From McCall we had to drive the 2+ hours into Boise then up the tortuous 17 mile access road to Bogus Basin. I got there just before 11AM with the group about 20 minutes later. The truck near me had a local editorial comment:
With daylight time the Boise area has perhaps the most offset hours in the lower 48, with dawn now pushing 8AM and sunset pushing 8PM. So on a warm sunny spring day the 11AM start was about right. Bogus Basin is run as a local non-profit and is touted as the "biggest local ski area in the country," a credible claim with 2,600 acres. Bogus was one of the pioneers of cut rate season passes, and if you buy in February for the next season (and remainder of the current one for first-timers) the price is the same $199 as when initiated over a decade ago. So no surprise they do over 300K skier visits per season. Due to proximity to Boise the night skiing is very extensive, including some of the backside terrain as well as Deer Point and Morning Star.
Bogus Basin's trail map has multiple views to cover the varied sectors. From the main base at 6,100 the Deer Point Express serves a north facing sector of intermediate runs including race courses and a terrain park. Opposite is the short Morning Star lift ascending a south facing slope of beginner runs to Pioneer Lodge. Near the Pioneer Lodge is one of those desert views across to mountains in another state (Oregon in this case) that we've also seen in reports from New Mexico.
Above Pioneer Lodge is 7,590 foot Shafer Butte and behind that are 2 long lifts, north-facing Superior and east facing Pine Creek Express. By noon the Pine Creek groomers were softening into excellent corn:
The lower section of the 1,800 vertical Pine Creek Express goes over a sketchy gully, and with so many other runs to ski in one day I did not need to venture there.
The Superior chair (estimate 1,500 vertical) has several nice fall line groomers:
The north facing off-trail on Superior did not soften today but with the scattered trees would be great in midwinter or on a hotter spring day.
The broad face dropping from Shafer Butte to the base area faces SW, viewed here in background from Deer Point:
I took 2 runs there at 3 and 4PM when they were suitably soft. Here are the views from the top and bottom of Last Chance:
Bogus Basin has no water for snowmaking. They have been open since the early 1940's and based upon April 1 base depth measurements since then crudely estimate average snowfall of 247 inches. The best storms tend to be the same southern ones that favor Sun Valley, so they are having an average year vs. the far below average year in most of the northern Rockies.
With daylight time the Boise area has perhaps the most offset hours in the lower 48, with dawn now pushing 8AM and sunset pushing 8PM. So on a warm sunny spring day the 11AM start was about right. Bogus Basin is run as a local non-profit and is touted as the "biggest local ski area in the country," a credible claim with 2,600 acres. Bogus was one of the pioneers of cut rate season passes, and if you buy in February for the next season (and remainder of the current one for first-timers) the price is the same $199 as when initiated over a decade ago. So no surprise they do over 300K skier visits per season. Due to proximity to Boise the night skiing is very extensive, including some of the backside terrain as well as Deer Point and Morning Star.
Bogus Basin's trail map has multiple views to cover the varied sectors. From the main base at 6,100 the Deer Point Express serves a north facing sector of intermediate runs including race courses and a terrain park. Opposite is the short Morning Star lift ascending a south facing slope of beginner runs to Pioneer Lodge. Near the Pioneer Lodge is one of those desert views across to mountains in another state (Oregon in this case) that we've also seen in reports from New Mexico.
Above Pioneer Lodge is 7,590 foot Shafer Butte and behind that are 2 long lifts, north-facing Superior and east facing Pine Creek Express. By noon the Pine Creek groomers were softening into excellent corn:
The lower section of the 1,800 vertical Pine Creek Express goes over a sketchy gully, and with so many other runs to ski in one day I did not need to venture there.
The Superior chair (estimate 1,500 vertical) has several nice fall line groomers:
The north facing off-trail on Superior did not soften today but with the scattered trees would be great in midwinter or on a hotter spring day.
The broad face dropping from Shafer Butte to the base area faces SW, viewed here in background from Deer Point:
I took 2 runs there at 3 and 4PM when they were suitably soft. Here are the views from the top and bottom of Last Chance:
Bogus Basin has no water for snowmaking. They have been open since the early 1940's and based upon April 1 base depth measurements since then crudely estimate average snowfall of 247 inches. The best storms tend to be the same southern ones that favor Sun Valley, so they are having an average year vs. the far below average year in most of the northern Rockies.
