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The Road to Opening Day - Part 1

The snow is piling up in the mountains. The leaves are beginning to fall. The ski swaps are taking place. All these signs point to only one thing: skiing. Today we begin a new series - The Road to the Ski Season. Many things come together as we near Thanksgiving, Schweitzer's hoped-for opening day. Join us as we evaluate everything it takes to open a ski resort for the winter.

Schweitzer is getting many improvements ready for prime time. Here's a list of everything they've done over the summer, in one capacity or another.

• Two new chairlifts: the Basin Express High Speed Quad and the Lakeview Fixed Grip Triple.
• A remodel of the Lakeview Lodge, including a ground level patio and more seating space inside.
• New chairs on the Great Escape Quad.
• Trail improvements, including better on-mountain signage, better access and better runouts.
• The removal and replacement of Ski Check.
• A completely new logo and attitude.
• A roundabout as you begin to see the mountain on Schweitzer Mountain Road.
• Trappers' Creek, and exclusive ski-in/ski-out home opportunity, to be completed for 2008-09.
  

We'll break down each and every improvement that went on over the summer in subsequent postings, but for now, that is all.

UPDATE: Arapahoe Basin Ski Area in Colorado opened on Wednesday, their earliest opening ever. The race to be the first to open has finished, and A-Basin is the winner.

Down, Down, Down to 4,700 Feet

Today Schweitzer was blessed with more snow, this time down to the village level, at 4,700 feet. By the looks of that table, they got anywhere from 1-3 inches. The snow accumulated on the grass, roofs, and non-heated pavement or patio. This is just another sign that they'd better hurry up with construction!

Let it Snow, Snow, Snow!

Shot of the mountain as a whole with the village in the foreground.
Shot of J.R. with snow near the top of the mountain.
Shot of the Great Escape Quad with snow in the foreground...
Shot of the new Basin Express High-Speed Quad with snow on Stiles, Pend Orielle, and White Lightning.
Shot of the snow on Ridge Run with the Basin Express in the foreground.

Let it SNOW, SNOW, SNOW! Schweitzer has been blessed with many, many, recent snowfalls, and here are a bunch of pictures of those events. All can be found at schweitzer.com, which, as you remember, is unaffiliated with this blog.