When Brad commented on your article a number of months back, I had a feeling we'd get a podcast, and what a great podcast that was! I definitely look forward to shredding Bogus Basin sometime, I had no idea it was larger than Sun Valley! They also appear to have way more night skiing than any other ski area in Idaho. I wish Silver Mountain would bring back night skiing!
As someone who lives and skis in Idaho, here's what I'm thinking about the ski scene here and why it's never taken off in massive popularity thus far, despite having an abundance of ski areas with great acreage, snowfall, vertical, etc as you've mentioned and wondered about:
Idaho is a fantastic ski state, but look what surrounds it... Lake Tahoe & Mammoth Mountain to the Southwest. Utah directly south. The Canadian Powder Highway directly north. Montana and Wyoming to the east. Side Note: I have seen some online articles counting Grand Targhee WY as an Idaho ski resort because the only road to Targhee actually comes from the Idaho side of the Tetons, and most "Targheezers" are Idahoan because the folks living on the other side of the Tetons in and around Jackson Hole WY are of course skiing... Jackson Hole (and little Snow King). I can't imagine many Utahns coming to ski in Idaho considering what they have in their own state, as well as the fact they also border Colorado, I have yet to meet a Utahn on the Idaho slopes. Same with all the other regions I listed. Most skiing/snowboarding tourists coming to Idaho tend to be from Oregon and Washington, since Idaho is a reasonable drivable distance and skiing in Idaho is remarkably affordable, Sun Valley aside. But Oregonians and especially Washingtonians can also make a similar distance drive and shred in Canada too. Sun Valley does indeed attract people from all over though, I saw a few celebrities on my first vacation there in December 2015 lol
Good additional context. I always get a laugh out of people from the Midwest or East who overlook Idaho because the mountains are slightly smaller than the ones you itemized. They’re still way better than anything we can access day to day!
Oh absolutely! Even for little areas like Pomerelle, I can't tell you how great of a time I had shredding there with their $7 deep fried steaks and fries, deep powder and playful terrain, and I took a fantastic selfie of myself after my first day skiing at Brundage, showing myself absolutely covered in snow from head to toe after skiing the whole day in dumping snow and taking turns causing blower powder to fly over most of me. All (but one) of the Idaho ski areas I've been to, small to large are all extremely fun and places I want to return to. Also, Idahoans are extremely nice and sociable regardless of their age, so silent chairlift rides are very uncommon if you're sharing a chair or gondola cabin with others.
I guess if there's one thing I feel the Idaho ski scene does lack, it's some truly gnarly terrain. Most Idaho mountains were formed from glacial activity, not volcanic activity like the Sierra Nevadas and Cascade Ranges, so Idaho mountains tend to be a little more mellow in shape and not push too hard even when it's a double black diamond. That's not to say you can't challenge yourself skiing in Idaho! But you're not going to get the crazy rock formations, pitch, chutes, mega canyons, etc that you could get at places like Mt. Hood Meadows, Mt. Hood Ski Bowl, 7th Heaven at Stevens Pass, Edelweiss at Alpental, Crystal Mountain, Mott Canyon and Killebrew Canyon at Heavenly, Kirkwood, Palisades Tahoe, etc.
Loved this mainly because I am deeply biased toward Idaho skiing. I typically ski Brundage when I'm up there, but am heading to Bogus to ride mtbs this summer. Excited to check out the terrain.
When Brad commented on your article a number of months back, I had a feeling we'd get a podcast, and what a great podcast that was! I definitely look forward to shredding Bogus Basin sometime, I had no idea it was larger than Sun Valley! They also appear to have way more night skiing than any other ski area in Idaho. I wish Silver Mountain would bring back night skiing!
As someone who lives and skis in Idaho, here's what I'm thinking about the ski scene here and why it's never taken off in massive popularity thus far, despite having an abundance of ski areas with great acreage, snowfall, vertical, etc as you've mentioned and wondered about:
Idaho is a fantastic ski state, but look what surrounds it... Lake Tahoe & Mammoth Mountain to the Southwest. Utah directly south. The Canadian Powder Highway directly north. Montana and Wyoming to the east. Side Note: I have seen some online articles counting Grand Targhee WY as an Idaho ski resort because the only road to Targhee actually comes from the Idaho side of the Tetons, and most "Targheezers" are Idahoan because the folks living on the other side of the Tetons in and around Jackson Hole WY are of course skiing... Jackson Hole (and little Snow King). I can't imagine many Utahns coming to ski in Idaho considering what they have in their own state, as well as the fact they also border Colorado, I have yet to meet a Utahn on the Idaho slopes. Same with all the other regions I listed. Most skiing/snowboarding tourists coming to Idaho tend to be from Oregon and Washington, since Idaho is a reasonable drivable distance and skiing in Idaho is remarkably affordable, Sun Valley aside. But Oregonians and especially Washingtonians can also make a similar distance drive and shred in Canada too. Sun Valley does indeed attract people from all over though, I saw a few celebrities on my first vacation there in December 2015 lol
Good additional context. I always get a laugh out of people from the Midwest or East who overlook Idaho because the mountains are slightly smaller than the ones you itemized. They’re still way better than anything we can access day to day!
Oh absolutely! Even for little areas like Pomerelle, I can't tell you how great of a time I had shredding there with their $7 deep fried steaks and fries, deep powder and playful terrain, and I took a fantastic selfie of myself after my first day skiing at Brundage, showing myself absolutely covered in snow from head to toe after skiing the whole day in dumping snow and taking turns causing blower powder to fly over most of me. All (but one) of the Idaho ski areas I've been to, small to large are all extremely fun and places I want to return to. Also, Idahoans are extremely nice and sociable regardless of their age, so silent chairlift rides are very uncommon if you're sharing a chair or gondola cabin with others.
I guess if there's one thing I feel the Idaho ski scene does lack, it's some truly gnarly terrain. Most Idaho mountains were formed from glacial activity, not volcanic activity like the Sierra Nevadas and Cascade Ranges, so Idaho mountains tend to be a little more mellow in shape and not push too hard even when it's a double black diamond. That's not to say you can't challenge yourself skiing in Idaho! But you're not going to get the crazy rock formations, pitch, chutes, mega canyons, etc that you could get at places like Mt. Hood Meadows, Mt. Hood Ski Bowl, 7th Heaven at Stevens Pass, Edelweiss at Alpental, Crystal Mountain, Mott Canyon and Killebrew Canyon at Heavenly, Kirkwood, Palisades Tahoe, etc.
Great interview!
Loved this mainly because I am deeply biased toward Idaho skiing. I typically ski Brundage when I'm up there, but am heading to Bogus to ride mtbs this summer. Excited to check out the terrain.