Sandpoint, ID

Top of the Quad

Every Sunday,minus a few holidays, Schweitzer Mountain Resort offers an AWESOME deal called “Sunday Solutions”. The solution is $20 half day lift tickets. My friends and I were ready to go skiing and take advantage of the Sunday Solution. We planned earlier in the week to go hoping for good weather as rain had been plaguing us for the past few days. By the time Sunday had come around I was ready to go regardless of what the weather was like. As I crossed the Long Bridge to pick up my friends I noticed the mountain was socked in by fog. As a child I was a fair weather skier much to my parents dismay, but as an adult I realize that sunny days during the winter are few, so you head up the mountain whether it be a nice sunny day or a windy foggy day, and that is just what we did.

There are buses that shuttle you to the top of the mountain for $2 each way from the free bottom parking lot, however we chose to drive up and park in one of their lots, which is also free to park. We pulled into the parking lot around 11 am and gathered our belongings. We could have skied down the bunny run and rode the chairlift up for a one time free lift to the village but opted for the free shuttle ride up to the village instead. Once we arrived at the village we quickly ate our lunches and awaited the 12:30pm time, when the Sunday Solution tickets went on sale. I would recommend getting in line before 12:30 as you will be waiting a long time to get your ticket since there are many people who are also looking to take advantage of the Sunday Solution. We got in line about 15 minutes early and although it was frustrating that they would not sell the tickets until exactly 12:30 we did get our tickets quickly and were ready to go by 1pm.

Skiing on the Backside - a brief break in the fog

My friends and I hit the slopes taking a few runs down what use to be chair one, now replaced with a quad chair, to get our “groove” back, since this day was our first day this year for two out of the three in our group. I was glad with the shorter day as I could tell how out of shape I was. I spent a lot of time complaining about pretty much everything: my boots, the fog, the wind, the crazy skiers skiing too close to me, pretty much everything was annoying me. By the end of the day I was even annoyed with myself!

Regardless of a few minor irritations I had a good day, and my friends had a great time. If you would like to partake in the Sunday Solutions they are offered on Sundays, with a few holiday restrictions. Tickets go one sale at 12:30pm and are $20 for all ages and valid until the mountain closes at 4pm. This is a great deal as regular half day tickets are $54 and full day tickets are $59. Rentals, if need, are also available for a discounted rate for the half day. Before heading up the mountain call the snow phone at 208-263-9555, for a daily update on snow and weather conditions.

 To get to Schweitzer take US hwy 95 to Schweitzer Cut-Off Road, turning left at the light (Wal-Mart will be on your right). Turn right at the T intersection on N. Boyer and go about a ½ mile where you will see the Schweitzer sign, turn left and follow the road about nine miles where you will reach the parking lot. Additional parking is available in the lower lots which are located on the right where the road forks to take you to the main parking lot.