see you there…
Schweitzer Mountain Resort is open, and with so many different activities there seems to be a new adventure every day. Biking, frisbee golf, and hiking make the top of my list. With huckleberry season in sight I am thrilled to add huckleberry “eating” to that list as well; but towering above everything else is the serenity that comes from looking out over the glimmering Lake Pend Oreille nestled deep within the majestic Selkirk Mountains.
And what a perfect day to commence Schweitzer’s summer season. Sunshine, a light breeze out of the southwest (??) and blood curdling (joyous, bungee trampoline induced) screams outside our office window. Ahhhh. I do love the quirks that define summer at Schweitzer.
Free lift rides all day tomorrow if you haven’t heard. Consider this your courtesy heads up. If lift rides aren’t your thing, we’ll also have a bbq, beer and live music in the Village. And that’s everyone’s thing. Enjoy a few photos from opening day below…
Pucci's Pub served as the starting point for a 15 (or so) mile cruiser bike pub crawl.
June 26, 2009
The other day I was taking a nice ride on my bike after work, but hopes of having a nice ride vanished with a load crack. As the rain fell the “this sucks” attitude seemed to creep up on me. The harder it rained and the louder the thunder became the more I seemed to enjoyed the ride. I am not sure whether it was the rain, the thunder, or the combination that rattled my existence, but it was truly an epic ride. When I returned to my truck I was soaked and it did suck then, but what is a truly epic moment worth?
Oh how the off season can be trying. I realize my posts have been few and far between these days. The good news is that summer officially kicks off up here in one week (Friday the 26th!) Then, again, there will be life, recreation and fun on the mountain. Between chairlift hot laps over lunch hour, a bungee trampoline located directly adjacent to our office, a handful of stealthy marmots, donkey balls, hiking, biking, digglering, beer on tap at the summit, and a slough of other amusing activities, there will surely be plenty to write about. Please stay tuned as I devise outlandish and only sometimes Schweitzer related stories to share with you. See you on Saturday the 27th for Summer Celebration? Hope so. If you mention this blog post, I might even treat you to a beer. A coupon if you will.
Sincerely,
Tara
Early Season Pass Sale Ends May 31st!
Published May 18, 2009 Uncategorized Leave a CommentTags: deadline, save money, Season Pass
Time is running out for you to SAVE HUGE on your 2009.2010 Schweitzer Season Pass. This year’s early season pass deadline is May 31st, which offers you a season pass at the rate from two seasons ago! June 1st is when prices jump to the regular pass sale rate; which last through October 31st. After that, you’re paying full price. It’s an easy way to save some extra cash, so what are you waiting for?
So, yesterday, Dave, the marketing and sales director, during the mid-may blizzard, announced his plans to enjoy some fun in the snow today – followed by an all too cheery “when life hands you lemons…” spiel – and I’m like – ‘thanks Dave, why don’t you hand me one of those lemons so I can throw it at you’… stupid weather… Of course I didn’t say it like that – he is my boss after all. But I do think this weather is beginning to cloud my judgment.
Nevertheless, he isn’t at all alone in his ridiculously gleeful declaration… Even as I write this, my left-eye peripherals are picking up a blur of brightly colored jackets flying through the village amidst a torrent of off-white snowballs.
Since we closed, dedicated locals have been up here almost every day, sunglasses in hand, snow boots on, enjoying Schweitzer’s leftovers in rain, shine and – dare I say it – snow.
It’s not that I don’t admire these winter enthusiasts. I do. A lot. But there is just something about playing around in the now-browning snow, trying to dodge the beautiful patches of earth – working so hard to surface – that just does not appeal to me. Plus, I can’t help feeling like these people are raining on my parade – rubbing it in that summer still a ways off – squeezing one of Dave’s lemons into an open wound caused by the serrated knife that is this weather.
Yes – I do work at a ski resort and yes – I do love the snow.
But I also work at a resort with awesome summertime offerings as well! Is it wrong to long for the days when I can look out my window and see muddy mountain bike tracks instead of groomers? Enjoy an afternoon hiking break (on dirt, not snow)? Play a mean game of disc golf to kick off my day? (not that I actually can play a ‘mean’ game…) But still.
All I’m saying is, feel free to enjoy what’s left of winter. Play away. But if you see some extremely pale person sitting in a lawn chair surrounded by décor that may or may not be props from Tropical Daze, and rocking out to an iPod of Bob Marley, UB40, and maybe a couple repeat plays of Will Smith’s awesome 90’s hit, Summertime (you like it too…) on some random island of grass/mud somewhere in the sea of snow – Try not to pummel her with your poorly aimed snowball, amped up by adrenaline and some mutant desire for an endless winter…
You might knock over the 8 martinis she made for herself with all those lemons.
It’s not fun unless it’s a little bit miserable…
Published April 30, 2009 by Tara Ketner Leave a CommentHell of a season. Started strong, ended strong and was bound in the middle by a ridiculous amount of sunshine. Give or take a day or two. Weather’s certainly not everything though. Chances are, some of the season’s most memorable moments occurred under some of the most unconventional circumstances. That’s just how “it” works. Someone wise (my twin sibling) once told me amidst an agonizing hike in Alaska’s backcountry, “Tara *brief pause* it’s not fun unless it’s a little bit miserable.” Perfect delivery. Perfect timing. Soaked from head to toe, clearly ill-prepared, undergoing facial impalement from razor-like snow flakes, I paused and cracked a smile in agreement. A refreshing perspective. Focus on the positive, not the negative. So simple. Yet so easily forgotten.
Focus on the inevitable rush of adrenaline you experience after finally finding that second ski post double ejection in an endless field of powder just as you’d surrendered hope and hesitantly agreed to lay eight or nine hundred-something dollars to rest in the fluff. After accepting full defeat, there’s no better feeling than spotting that metal edge piercing the snow’s soft surface. Focus on the exhilarating rush, not the hours (upon hours) spent digging on one of the best powder days of the season. Focus on the beverage spraying laughter you and friends burst into when reminiscing of the time you broke trail alongside Schweitzer side streets through two feet of snow New Years Day, missing one shoe, piecing together where your phone, credit card(s), other shoe and all your friends could be. As you reach up to scratch your head you quickly discover you’re still adorned in a feather-laden HAPPY NEW YEARS! crown, subtly reminding you of the day…and year. The misery accompanying your walk of shame is fleeting. The headache, confusion and frost nipped right foot are temporary (and will fade/thaw) whereas the story and laughter its retelling ensues is everlasting.
Personal 08/09 season highlights include excessive snowfall, excessive sunshine, first chairs, last chairs and every one in between, utilizing the iPod’s ”pause” function and consequently getting to know a good friend a little bit better with each Chair 6 ascent, redefining the term “slopeside” by way of a brown(ish) 1995 Subaru Wagon, early morning hikes up Schweitzer’s untouched (aside from my footprints) corduroy armed with a coffee in one hand and a camera in the other in order to admire and document one of the many stunning 08/09 sunrises, skipping lunch and ignoring the grumbling starvation because the snow was “that good”, and succumbing to the truly simple pleasures life throws your way such as turkey shaped trees, phallic-esque t-bar shadow puppets, chairlift speed dating love connections *cough* and the inevitable case of the perma grins accompanying the season from beginning to end.
Perhaps your season highlights are a bit more traditional. The sense of accomplishment after navigating your first black diamond run or the joy of teaching a child how to ski or snowboard. Either way. Conventional or non, we want to hear them. Your 08/09 season highlights. POST THEM HERE…
“They” are out in full force on the mountain road. Beware as there is one in particular with a sassy attitude towards brown(ish) Subarus. Of course this bird’s discontent had nothing to do with the obnoxious gobble impersonations squawked from my driver side window. I was merely trying to redeem myself and impose a small amount of revenge on the species (or lack there of) that caused me a significant amount of embarrassment earlier this season. No dinosaur sightings yet. Stay tuned.
The time is nearing to bid Schweitzer farewell for the 2008/2009 season. I simply ask what better way to execute such a tearful goodbye than with a “skim” across a pooling of Schweitzer Mountain’s finest (aka coldest) glacial run off dressed in a festive manner closely resembling a dashboard hula doll, decked from head to ski in a wind responsive grass skirt, risque coconut bra with various leis and mardi gras beads (everyone’s favorite theme party accessory regardless of actual theme) trailing behind you and topped off with none other than an umbrella clad, patriotic-esque PBR tall boy in your dominant hand, just throwing your balance off enough to send you careening face over tips into the slushy pond below?! After you’ve dried from the “drippy stage” to merely the “uncomfortably damp stage” you can proceed to fully thaw by shaking off any remaining moisture on the patio as there will be a DJ providing danceable beats all weekend long. Maybe even perform a dance move or two that you’re embarrassed and/or ashamed of in the morning. Why on earth is my 3rd intra-trapezial muscle sore this morning? Don’t kid yourself. It’s certainly not from skiing.
The only difference between North Idaho and the swelter of the tropics? Our flamingos stand on two legs instead of one due to their ”lifeless” lawn ornamental nature. So head on up, let your chest hair breathe, eat some yellow snow, bat blindly at a colorful structure capacitated with sinful sweets, spectate as meticulously handcrafted dummies soar over Schweitzer’s horizon line to their instantaneous demise and prepare, of course, to get lei’d. No reference to a tropical party would be complete without the inherently overused and all too easy play on words involving a hibiscus flower necklace…
