Are there any resorts with good terrain (cliffs, chutes, etc) in northern Idaho (especially CDA area) or western Montana (further west than Bridger and Big Sky)? As far as I know, Schweitzer is the only notable resort near CDA. I haven't skied there but I get the impression they don't have much terrain. I've never skied Montana and I have no idea what skiing exists in MT further west than Bozeman area.
Good terrain in north ID or west MT?
- Thread starter ShadowXVX
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jibbin_ur_mom
New member
I don’t know
vermontana
Member
Whitefish is in that area and has a lot of fun terrain. Not nearly as much exposed gnar as bridger or big sky but there are pockets of chutes and cliff bands all over the mountain. Lookout pass on the MT/ID border also, never been so can't speak to terrain variety and it's a pretty small mountain, but they usually get a lot of snow.
Yung_Gnarley
Active member
grand targee, lost trail, schweitzer
snowmosexual
Active member
All the skiing is pretty trash in MT and ID tbh. It's so rocky you can only ski on the trails they make snow on. Colorado has better snow coverage, quality of snow, and terrain.
Bended_Toenail
Active member
14186352:snowmosexual said:
uhh in Big ski and Bridger maybe but up north in Whitefish we get plenty of snow and definitely do not have the rock problems...
mountaindewgirl
Active member
I had so much fun at Maverick Mountain! The place is like straight out of the 70's. One old double chairlift servicing pretty big runs. They have a hot springs there and Bannock State Park ghost town nearby. Lost Trail is close by too.
cydwhit
Active member
14186303:Yung_Gnarley said:
Grand Targhee is literally in southeast Idaho. Almost as far from Northern Idaho as you can get.
Lost Trail has really fun inbounds terrain, but not a ton of snow. Also really depends on what you define as Western Montana?
For OP, Schweitzer is awesome, Whitefish is awesome, the parts of Canada that are just north of the border in that area are also incredible. Lookout Pass doesn't have a ton of terrain, but the snow is great. Silver Mountain is a pretty playful hill. Mt. Spokane is more of a town hill. Not that many resorts in that part of the world, but all of them are worth a visit in my opinion.
Idahoe
Active member
I grew up skiing Schweitzer and that shit is a hidden gem. No super massive cliffs or insane lines that no one every tries, but once you know the mountain well there are endless lines to choose from. Their park is decent but nothing to crazy, just some 30 ft jumps and basic rails. It's the most fun on a pow day when you are rolling with your friends hitting the same hot lap over and over again. Downside is that we usually don't get decent snow until January/February, and you will always be skiing in fog, no matter what.
Oh yeah but it sucks don't come up here. I hear California is great you should check that out.
Oh yeah but it sucks don't come up here. I hear California is great you should check that out.
_Garagely_
Active member
In regard to "western Montana," I've always interpreted that as meaning west of the continental divide. Two hills in the region that haven't been mentioned yet are Discovery and Snowbowl. Discovery can have fun steepish skiing and trees but it doesn't get a ton of snow. Only skied at Snowbowl twice but it seems like a cool hill, interesting runs and fun tree skiing with a cliff or two but it's a long ride up two lifts to get the full vertical. Aside from Whitefish, all the hills in that part of Montana are pretty small and lowkey but can be fun.
Bended_Toenail
Active member
14186769:Raarl said:
Snowbowl is a ton of fun when there is good snow, there are some super sick side hits and great tight tree skiing. but the slow ride up sucks when it's windy and cold.
14186568:Idahoe said:
I don’t know how long it’s been since you’ve skied schweitzer, but this is definitely not the case, there’s actually quite a few pretty big cliffs on the outback bowl and some great steep and deep terrain off the t-bar. The park has been amped up quite a bit in the last few years as well. I may just be biased but I think it’s a great mountain for all levels of skiers. I still find lines and chutes that push my limits. We’ve been getting more than average powder days in the last few years too. But you’re absolutely right about the fog. Idk that’s just my opinion though.
SuspiciousFish
Active member
14186568:Idahoe said:
I grew up skiing Schweitzer as well. The mountain is pretty bonkers as far as terrain, especially if you know were to look. To be honest, I would say there is better terrain at Schweitzer than anywhere in Colorado and I have skied most of the CO resorts. Only Snowbird has better steeps and sketchy lines.
Here is a summary to to OP:
Frontside:
Pend Oreille- Fun groomers to bomb laps on.
Headwall- some fun glades but gets tracked out fast
K-Macs- probably the steepest groomed run there. Really fun to bomb.
South Bowl Chutes- Really tight chutes with some exposed terrain. You really need to know what your doing here.
Backside:
Misfortune- First good steep run to get you to the backside. If your buddies cant do this, tell them to lap Stella while you do some real skiing.
Lakeside Chutes- Open Bowl Big MTN with cliff bands. Tons of features and some really cool lines.
Roller Ghoster- This is the encore to Lakeside back when you had to lap Snowghost. Not steep but fun as hell.
Pucci Chute- Insane steep trees that will fuck your shit up if you even think about making a mistake. As a skier, you are either part of the Pucci Chute club or not IMO. Those that know, know.
Gladiator- Not a steep but tree glades for days. It gets really tight if you take the lines I do and its fun to get lost in the woods and dodge branches.
T-Bar- Nice glades away from it all when the mountain starts to get skied out. Some cool hidden areas in Siberia as well.
One thing about Schweitzer is its cloudy or foggy almost every day in the winter to dont expect any Blue Bird days. Just get some high vis goggles and eventually you will know the terrain well enough anyway. There have definitely been some, "Fuck, we better find that tree line..." moments with zero visibility out there. The snow is heavier than CO but the base builds really well and it does not track out fast.
Night skiing is really good there too with a lit park and actually some fun tree runs to bomb down under the lights.
Edit- You get some clear days in the spring and the views of the lake are pretty epic:
**This post was edited on Oct 22nd 2020 at 4:43:06pm