The Road to Opening Day - Part VI - The Interactive Trail Map

Yes, this is the Road to Opening Day, and this is the 2008-2009 ski season coming upon us. Today we'll talk about a small but important piece of the puzzle that has now been implemented by Schweitzer management: the interactive trail map.

Schweitzer has now released a popular piece usually implemented by major resorts such as Vail, Beaver Creek, Telluride, and Whistler that typically receive more than 500,000 visits per year. Schweitzer, by comparison, is much smaller, attracting approx. 200,000 visits per year. The move by Schweitzer, in my eyes, is to appeal to the destination skier that is completely new to the resort. Why would they want to attract destination skiers? To self-sustain. There is a very small piece of skiers in the inland northwest, and five resorts are competing for them. So for Schweitzer to stay afloat, they must appeal to skiers in new markets. That's why they released the interactive map.

It has some cool features though, the new map. You can view runs, lifts, and other pieces all creatively put together. Enjoy: the Schweitzer Interactive Trail Map.

The Road to Opening Day - Part 4

Well, Schweitzer, as you can no doubt tell, is open, and flourishing. Here's a recap of the past few weeks.

Dec. 1-3 - Schweitzer receives a huge dumping, I believe it was 70 inches in total. Resort officials announce a Wednesday opening.

Dec. 4 - A Pineapple Express rain event pushes back the day to Thursday - the rain melted very little of the snow, however.

Dec. 5 - Schweitzer announces that only Chair 2 - Musical Chairs - would be open on Thursday, with Happy Trails and minimal foodservice and other operations

Dec. 6-7 - Schweitzer open with just Musical Chairs.

Dec. 8 - The Basin Express, Lakeview Triple, and Musical Carpet open today for the first time.

Dec. 15 - Schweitzer opens with the following lifts: Basin Express, Lakeview Triple, Musical Chairs, Musical Carpet, Never Ever Tow, Great Escape, Snow Ghost, and Stella. Excluded run areas include entire North Bowl area and entire South Bowl area.

Dec. 22 - Mountain now 100% open with remarkable conditions and knee-deep powder. Open Lifts include Chairs 1A (Basin Quad), 1B (Lakeview), 2 (Musical Chairs), 3 (the Quad), 4 (Sunnyside), 5 (Stella), 6 (Snow Ghost), 7 (Idyle-Our), Musical Carpet/Never Ever Tow. Hermit's Hollow Tubing Opens with two lanes. Terrain park has 6 features.

The Road to Opening Day, Part 3 - Snowmaking

Snowmaking has begun at Schweitzer Mountain Resort. The recent snow "drought" has many managers anxious to open, and what better way to cure that anxiety than making snow. Schweitzer employees flipped the switch for the guns Tuesday morning, at a frigid 19 degrees. Snow is currently being made on the most (obviously) accessible run, Happy Trails. Let's all hope for success and think snow!

The Road to Opening Day - Part 2

Okay, I know I've been absent for a bit, but now I'm getting back into this: snow is in the forecast! So today is part two of The Road to Opening Day. We'll look at the fundamental change going on at Schweitzer: 2 New Lifts.

The two new lifts are named The Basin Express and The Lakeview Triple. The Basin Express is a high-speed quad that starts in the heart of Schweitzer Village near the Mill Building. That lift follows the old chair 7 line and will take you to a point just above the old MidWay Unload/Load station. It will only take a blazing fast 3.7 minutes. Then, you will have the option to ski down to the Stomping Grounds Terrain Park or other intermediate terrain or get on the Lakeview Triple and ride to the top. The Lakeview is Schweitzer's first triple, and it will actually take 4.5 minutes to reach the top via the same line as Chair One.

Here are some pictures of the lifts under construction.

This is a shot of the Basin Express with a wonderful snowy Ridge Run in the Background.Here is a shot of crews assembling the lower station for the Basin Express.Ah, the bliss of the summit of Schweitzer Mountain. Wait - why is that patrol station so high?!

Hello, down there! A shot of the Top of the Lakeview Triple

The weirdest looking unloading station ever! A shot of the Basin Express.

All this happens over the summer. It's so amazing. The lifts were manufactured by Doppelmayr CTEC in Salt Lake City, Utah. To visit their website and fantasize about a backyard T-Bar, go HERE.

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.