Northern Idaho

Rikki_d

Rikki_d

New member
I've been reading about Schweitzer Mtn. and Sliver Mtn...Does anybody have and info from past visits..I see it is easy to reach from Spokane. From what I gather they average about 300" a year and part of the Selkirk range. Now I've heard that this is a possible La Nina year which makes this area favourable..
 
Yes, La Nina is favorable for these places. Weather and snow come from Washington State, on their way to Fernie/Whitefish farther east. I recommend January/February for good snow. Spring conditions can emerge by early March with the low altitude and sunny exposures.

I have not seen Silver. Schweitzer is probably the least of the 4 big Kootenay areas (Red, Fernie, Big Mountain @ Whitefish), but that's stiff competition, and Schweitzer has the same strengths in terms of expansive terrain, powder potential and excellent tree skiing. The latter is fortunate because there is chronic fog from nearby Lake Pend Oreille.

On a week road trip from Spokane you can easily try 2 or 3 of the areas listed.

Silver/Schweitzer hosted the NASJA annual meeting, unfortunately during March of the disastrous 2005 Northwest season. I bailed out 2 weeks before the meeting. Schweitzer actually closed to the public a week before NASJA arrived, but hosted the journalists privately on the upper part of the mountain that still had a snow base. It snowed 14 inches during the meeting so from reports the skiing was limited in quantity but good in quality.

During my 2 days in January 2000 Schweitzer was well covered with very good snow.
 
So would Red Mtn. have the same snow as Schweitzer in a La nina year?...and does Kicking Horse benefit from this also or too far north?..I've read that fog can be a problem at Schweitzer..I am looking late Jan. for my trip..1st week of Feb...with the CDN dollar it makes more sense to enjoy the Northern US Rockies this winter..flights are out of sinc when flying across Canada..I have the benefit of flying out of Detroit..
 
I have been to Schweitzer and it is a big area. After being at Red and Whitewater, as well as Fernie and Kicking Horse, Schweitzer was a whole different experience, with high speed six packs and big weekend crowds. While it is more of an intermediate's paradise, there are some tight trees and steep faces to keep the advanced skiing entertained. The views are spectacular.

Red is my favorite mountain ever for tree skiing. The trees are steep and while i was there the snow was beautifully dry, even though it was a week old. My resort feature can be found here http://www.firsttracksonline.com/index. ... le&sid=124

Whitewater is not big, but gets continuous snow and is a powder paradise with some very nice side country tree skiing.

You can hit Red, Whitewater and Schweitzer from Spokane easily in a week's trip. That's what we did. There are about a dozen cat ski operations in the Nelson, BC area, so if you have $275, try to get on a cat standby...it's cheaper than reserving in advance. Great if you are just one or 2 people.

I think for a Feb vacation, it should be a good bet for powder...especially in a La Nina year. It is one of my favorite places to ski. I need to get a new passport so that I can go back.

Oh, and as far as Fernie and KHMR...Kicking Horse kicks butt if you hit it with good snow. The terrain is super, really awesome steep bowls, some steep glades and really long runs. If you can do 6 runs, you've had a good day there. We hit it good and we were so tired after 4 days of Sunshine Village and Lake Louise we could hardly do it justice. We noted it as a place we must get back to. It is pretty cheap to stay in Golden as well. Getting there can be a challenge and expensive though. It is a pretty long drive from Calgary and Spokane.

If you go to Spokane...visiting Red, Whitewater and Schweitzer (and maybe Silver too) would be a fantastic week. Save Fernie and KHMR for another trip would be the way to go, unless you got all winter to bum around BC.
 
Red, Schweitzer, Fernie and Whitefish (Big Mountain) have the same strong PNW influence: preference for La Nina, optimal January/February timeframe before it gets warm with low elevation and/or sunny exposure. Fernie has a bit more snow than the others and Whitefish has a bit more elevation to reduce rain incidence.

Whitewater and the nearby snowcat areas are the southern border of a much snowier climate (400+ inches) once you get above 5,000 feet. But Whitewater's lift service is small; its major appeal is to AT and tele skiers due to limitless backcountry and road shuttle options, for which you need avy gear and local guidance.

Kicking Horse's snow conditions are more like Banff/Lake Louise than the places described above. Higher altitude, considerably colder continental climate zone, not nearly as much snowfall, though the upper half of KH averages 250. March is on average the optimal month to maximize coverage, and the snow preserves better than the other places. Banff and presumably KH are also favored by La Nina.

Fernie is 3.5 hours from Calgary and 4 hours from Kicking Horse or Lake Louise and does fit geographically best on a "Calgary Loop" trip. But climate-wise it fits better with Red/Schweitzer. Spokane based drive times in good weather:
Spokane-Sandpoint (Schweitzer) 2 hours
Sandpoint - Fernie 3 hours
Spokane-Red 3 hours
Red-Fernie 5 hours
Fernie-Whitefish 2+ hours
Spokane-Whitefish 4+ hours, with Silver 1.5 hours out of Spokane. Lookout is also on this route.

So there are lots of options out of Spokane depending on how much time you have and how much driving you're willing to do.

I would not let the Canadian $ be a deterrent to Red/Fernie/Whitewater as these places are off the beaten track and very reasonably priced. Whistler is probably the only western Canadian ski resort destination that is now getting expensive by U.S. resort standards. The snowcat and heliskiing is another story, and by anecdote the American proportion of their customers has been declining in recent years.
 
Nearly every week, Schweitzer Mountain has Deer Valley-esque real estate ads in the Wall Street Journal, imploring bankers and lawyers to come out and "make it your own."
:-k

So much for the Wild West.
 
Rossland (Red) and Nelson (Whitewater) have hostels, so if you are going on the cheap, that's where you'll wanna stay. Slopeside is reasonable...cheaper than US resorts. Golden (KHMR) is also inexpensive if you stay at a highway motel. Banff has hostels but they are icky, dirty and full of kids. Fernie has a decent hostel with private rooms.

Schweitzer has resonably priced chain motels at the base of the access road. It was like $60 per night (but that was a while ago)
 
I see that flights are reasonable to Jackson Hole out of Detroit..Grand Targhee/Jackson Hole combo might work also..will decide when I attend the Toronto Ski/Snowboard Show in 2 weeks..hoping to find some deals
Does a La Nina winter effect Wyoming much?..or is it more along the PNW?
 
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