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Im originally from spokane, but i moved away 3 years ago and im wondering where to get my season pass. Apparently some things have drastically changed since i previously lived there. Is lookout's new park really that sick, and how often is their airbag up? When i left Mt.Spokane was saying they would re-up their park, did that happen? How good is 49 with their new chair?
thanks in advance, +k for good advice/info, and i KNOW this should be in regionals, but i actually want a few replies.
I know that Mt. Spo has done some work to their park in the past few seasons and made it accessible to all rider levels. More features, but nothing that big in the jump sector. As far as 49 and lookout go, I can't say. May as well just drive to Schweitzer if the park is that important to you.
I guess i kind of made it sound like i only cared about park, but really im only asking about that since its the only thing that could have really changed since ive been there, with the exception of 49's and mt.spokane's new lifts. I grew up skiing schweitzer, but its a lot of gas and the pass is the most expensive, so im trying to see if the other mountains have become more worth it.
It's about 2.5 hours, depending on where you are leaving from in the city. I'd say about 2.5 hours from downtown if the traffic isn't too bad.
Longer drive than Schweitzer, but better terrain, park isn't quite as good. It's a bit of a trek for a day/weekend of skiing but I do know that quite a few people do it. Maybe look into a car pooling program if you are considering Red.
really thought about it, but passes there are $900 even for preseason, and i just found out shcweitzer's young adult goes from 18-25 and is only $299, but ill try to go up to red a time or two next season.
Mt spo put in a lot better jump line as well as 3 or 4 new rails this year, park has definitely improved from earlier years. 49's new chair is honestly not impressive at all especially since they bumped their ticket prices to like 49$ full day, compared to mt spo's 40$ full day+night skiing Wednesdays-saturdays the whole season..If you want a pro style bigger park head to schweitzy its more expensive but definitely worth it
reply with any more questions I frequent Mt spokane and Schweitzer
not like i really have a choice, but i am doing a 2 week powder highway road trip over winter break. Red, whitewater, fernie, kicking horse, and revelstoke and maybe big white. should be great
Bump for a new question: Are there any open big mountain comps nearby (within a 5 hour drive)? I think there is one at red, but i haven't been able to find any info on any others
red used to host the canadian open freeski comp but they didnt this season (they may have moved it to revvy, not sure on that). they still had the juniors (under 18 i think?) but no senior div. kicking horse has wrangle the chutes and i think another free ski comp.
There were no open big mountain competition in BC for adults this winter. Wrangle isn't exactly open (although it's not hard to get an invite if you don't suck).
Lake Louise and Castle had comps this year though.
yea i just bought my pass for $299, which is an amazing deal for 2,900 acres of varied terrain. But this will be my first time skiing there with a beacon, skins, and some avy knowledge. Do you know where there is info on schweitzer or southern selkirk sidecountry and backcountry?
Hey man! I know this is an old thread but I'm looking at going to Gonzaga for college and was wondering how the terrain at Mt. Spokane is? Growing up in Utah I've skied Alta most my life and could honestly care less about park so that's not really a factor. Its obviously the closest to Spokane, which I like, considering I've never had to drive over an hour to get to a ski resort here in Utah. It seems like Schweitzer is the better resort for park, but like I said, I'm not a huge park skier. Alta is basically just a huge natural park, with jumps built all over by the kids that shred there--I'm sure you've seen the Slvsh games that take place there. Anyways, I'm looking for a place with a similar vibe so I was just curious what your thoughts are about the place and how the terrain is. Thanks!
Byron_tha_gr8Im originally from spokane, but i moved away 3 years ago and im wondering where to get my season pass. Apparently some things have drastically changed since i previously lived there. Is lookout's new park really that sick, and how often is their airbag up? When i left Mt.Spokane was saying they would re-up their park, did that happen? How good is 49 with their new chair?
thanks in advance, +k for good advice/info, and i KNOW this should be in regionals, but i actually want a few replies.
All of those hills always have sucked and always will suck.
mello_jelloHey man! I know this is an old thread but I'm looking at going to Gonzaga for college and was wondering how the terrain at Mt. Spokane is? Growing up in Utah I've skied Alta most my life and could honestly care less about park so that's not really a factor. Its obviously the closest to Spokane, which I like, considering I've never had to drive over an hour to get to a ski resort here in Utah. It seems like Schweitzer is the better resort for park, but like I said, I'm not a huge park skier. Alta is basically just a huge natural park, with jumps built all over by the kids that shred there--I'm sure you've seen the Slvsh games that take place there. Anyways, I'm looking for a place with a similar vibe so I was just curious what your thoughts are about the place and how the terrain is. Thanks!
Schweitzer is definitely your best bet for terrain in the area.
mello_jelloHey man! I know this is an old thread but I'm looking at going to Gonzaga for college and was wondering how the terrain at Mt. Spokane is? Growing up in Utah I've skied Alta most my life and could honestly care less about park so that's not really a factor. Its obviously the closest to Spokane, which I like, considering I've never had to drive over an hour to get to a ski resort here in Utah. It seems like Schweitzer is the better resort for park, but like I said, I'm not a huge park skier. Alta is basically just a huge natural park, with jumps built all over by the kids that shred there--I'm sure you've seen the Slvsh games that take place there. Anyways, I'm looking for a place with a similar vibe so I was just curious what your thoughts are about the place and how the terrain is. Thanks!
Mt.Spokane
pros - Closest to spokane, easy to find a ride buddy, especially from GU, gets a decent amount of snow, a very good park that has gotten much better over the years and a commitment to it.
cons - Ski's "smaller" than the trail map might have you imagine, no real steeps/cliffs/anything gnarly, gets boring fast if you have a season pass.
49
pros- cheap pass for the region (at least it was when i bought one year ago), decently sized, fun range of terrain, more challenging than mt spokane, easily lapable park.
cons- bit far from spokane for what you get, lowest base means most rain and wettest snow in the area, tends to miss some of the big storms that hit other nearby areas, park can be pretty shit. Still nothing extreme.
Silver
pros - tends to get and keep a deep base, has some legitimate tough terrain if you know where to look, easy drive on 1-90 with no mountain road, actual sidecountry and nearby backcountry. Typically has the longest season.
cons- they put a lot of $ into their waterpark and village while ignoring their actual ski area, and it shows on the mountain. All of the infrastructure, from the gondola cars, slow lifts, sometimes poorly crafted park, leaky lodge roofs, etc. Mid sized ski area, but not big enough to keep from getting old after an entire season.
Lookout
pros - Gets by far the most snow in the area, usually 75-120 inches more than anywhere else. Usually opens first, and rains the least. Has grown to a decent size. Feels mom and pop, but has enough fun terrain to spend a few days. Lots of cheap lift ticket deals, and a decent park for such a small area.
cons - Drive feels long if your doing it regularly, smalllll ski area, nothing extreme
Schweitzer
pros - Big ski area, only one in the Spokane region that feels like a real resort. Has fast lifts and gets good snowfall. Nice, big, well maintained park, and a lot of natural hits and popular spots jumps get built. Lots of mildly tough terrain, and a few real challenges. Sandpoint is a fun(ish) town to get drunk in after a long day. Popular with young people, if you stay in the village, you can end up at some fun parties and meet some rather promiscuous people. This is not true at any of the other areas. Very uncrowded for how good it is. It's the closest thing you'll find to Utah.
Cons- gets less snow than Silver or Lookout, most expensive, longest drive, sometimes gets rained out when other areas get snow.
Byron_tha_gr8Mt.Spokane
pros - Closest to spokane, easy to find a ride buddy, especially from GU, gets a decent amount of snow, a very good park that has gotten much better over the years and a commitment to it.
cons - Ski's "smaller" than the trail map might have you imagine, no real steeps/cliffs/anything gnarly, gets boring fast if you have a season pass.
49
pros- cheap pass for the region (at least it was when i bought one year ago), decently sized, fun range of terrain, more challenging than mt spokane, easily lapable park.
cons- bit far from spokane for what you get, lowest base means most rain and wettest snow in the area, tends to miss some of the big storms that hit other nearby areas, park can be pretty shit. Still nothing extreme.
Silver
pros - tends to get and keep a deep base, has some legitimate tough terrain if you know where to look, easy drive on 1-90 with no mountain road, actual sidecountry and nearby backcountry. Typically has the longest season.
cons- they put a lot of $ into their waterpark and village while ignoring their actual ski area, and it shows on the mountain. All of the infrastructure, from the gondola cars, slow lifts, sometimes poorly crafted park, leaky lodge roofs, etc. Mid sized ski area, but not big enough to keep from getting old after an entire season.
Lookout
pros - Gets by far the most snow in the area, usually 75-120 inches more than anywhere else. Usually opens first, and rains the least. Has grown to a decent size. Feels mom and pop, but has enough fun terrain to spend a few days. Lots of cheap lift ticket deals, and a decent park for such a small area.
cons - Drive feels long if your doing it regularly, smalllll ski area, nothing extreme
Schweitzer
pros - Big ski area, only one in the Spokane region that feels like a real resort. Has fast lifts and gets good snowfall. Nice, big, well maintained park, and a lot of natural hits and popular spots jumps get built. Lots of mildly tough terrain, and a few real challenges. Sandpoint is a fun(ish) town to get drunk in after a long day. Popular with young people, if you stay in the village, you can end up at some fun parties and meet some rather promiscuous people. This is not true at any of the other areas. Very uncrowded for how good it is. It's the closest thing you'll find to Utah.
Cons- gets less snow than Silver or Lookout, most expensive, longest drive, sometimes gets rained out when other areas get snow.
Is Lookout's park still decent? Last I saw they'd fired the crew and gotten rid of everything, but that was probably a year or two ago.
This thread is making me all kinds of nostalgic for Schweitzer and Lookout.
I'd say if you like GU, you will get to do a good amount of fun skiing. It won't be Utah or Montana. Schweitzer will keep you entertained the longest, and is definitely worth the pass, which is cheap compared to Utah or Colorado. All of the area's are cheap compared to the nation, and they all get a weird snow pattern of frequent 4-8 inch storms, but rarely get over a foot.
But if you really want to ski great terrain a lot, or need to ski deep pow more than 5-10 days a year, I'd look somewhere else.
Byron_tha_gr8Mt.Spokane
pros - Closest to spokane, easy to find a ride buddy, especially from GU, gets a decent amount of snow, a very good park that has gotten much better over the years and a commitment to it.
cons - Ski's "smaller" than the trail map might have you imagine, no real steeps/cliffs/anything gnarly, gets boring fast if you have a season pass.
49
pros- cheap pass for the region (at least it was when i bought one year ago), decently sized, fun range of terrain, more challenging than mt spokane, easily lapable park.
cons- bit far from spokane for what you get, lowest base means most rain and wettest snow in the area, tends to miss some of the big storms that hit other nearby areas, park can be pretty shit. Still nothing extreme.
Silver
pros - tends to get and keep a deep base, has some legitimate tough terrain if you know where to look, easy drive on 1-90 with no mountain road, actual sidecountry and nearby backcountry. Typically has the longest season.
cons- they put a lot of $ into their waterpark and village while ignoring their actual ski area, and it shows on the mountain. All of the infrastructure, from the gondola cars, slow lifts, sometimes poorly crafted park, leaky lodge roofs, etc. Mid sized ski area, but not big enough to keep from getting old after an entire season.
Lookout
pros - Gets by far the most snow in the area, usually 75-120 inches more than anywhere else. Usually opens first, and rains the least. Has grown to a decent size. Feels mom and pop, but has enough fun terrain to spend a few days. Lots of cheap lift ticket deals, and a decent park for such a small area.
cons - Drive feels long if your doing it regularly, smalllll ski area, nothing extreme
Schweitzer
pros - Big ski area, only one in the Spokane region that feels like a real resort. Has fast lifts and gets good snowfall. Nice, big, well maintained park, and a lot of natural hits and popular spots jumps get built. Lots of mildly tough terrain, and a few real challenges. Sandpoint is a fun(ish) town to get drunk in after a long day. Popular with young people, if you stay in the village, you can end up at some fun parties and meet some rather promiscuous people. This is not true at any of the other areas. Very uncrowded for how good it is. It's the closest thing you'll find to Utah.
Cons- gets less snow than Silver or Lookout, most expensive, longest drive, sometimes gets rained out when other areas get snow.
hey thanks man, that was super helpful, k+ to you good sir
