Ski road trip info

Ozgod

Ozgod

Member
Planning ski trip I have 2 weeks of vacation time from work. I’m driving out of the Salt Lake City area. With the luck of winning a Boho pass and getting a ikon I have options. I’ll attached my proposed routes I have a lot of questions if anyone can answer them thank you.

Main question: is Mt Spokane worth an extra 11 hours? Is there camping or cheap accommodations?

2nd question: is Whitefish worth buying a pass for and extra couple days?

3rd question: Can I sleep in the parking lot at Lost Trail?

4th question: Would you rather ski Bridger and pay for a pass or ski Big Sky (I have skied big sky before).

Any other suggestions or places I should check out please let me know.

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The stop by Boise is bogus basin. The stop at Yellowstone is I thought I’d snowshoe it. Stop in Missoula is just break up the drive would be interested in snowshoeing or skiing around there if anyone has suggestions. I also can ski at the great divide ski area but don’t know if it worth it or if I can camp or stay around there.
 
What time of year are you going?

Both routes are excellent. You could stop by Pomerelle for a warm up then proceed to either Bogus or Sun Valley. I cant say much about Mt Spokane but if they have a winter like they did last season, yes it is worth the drive. I would imagine you should be able to camp in parking lots in or around Lost Trail or other resorts but it has been many years since I have been there. If not, there should be spots close by to get off the main roads. If Bridger has good snow, it is worth it. Jackson, Targhee, Snow King are all great resorts along with the Teton Pass if you want to do some snowshoeing/BC skiing. But as every ski season goes, it is all snow dependent. Cheers and hope you have an epic 2 weeks of skiing. Post up photos here when you can.
 
14556848:oldmanski said:
What time of year are you going?

Both routes are excellent. You could stop by Pomerelle for a warm up then proceed to either Bogus or Sun Valley. I cant say much about Mt Spokane but if they have a winter like they did last season, yes it is worth the drive. I would imagine you should be able to camp in parking lots in or around Lost Trail or other resorts but it has been many years since I have been there. If not, there should be spots close by to get off the main roads. If Bridger has good snow, it is worth it. Jackson, Targhee, Snow King are all great resorts along with the Teton Pass if you want to do some snowshoeing/BC skiing. But as every ski season goes, it is all snow dependent. Cheers and hope you have an epic 2 weeks of skiing. Post up photos here when you can.
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Would be Christmas through New Years. Thank you for the suggestions.
 
Big Sky over Bridger as long as the snowpack is decent. Bridger is great but not worth paying for day pass if you can ski big sky on the ikon IMO. Im biased though I own a condo at Big Sky
 
Have ironed out some of the details in the plan. New question would you rather spend and extra day at Sun Valley or Jackson Hole?
 
14557814:Ozgod said:
Have ironed out some of the details in the plan. New question would you rather spend and extra day at Sun Valley or Jackson Hole?
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Grew up in ID and live in MT, heres my two cents.

1. Grand Targhee should be in this conversation

2. If its a bluebird day, whitefish is 100% worth a day pass. The problem is that it gets pretty foggy, but can still be a good time. Ive gotten lucky and have had a top 5 in bounds ski day of my life there.

3. Yes, you can camp in the parking lot at lost trail, but it is $20. Last spring there were even guys with wall tents set up. It also is 100% worth skiing Lost Trail, chair 4 is lappable the whole day. Go on a thursday if you can, its closed M-W, which means Thursday you are guaranteed fresh tracks.

4. I agree with the suggestions to skip out on Bridger since you have Big Sky on Ikon. On a good day, bridger is amazing. If its too good of a day (Looking at you January 27th, 2023), have fun waiting 2 hours in traffic and another 2 hours in the base area lift lines- whereas Big Sky has enough space to spread the crowds out, and the jerry traffic sticks to lower mountain anyway. The other problem with Bridger is unless you know the ridge pretty well, or are brave enough to use fatmap to find ridge lines on your own, or have homies in Bozeman to show you around, you could be missing out on a lot of what makes bridger a special place.

5. Sun Valley vs Jackson Hole? JH all day. SV is great if you want to rip fat turns down long, endless world class groomers, and people can make a great case for their park. But aside from that, JH takes the cake in every category.

6. Bogus Basin in Boise is a cool spot if you lean towards your first route- has the best night skiing out of anywhere on the list, and you can get a full twilight season pass (2pm to 10pm unlimited days) for like $130.

More like 6 cents i guess, but if you have any questions about MT/ID resorts or need a hot shower and couch in Bozeman, PM me.
 
I personally haven't skied Snowbowl in Missoula but have heard plenty of good things if the snow is there. Also I think it's still fairly inexpensive.
 
14557818:hamsauce said:
Grew up in ID and live in MT, heres my two cents.

1. Grand Targhee should be in this conversation

2. If its a bluebird day, whitefish is 100% worth a day pass. The problem is that it gets pretty foggy, but can still be a good time. Ive gotten lucky and have had a top 5 in bounds ski day of my life there.

3. Yes, you can camp in the parking lot at lost trail, but it is $20. Last spring there were even guys with wall tents set up. It also is 100% worth skiing Lost Trail, chair 4 is lappable the whole day. Go on a thursday if you can, its closed M-W, which means Thursday you are guaranteed fresh tracks.

4. I agree with the suggestions to skip out on Bridger since you have Big Sky on Ikon. On a good day, bridger is amazing. If its too good of a day (Looking at you January 27th, 2023), have fun waiting 2 hours in traffic and another 2 hours in the base area lift lines- whereas Big Sky has enough space to spread the crowds out, and the jerry traffic sticks to lower mountain anyway. The other problem with Bridger is unless you know the ridge pretty well, or are brave enough to use fatmap to find ridge lines on your own, or have homies in Bozeman to show you around, you could be missing out on a lot of what makes bridger a special place.

5. Sun Valley vs Jackson Hole? JH all day. SV is great if you want to rip fat turns down long, endless world class groomers, and people can make a great case for their park. But aside from that, JH takes the cake in every category.

6. Bogus Basin in Boise is a cool spot if you lean towards your first route- has the best night skiing out of anywhere on the list, and you can get a full twilight season pass (2pm to 10pm unlimited days) for like $130.

More like 6 cents i guess, but if you have any questions about MT/ID resorts or need a hot shower and couch in Bozeman, PM me.
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Thank you very much for the info. Have skied 5 days a Targhee already only reason why it’s not the list. Lost Trail info very crucial didn’t know about the M-W.
 
Chiming in on Boise area. Bogus is the best in the region (imo) IF the snow is good. Best terrain, worst snow. I believe Brundage is on the boho pass right? Bundrage gives you a better chance of good snow. Fresh tracks can be found there days after a storm but it's flat as Kansas.
 
Mt. Spo is worth it for the park, particularly if you can hit it when there's night skiing imo. The park just gets better and better every year, the crew that works on it is rad. Late winter/spring is the most fun there. Spokane is also abt 4-5 hrs drive from Whitefish, and 3 hours from Missoula and 6 from Bozeman. I wouldn't say Mt Spo is worth it if your'e not skiing park, although Schweitzer would be. Schweitzer is 3 hrs from Whitefish.

Just and idea but maybe get a passport and go from Whitefish to Whitewater in Neslon, BC for some of the gnarliest in bounds lines you can ski. It's further north as well, and typically doesn't get as negativley affected by El Nino warmth.
 
Would be a shame to go that close to Canada and not hit the far superior resorts to anything mentioned here Castle, Fernie, Red, Nelson. You also won't get raped on lift tickets.
 
14564756:PeppermillReno said:
Would be a shame to go that close to Canada and not hit the far superior resorts to anything mentioned here Castle, Fernie, Red, Nelson. You also won't get raped on lift tickets.
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I hadn’t heard of any of these looked them up I’ll definitely check them out sometime in the future thanks.
 
Lots of small unheard of places on that route. If you got time, I'd add a few stops. Just open Google maps in map view and search "ski areas" to have them plotted to see if anything is near your route. Small areas generally have low prices, short lines, and that old ski area vibe to them. Sometimes there's more to it than fresh snow or vertical. Also what about schweitzer? That's ikon pass. Idk I had a good time there skiing solo. Lift lines on the backside were pretty much nonexistent. I would say add targhee for sure but also being there on a president's day weekend and seeing the shit show lines, I can't imagine what a holiday week would be like if there's a snowstorm.

Edit: you can even do half days if you're committed enough. Drive a few hours in the morning. Ski 4hrs. Hit the road by noon to next destination.

**This post was edited on Nov 27th 2023 at 5:59:42am
 
14567771:Ozgod said:
I hadn’t heard of any of these looked them up I’ll definitely check them out sometime in the future thanks.
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My bucket list resort in that area is Turner check that out too. Its steep and has a ton of vert and is deserted.

I had been planning a Xmas inner BC/MT/ID loop to hit it. Pussed out the first covid winter. Last winter I had flights booked north into Edmonton bc they were on Mountain Collective and had more snow but my stupid ass former job suspended me without pay so I pussed out on that too. Really should have just taken that trip.

I do have a huge customer in Calgary to visit for my new gig so might swing for the fences and do it.
 
I'd say stay out of Oregon and Washington completely and push north to Canada. You're missing some really interesting sleepers in there that are worth a day pass because hotels are so much cheaper.

Here's my 2 cents, but it'd be a mission to get them all:

Salt Lake

Pomerelle

Bogus Basin

Schweizer

RED

Panorama

Whitefish

Lost Trail

Maverick

Big Sky

Jackson Hole

Pebble Creek

Salt Lake
 
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