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Northern Rockies/Alberta IKON Pass arrives in Idaho With the Addition of Schweitzer for Winter 2021-2022

Cols714

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It's the lack of empathy and understanding in statements like yours that locals find offensive.
LOL "Locals". Give me a freaking break. People who actually live in a ski resort town are incredibly fortunate to be able to go ski without dealing with a ton of the hassle of skiing. Yet anytime the resort makes things a little nicer for the vast majority of skiers who don't live in a resort town they whine. The entitlement is so gross. OMG you might have to "share" this thing that you have no ownership or control over. Most little kids grasp this concept much better than the so-called "locals".
 

HardDaysNight

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LOL "Locals". Give me a freaking break. People who actually live in a ski resort town are incredibly fortunate to be able to go ski without dealing with a ton of the hassle of skiing. Yet anytime the resort makes things a little nicer for the vast majority of skiers who don't live in a resort town they whine. The entitlement is so gross. OMG you might have to "share" this thing that you have no ownership or control over. Most little kids grasp this concept much better than the so-called "locals".
I think you’re on the wrong website. This is Skitalk not Sh*Talk!
 
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dbostedo

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OK folks, I think we all understand that locals are more affected by changes to resorts, which understandably colors their opinion, and that visitors may see things differently.

Please keep things civil and measured, and don't let this one go off the rails.
 

SpikeDog

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If you think you can keep your own private Idaho, mull this over:


Coeur d’Alene is the town in question, with housing prices up 47% from a year ago,
and 70% of the views for the real estate are from out of state. I'm sure Sandpoint will be part of the stampede. I don't think the IKON pass is going to be the main cause of the oncoming gaper swarm in Northern Idaho.
 

pchewn

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I'm tentatively planning to be one of the hordes of people skiing more in Idaho next season. Here's a snippet of my spreadsheet where the Indie Pass and Powder Alliance show 16 days I can ski in Idaho next season. I loved Idaho skiing at Schweitzer and Silver Mountain.

I think I'll do at least one road trip to Idaho in 2022 Unfortunately Schweitzer is no longer on either of these passes, but Silver, Brundage, Bogus, and Soldier Mountain are on my to-do list.

I trust the locals will treat me as nicely as I treat those who visit Mt Hood.

Idaho-ski.JPG
 

Johnny V.

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We may contributing to the gaper swarm-the addition of Schweitzer to IKON and a trip to Red may be in the cards for next winter. Hope to beat the biggest rush though..................
 

SkiSVLikeAgassi

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Oh, boy, if I only told you about the number the Epic pass did on Sun Valley this past season...

I fully understand that this is a (very) controversial topic, and like with so many things in life,
it all depends on which side of the equation you happen to fall in, so I can sympathize
with both points of view, but let's just say there is *definitely* a before and after once the megapass fully kicks in--
in SV's case it was the second year.

To all the Schweitzer locals, brace yourselves (and I say that as diplomatically as I can)...
 

Cols714

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Any "local" who is concerned about crowding can just not ski. That would mean one less person on the mountain and less crowding. It's a choice to ski. It's not someone's private mountain.
 

Truberski

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I left Utah/Park City just before the explosion of Epic and Ikon but stay close to many friends that still live there. Utah was already seeing a noticeable “surge” before this and all of us locals complained about that too. But, the mega passes took it to another level and the frustration of the locals has only grown. I’ve now joined the darkside and have an Ikon pass and do my best to maximize the value of it. I do sympathize with the local population that is adversely impacted and I can count myself on that list with all but two of the VT resorts closest to our house being on one of the passes. Yes Saturdays and holidays can be ugly and I have a pass to an independent ski area (Magic Mt) as my coping mechanism or I just go Nordic skiing....

So, let’s all be respectful of the local Schweitzer community and give them some slack as they bemoan this news. I’d be doing the same thing if I lived in that corner of Idaho/Montana.
 
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Willy

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The thing is, being at Schweitzer is special. I've skied for 54 years and it has been, since the very beginning, my #1 passion. No matter what conditions I had to deal with financially or otherwise, I always prioritized skiing over almost everything else. I even remember telling my GF at the time (now wife of 41 years) that if she didn't ski, we had no future.

We used to make trips to UT, CO, Tahoe, other places for a week+ skiing in the winter. Ultimately, after Schweitzer did some major upgrades around 1988-1990, we decided that committing to Schweitzer and forgoing the travel trips made financial sense and the skiing was just about as good there as anywhere else we had been. So, we bought in with a condo and 31 years of season's passes and live there about half the winter. It's a very special place and feeds my passion. My fear is that the Ikon pass and the associated hordes of people will ruin what makes Schweitzer special. to a point where it is no longer special This could go a long way toward killing my passion.

For those that say, if you don't like the crowds, quit skiing and it's one less person there, that's not seeing the issue. You might as well cut off my legs as suggest I quit skiing. There literally is nothing in my life that has been as important to me as skiing over the past 54 years. Being at Schweitzer has cemented that passion for most of my life. That other people will discover it that have that same passion, I get that I don't 'own' it and they have their right to be there. But that doesn't negate the sadness it causes if the place is ruined for me as a result of over-selling and overcrowding. Skiing isn't just an activity I participate in, it's a way of life. If that's taken away, I don't know how that plays out and it's a bit frightening.
 

John O

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But that doesn't negate the sadness it causes if the place is ruined for me as a result of over-selling and overcrowding. Skiing isn't just an activity I participate in, it's a way of life. If that's taken away, I don't know how that plays out and it's a bit frightening.

Your feelings about this are totally valid, but this isn't a situation that's unique to Schweitzer or even skiing. No one likes it when things get more crowded, whether it's ski resorts, hiking trails, music festivals, neighborhoods, you name it. People constantly lament how things used to be better before X, Y, or Z got to be so crowded. But the one thing the situations all have in common is we usually have no control over any of it. So, we don't have a lot of choice other than to make the best of it, whatever that happens to mean. You're particularly invested in this specific situation, but it's a universal theme.
 

Marathoner

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Here's a story by a Bozeman Montana local who tries to buy a house in the midst of a local real estate boom. It makes you sympathize and admire the tenacity that it takes when a local is beset by forces from outside his community

cd50ba6b-fc5f-4913-945a-0d64fc9b2a6d-cfaf0d4dabdeb906289239ded25f0ee6d71c74bf-s800-c85.webp
 

Cols714

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Here's a story by a Bozeman Montana local who tries to buy a house in the midst of a local real estate boom. It makes you sympathize and admire the tenacity that it takes when a local is beset by forces from outside his community


Here's a story by a Bozeman Montana local who tries to buy a house in the midst of a local real estate boom. It makes you sympathize and admire the tenacity that it takes when a local is beset by forces from outside his community
Not being able to find reasonably priced housing somewhere means they need to build more housing in the area. It’s simple supply and demand type stuff. But that will make the “locals” angry because then more people will live there.
 

Bad Bob

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Have lived most of the past 40 years in Spokane coeur d'Alene so would consider myself a local. What will the Ikon Pass do to Schweitzer? Who know. Schweitzer my be the most crowded on the weekends and will doubtlessly be the most impacted but this is all very relative.
This season in over 30 days of weekend skiing I stood in a real line on 1 day [the most critical lift was down] our systems are not being used anywhere near their capacities. The exception is Silver Mountain; they have a natural bottleneck due to having an 8 passenger gondola as the only access to the mountain.
Additionally 3 of our areas are on private land or mostly so. If needed expandability is very possible. Overcrowding is not likely in the foreseeable future.
I have spent extended time i SLC and the Colorado Front Range. The snow there IS better but the access here is far superior. I won't trade, thank you very much.
Try it you might like it.
Don't believe any of this. Nothing to see here.
 

4ster

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The thing is, being at Schweitzer is special. I've skied for 54 years and it has been, since the very beginning, my #1 passion. No matter what conditions I had to deal with financially or otherwise, I always prioritized skiing over almost everything else. I even remember telling my GF at the time (now wife of 41 years) that if she didn't ski, we had no future.

We used to make trips to UT, CO, Tahoe, other places for a week+ skiing in the winter. Ultimately, after Schweitzer did some major upgrades around 1988-1990, we decided that committing to Schweitzer and forgoing the travel trips made financial sense and the skiing was just about as good there as anywhere else we had been. So, we bought in with a condo and 31 years of season's passes and live there about half the winter. It's a very special place and feeds my passion. My fear is that the Ikon pass and the associated hordes of people will ruin what makes Schweitzer special. to a point where it is no longer special This could go a long way toward killing my passion.

For those that say, if you don't like the crowds, quit skiing and it's one less person there, that's not seeing the issue. You might as well cut off my legs as suggest I quit skiing. There literally is nothing in my life that has been as important to me as skiing over the past 54 years. Being at Schweitzer has cemented that passion for most of my life. That other people will discover it that have that same passion, I get that I don't 'own' it and they have their right to be there. But that doesn't negate the sadness it causes if the place is ruined for me as a result of over-selling and overcrowding. Skiing isn't just an activity I participate in, it's a way of life. If that's taken away, I don't know how that plays out and it's a bit frightening.
Amen! I feel your pain.
Your concerns are real. I have lived it a couple of times & am grateful to have mostly stayed a step ahead. Interestingly I quite recently thought that Schweitzer or Silver may be the solution for me but now it looks like I may be too late
Paradise lost :(.
 

Slide of Hans

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1619700653174.png
Keep, ancient locals, your storied pomp. Give me your gapers, your tramplers, your lift-line masses yearning to ski thee, the wretched outsiders from the far shores. Send these, the clueless, powder-tost to me, I lift my scanner beside the IKON door!
 

dbostedo

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So I've been thinking about this more... and at which resorts has Ikon really made a big crowding difference? Jackson Hole comes to mind as one I've heard complaints about, but it's limited to 7 days on Ikon, and I'd always heard Jackson was pretty crowded to begin with. Is it an Ikon problem? Crystal also comes to mind... that could be a good example. But others like Copper and WP have always been pretty crowded. Any others I'm not thinking of?

On the other hand (for places I've been), you have Big Sky, which is still relatively uncrowded (and was/is trying to increase visits, Ikon or not), Taos which hasn't been very affected (and also wants to increase visits, Ikon or not), and Aspen, which hasn't seemed to be affected much at all as far as I can tell.

So which group would/will Schweitzer fall into, I wonder?
 

Slide of Hans

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I would say Big Sky is getting big crowds. I was there 19-20 and there were surprisingly large lines at a few key lifts. We shared a lift ride with a condo owner who complained the entire ride up about the IKON pass ruining Big Sky. I thought BigSky was pretty out of the way, remote from easy access, but being one of the largest ski areas, Lone Peak seems to be a magnet. I gave up on Colorado big resorts a while back - obviously too close to a major airport and booming population. Same with LCC/BCC.

I dont think Schweitzer would be affected too bad though from east coast visitors, its a loooonng flight and people gravitate to the big name resorts.
 

KingGrump

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So I've been thinking about this more... and at which resorts has Ikon really made a big crowding difference? Jackson Hole comes to mind as one I've heard complaints about, but it's limited to 7 days on Ikon, and I'd always heard Jackson was pretty crowded to begin with. Is it an Ikon problem? Crystal also comes to mind... that could be a good example. But others like Copper and WP have always been pretty crowded. Any others I'm not thinking of?

On the other hand (for places I've been), you have Big Sky, which is still relatively uncrowded (and was/is trying to increase visits, Ikon or not), Taos which hasn't been very affected (and also wants to increase visits, Ikon or not), and Aspen, which hasn't seemed to be affected much at all as far as I can tell.

So which group would/will Schweitzer fall into, I wonder?

I spent 2-1/2 weeks at JH in 2014 (pre-Ikon). One holiday week and one and a half non-holiday week. The crowding was ridiculous during both weeks. The Bridger gondola has consistent 45 minute wait time. The tram was running 3 to 4 boats. The rest of the chairs off Rendezvous Bowl was mobbed. Both my son and niece was pretty pissed at the crowding. So the severe crowding was pre-Ikon.

I've been back couple times since then. Both times on the Ikon pass. The Bridger line has been reduced tremendously. Often time it was walk on. I credit that to the addition of a new gondola and express quad chair from the base. The additional benefit of the new base lifts is redirection of intermediate skier traffic away from the more advanced terrain off Rendezvous.
I also observed the tram line has gotten longer since Ikon. Probably more sight seeing tourists.

Taos wise, not much have changed. Maybe big powder weekends. They need more visitations.

Which camp will Schweiter fall into? :huh:
 

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