some pics:



This is just a random pic from the T-bar.







Looking down a run off the T-bar.





View from the Snow Ghost double chair.



A line I skied in the trees.





A chairlift shot.





My skis.



Looking down another line I took.



All in all it was a very very fun day. We skied up to the chair the entire day and were finding fresh snow all day. It was a very good reward for 6 months of grueling ACL surgery rehab to be able to enjoy myself on the mountain. I dialed things down by not taking to the air, not attacking the fall-line quite like I normally would on steeper slopes, not doing any double blacks and calling it a day before I was too fatigued. After skiing I did my range-of-motion exercises, iced and felt no ill effects in my knee at all.

It looks good up there. I'll have to put that place in my spank-bank. Is it closer to Boise or Udapimp?

12.25.11. Merry Christmas!



So we woke up Christmas day and my father-in-law came in from taking the dog outside and said there was a moose out there. I really did not believe him, but looked out the window anyway. Sure enough there was a moose chilling in the backyard eating apples. Sandpoint is a town of 6800 people and my sister-in-law lives two blocks from the downtown area. The moose came and went 4 times throughout the day.







So after a while the moose took off and we headed up to the mountain and got on the lift at 9:00. Unfortunately, they did not get more than a trace after we left the day before. The high was about 29 and visibility was decent. It was a very fun day and my knee held up just as well as it did the first day.



Some pics:





This is a very large cedar tree. It is far bigger than the pic suggests.



Looking at the front-side of the mountain from the south bowl chutes.



Mrs. Droogie trying to stay warm at the summit.



A view from the top.





Just some random pic.



Alright, so I’ll try to get some action shots and take better pictures. Tomorrow I’ll post today’s pictures. As I’m typing this it is 32 degrees and snowing lightly in town. The base of the mountain is 2,000 feet higher than where I am. More snow is supposed to come, but I hope it stays cold. Tomorrow is a rest day to go visit grandma. I’ll use that to recover and then I have 6-7 days to hit the slopes. I shall post more stoke!

First TR = $$$$

You got some really beautiful pics of the skyline...jealous of those views...and the snow of course!

T-bar area is superb!

Looks like some excellent conditions! and seems to be hardly anyone on that moutain. Could probably find pow in those trees all day. Well done. keep it coming.

12.26.11 Schweitzer Mountain.



So on Christmas day is started dumping as we left the mountain. Unfortunately this only lasted for about 20 minutes and only a trace of new snow fell between when we left and hitting first chair at 8:45 the next AM. I was still able to find some soft snow, especially off the t-bar and Snow Ghost chairs. The crowds were a little bit heavier today and there was a time where we waited about 4 minutes to get on a chair. Otherwise the wait consisted of waiting for the 6 people ahead of us to get on the next two chairs. They didn't even bother filling chairs to full most of the time since it really was not an issue. That is rarely the case in Colorado over the holidays. The high was about 25 at the summit and 30 at the base. In the afternoon I was definitely hoping for some more snow.



Looking off the backside of the Snow Ghost chair.



Me.



I can't remember what the name of this double black was. It looked really, really good! HOWEVER, given that I am 6 months and 3 days post-op ACL reconstruction I decided to pass. In a few months I'd be all over it. This run has been the only run that I REALLY wanted to hit and declined to do so because of the knee. It is pretty steep and then the trees get pretty tight in there.