Idaho ski resorts invest in capital improvements 

While Thanksgiving means the beginning of the holiday shopping season for retailers, for Idaho ski resorts, it means something else: opening day. And many report that they’ve spent the off-season investing in infrastructure to improve skiers’ experiences.

Unlike many other industries, ski resorts actually saw some benefit from COVID-19. “If COVID did anything, it moved people outside,” said Brad Wilson, general manager at Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area and president of the Idaho Ski Areas Association. “The outdoor industry, summer and winter, has benefited, and we don’t see a letup. Many of us are experiencing unprecedented demand for pre-season products like passes, ski school and lease packages, all at record or near-record levels.” 

In fact, some resorts have plans in place to limit attendance. “This season, we will once again use forecasting tools to limit capacity on any given day (holidays and Saturdays in particular),” said April Whitney, communication director for Brundage Mountain Resort, in an email message. “We have already cut off season pass sales (aside from mid-week season passes) to be able to manage capacity while still allowing season pass holders unlimited visitation without any reservations or blackouts. We will continue to encourage people to purchase daily lift tickets online in advance, and we are prepared to cut off those sales to prevent crowding.” 

Here are some investments that Idaho ski resorts have been making. 

Snowmaking 

After several bad weather years, an increasing number of Idaho ski resorts are investing in snowmaking equipment. Bogus Basin, which didn’t open until mid-January in 2012 due to a lack of snow, began investing in snowmaking in recent years, Wilson said. “We built a snowmaking system to buffer against late starts and open consistently,” he said. “We’re creating our own opportunities with that. It’s a whole different place from five years ago.” 

Purchasing snowmaking equipment is one of the hedges that Idaho ski resorts have put into place to help deal with global warming. “Global warming is clearly the biggest long-term threat to the sports industry, and Idaho is not immune,” Wilson said. “You’ll see many ski areas continue to invest or reinvest in snowmaking, because that’s the one area we can have some control over. The threat of late-season starts are there and many of us are making sure we can buffer that with snowmaking.” 

“It’s always something we’re concerned about,” said Dig Chrismer, marketing manager for Schweitzer Mountain Resort. Schweitzer has added snowmaking capabilities to some of its most popular areas. “It’s very limited in scope, but it helps us get it open and running in November,” she said.  

This year, Bogus added $1.5 million more in snowmaking equipment. “We’re doubling our snowmaking capacity and doubling our snow guns,” Wilson said. “We now have 50 portable fan guns we can move around, up from 25 last year.” 

Tamarack Resort also reported enhancing its snowmaking capabilities on lower elevation terrain. 

Snow grooming 

It was a big year for snow grooming. Bogus Basin invested almost $1 million in three PistenBully snowcats. “We purchased a Nordic cat so we can groom the Nordic trails,” he said. “We purchased our second winch cat, a snowcat with a built-in winch cable in it that allows us to groom steeper terrain. We had one, but with the additional one, we can groom twice as much of our steeper terrain nightly.” The third cat is a “park cat” for grooming terrain parks and free-grooming trails, he added. 

All three are Tier-4 diesel, meaning they’re cleaner burning and easier on the environment than older models, Wilson said. 

“Brundage has purchased two snowcats, a PistenBully400 that will be used for grooming and a PistenBully100 with a cab that can be used for grooming and also to carry passengers for SnowCat Skiing and Mountain tours,” Whitney said. 

Soldier Mountain — hit by a devastating wildfire in August 2020 — said it had upgraded the snowcat for its backcountry operations and purchased a PistenBulley groomer for the frontside. 

Silver Mountain Resort spent more than $1 million on machinery, including two snowcat groomers from PistenBully, according to Gus Colburn, marketing coordinator, in an email message. 

Tamarack Resort added two new Prinoth snow groomers to its fleet.  

New trails

Bogus Basin will also have four or five new named trails this year, Wilson said, as will a number of other resorts. “We cleaned up after the logging that’s taken place on the Healthy Forest Initiative,” which removed dead and dying trees in an attempt to stem the spread of contagions such as dwarf mistletoe and the bark beetle. “It’s opened up quite a bit of new terrain for us.” 

Sun Valley Resort — ranked top ski resort in North America by SKI magazine — has also added 380 acres of expert terrain through the Healthy Forest Initiative, according to a statement. The resort also added a high-speed quad chairlift. 

Soldier Mountain said it had also conducted brush clearing and tree trimming to expand skiable terrain. 

Several Idaho ski resorts, especially ones catering to beginners, have made enhancements to protect tender new skiers from the elements. For example, Silver Mountain installed a cover on its surface lift that services the beginners area and the tubing hill, Colburn said. “This cover will protect first-timers from the cold wind and snow, which will improve their first experience and hopefully encourage them to stick with it,” he said. 

Building enhancements 

“We’re wrapping up construction on our new hotel in the village, Humbird, named after the Humbird logging mill that was here in the Sandpoint area,” Chrismer said. “We’re also adding a yurt on the mountain for food,” as well as fiber optic cabling for high-speed broadband internet.  

Tamarack Resort also said it had upgraded its fiber optic broadband internet. 

In addition to its major capital investments in snowmaking and grooming equipment, Bogus Basin has also replaced all the furniture in Simplot and Pioneer lodges, Wilson said. Both Bogus and Tamarack also added parking spaces. 

Despite the investments, Idaho ski resorts face some of the same challenges as other Idaho businesses. 

Staffing 

Like many other Idaho industries, ski areas face labor shortages, Wilson said. “It’s a challenge for all of us,” he said. However, Idaho ski resorts have additional carrots to dangle at potential employees such as ski passes, transportation and food and beverage discounts, he said. “We’re not competing with McDonald’s if you’re a ski enthusiast,” he said.  

“Our #1 challenge heading into the winter season is finding staff to fill all positions,” Whitney agreed. “We have full- and part-time positions available that fit all skill sets and schedules. We are taking extra care to analyze and enhance our employee compensation and benefits package to make sure we are at the higher end of the competitive scale.” The resort has also hired a new executive chef, terrain park manager and accountant, among others, she added. 

Another staffing issue is a lack of housing. “Resort towns are seeing people moving in and shrinking rental for employees,” Chrismer said. In fact, Schweitzer purchased a former assisted living facility that it is renovating to provide shared rooms for up to 18 staff members, she said. “It’s in town, so it keeps them close to shops and services, and there’ll be a shuttle that runs them up to work,” she said. The resort is still nailing down the final details, she said.  

Silver Mountain is also investing in housing for its employees. “Even though we have a large inventory of employee housing, we have even more employees who are looking for a place to stay,” said Colburn. “We are mitigating this by purchasing and renovating historic buildings in our town. This summer, we purchased an old hostel, known as the McKinley Inn, and renovated it to add 10 more rooms for our employees. We have another historic building called The Patrick House, an old bed and breakfast, that will be complete in time for next winter.” 

Supply chain 

Like other Idaho businesses, ski resorts have also been dealing with supply chain issues, and are taking steps to mitigate them. “We are seeing late deliveries on products and increased costs, which is making our pre-season startup a real challenge,” Wilson said.  

For example, Bogus Basin is streamlining its menus in the base lodges. “It’s difficult to get some of the variety we’ve had in the past,” Wilson said. “We’re down to items we know we can have week in and week out,” and offering other items as specials when they can get them, he said.  

Schweitzer has also run into supply chain issues, such as delays in getting passes because it couldn’t get plastic card stock, and in getting new chairs, Chrismer said.  

“We are making an effort to pre-order critical supplies so we don’t face any significant shortages mid-season,” Whitney agreed. 

Now, the biggest supply all Idaho ski resorts need is in the hands of Mother Nature. 

“We have all of our guns laid out in the starting blocks,” Wilson said. “We’re waiting to see some consistently cold nighttime temperatures. We haven’t seen the cold we really need to get serious. We’re all primed, the snowmaking pond is full. We’re just waiting.”