Spruced-up mountain resort may be the Next Big Thing

Thursday, January 31, 2002

By VANESSA MCGRADY
SPECIAL TO THE POST-INTELLIGENCER

SANDPOINT, Idaho -- Nearly 100 years ago an old Swiss hermit lived on a hulking mountain smack in the center of Idaho's panhandle. It's no wonder he chose to stake out space there: He looked down to see the peaks of the Cabinet, Bitterroot and Selkirk mountains, which serve as the snow-capped backdrop to sparkling, glassy Lake Pend Oreille. He looked up to see 2,500 acres of open bowls and gladed slopes for his playground.

	Schweitzer receives an annual snowfall of 300 inches. This year it had received 276 inches as of January 29. All Photos: Roy R. Goodall/Special to the P-I Click for larger photo

Locals in the nearby town of Sandpoint knew little about the man, but named the mountain after him: Schweitzer, roughly translated from the Swiss as "mountain man."

That old guy was on to something. With magnum hits of sunshine, 300 inches of fluffy snowfall a year and just a little more than two hours from Seattle by plane and car, he'd parked at what would become one of the best ski spots in the Northwest.

And still, the place is largely undiscovered.

The scant skiers and snowboarders who take an early-morning run on a weekday will find plenty of privacy on the well-groomed snow. You'd think that with Idaho's only six-person high-speed chairlift, the elegant Selkirk Lodge and one of the most spectacular mountaintop vistas anywhere in the country, Schweitzer would enjoy the popularity of Telluride or Sun Valley.

It will happen eventually, especially with completion of the White Pine Lodge condominium complex and all its appointments, but it's been a long time coming. Until 1933, when skiers began hauling themselves up on foot for a rough ride down, it was mostly French Canadian fur trappers who dared scale the steep mountains. By the early 1960s, three men formed a partnership, got hold of some cash, and began construction of a day lodge and a one-mile-long double chairlift that went to work in 1963.

	A skier drops into C Chute from South Ridge above Schweitzer Village. Skiers and snowboarders who don't like crowds can still find find plenty of privacy on the well-groomed slopes. But that shouldn't last for long as the resort pushes ahead with expansion plans.

The business passed to one of the men's families, where it was eventually outfitted with a new day lodge, a quad chair and lights for night skiing. Bankruptcy eventually forced a sale, and on New Year's Eve 1998, the folks at Seattle-based Harbor Properties took over. You know them as the owners of Stevens Pass and Mission Ridge.

With the purchase came a revamp of the existing hotel to an upscale, comfy lodge, and a proliferation of retail outlets in what's known as "the Village," where you can buy pretty much anything you'll need for a winter getaway: snow gear, single-use cameras, espresso and booze.

The 50-suite White Pine Lodge, due for completion in April, will bring condo-dwellers, overnighters and even more retail to the Village. There's serious buzz about airport expansion and a heliport.

According to Tom Fortune, the resort's general manager, the only reason there aren't throngs of people in every day (5,000 is a good Saturday) is because people don't know about it.

He's counting on Harbor's aggressive new marketing campaign and ski deals to send in the crowds. Unfortunately, the plan just may work -- hurry and get there because there are plenty of people betting on Schweitzer becoming the Next Big Thing.

Jim Hutter, a sales representative who frequently travels from Federal Way to Sandpoint, picked up a condo as a much more fun alternative to the stocks that recently plummeted in his shaky portfolio. He's certain that the mountain's master plan can accommodate the population increase, especially because Harbor Properties owns the land, while most other resorts lease from the U.S. Forest Service.

Jamie and Arla Holliday and their two children regularly venture from their Seattle home to ski places throughout the West, and after one visit to Schweitzer, decided to buy a condo. They were impressed by the big trees and pristine conditions.

"The mountain was enough to keep me satisfied," Jamie Holliday said. "It's huge."

Jess Byers, a real estate agent who works out of Bellevue, has visited several times since 1989. He recently plunked money down on a property there after he compared the distance and border hassles to British Columbia's Whistler-Blackcomb, and the snow quality of Western Washington.

"We're used to skiing on concrete," he said.

The locals -- 9,000 of whom hold season lift passes -- seem to be taking the growth in stride, said Keith Kinnaird, the news editor at the Bonner County Daily Bee.

He goes up the mountain to ski and snowboard nearly every weekend and on weekdays when he can get away.

He said that although the expansion plans call for day users to park farther from the lifts, "there are a certain amount of people who would like to see Schweitzer stay where it is. Even though I don't want the word to get out, it's a nice secret, (growth) is good for the community."

	Selkirk Lodge is in the heart of Schweitzer Village. It provides slopeside accommodations, ski in/out lodging, three hot tubs, an outdoor heated pool, a restaurant and a cafe.

In terms of terrain, Schweitzer is limited only by its lack of beginner trails. There are only two green runs, cheerily named Enchanted Forest and Happy Trails. And while they are lovely in their simplicity and tree-lined boundaries, those with short attention spans may get bored. Fortune says that improvements are on the way, with an expanded beginner area scheduled for behind the Selkirk Lodge next season. In addition, eventually Chair One will be replaced with a lift that will stop halfway up the Midway run to allow beginners the same glory of catching a view and skiing with the Big Boys on their way down.

For your inaugural journey down the mountain, stay on the sunny side -- the Schweitzer Bowl -- taking the Great Escape Quad up to the top. Head left toward Ridge Run, because the wide, steep hill is a great way for intermediate and advanced skiers to warm up. Ridge Run is always groomed, which is another point of pride for Schweitzer -- one of the resort's Snocat groomers, Eric Keil, was invited to work at the Olympics this year.

The Midway run, accessible by the older Chair One, is another way to catch a mountainscape. On weekends, it is lit up for night skiing, along with the Terrain Park and the bottom of Ridge Run. But beware: Dollar to a donut says that more wipeouts on that run are caused by the distracting vista of the lake and mountains than anything else.

The Harbor Properties marketing team liked the old-hermit angle so much, they gave him a name and a wife. With the help from Disney story spinners, the extension of the hermit legend goes like this: "Phineas" married "Stella" and they had five children. Stella split with the kids to introduce them to the comforts of the city and to their East Coast relatives. In his sorrow, Phineas, being a tinkering sort, built the fastest six-pack lift in Idaho and named it after his beloved, hoping she and the children would return someday to ride up through the back of the mountain and ski down the woodsy, organic runs.

The Stella lift emerges from that barnlike "workshop," and as riders wait their turn, they take in the industrial sounds and old-timey panhandler tools placed around the room. It's a fun experience but unfortunate, in a way, that the most inexperienced family members can't enjoy it because there are no green circle runs to or from the lift. (There are, however, some easier blue runs: Vagabond and Zip Down).

Stella is on the side of the mountain called Outback Bowl, where there are numerous black and blue paths with endless permutations. The groomer comes by the smaller ones every week or so, resulting in deeper powder and occasional moguls and a boarder's paradise.

And it is on this side that the skier can craft whatever experience he or she desires: slow, moody plods down a lonely narrow trail; a wild shot through the treeless double black-diamond expanse called Siberia; or a sleek fast run down one of the many straight paths to the bottom.

Backcountry skiing is popular with the locals, Fortune reports, but adds, "It's a policy we don't encourage or discourage."

	P-I

When you're done with downhill, Schweitzer offers lots of opportunities for people who want to play on the mountain without barreling down it. Snowshoe and nordic trails go deep into the trees, with reminders that animals were there first and are much better suited to tromping around than we are: On any day, you'll see moose, rabbit, bear and elk tracks in the snow, and if you're lucky, the critters themselves.

One way to surely hang with the animals is through Mountain Horse Adventures on the way up to the Village, which offers sleigh and trail rides. The town of Sandpoint, 12 miles away, has that classic Idaho Panhandle charm.

It's a ski town where you most likely will not find fur-draped celebrities traipsing a la Sun Valley, but instead, townies and visitors dancing at a bar to a local band or eating at one of several restaurants that infuse big-city sensibilities into a laid-back land. Then there are the added diversions of massage therapists, antique stores and gift shops, ensuring travelers spend money and time on non ski-related pursuits.

On your way out, make sure to stop by Panhandler Pies for a slice of something so heavenly and wholesome it would surely make that old schweitzer come out and play.

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