TR - Powder Highway, April 1 – April 8, 2018.
(I was required to include a prefix. However, since this trip covers at least two areas: Northern Rockies/Alberta as well as Pacific NW/AK/BC - perhaps a moderator could put this in both.)
A long belated TR, but hopefully the content will make it worth the wait. With the first week of April off for my spring break, enough points on Southwest for a free round-trip flight to Spokane from Reno, and “free” skiing using a Mountain Collective Pass as well as Powder Alliance resorts on my Sierra at Tahoe Pass, I was ready to go solo and explore.
Saturday, March 31, 2018 – Getting There
Incoming flight to Reno is over an hour and a half late. This would mean that connecting flights would be missed, so I get rescheduled, Instead of flying through Las Vegas and arriving in Spokane at 2:30 PM, I get sent on a 2:00 flight through Denver for a four hour layover which has me arriving in Spokane close to 11:00 PM. (I get a whopping $100 voucher for the inconvenience.) After picking up my rental car, a Jeep Patriot, I arrive at my hotel, Sandpoint Days Inn, at close to 1:00 AM.
Sunday, April 1, 2018 – Schweitzer, ID
After sleeping in I arrive at Schweitzer, which received a few inches of fresh snow, and start skiing at 10:15 AM.
Looking up from the base of Schweitzer.
Toomey’s Trail
I parked next to Shawn, who helped direct me to the lodge to get my ticket using my Sierra at Tahoe (Powder Alliance) pass. I see him at the base of a chairlift a little later. He is a local and shows me around the mountain. There are plenty of powder stashes around the mountain that involve going through tight trees to get to some steep untracked stashes that hold deeper and fluffier snow than the few inches of dust on crust on other parts of the mountain. There are also some steep bowls that hold softer snow too. I finish skiing at 1:30 PM.
I drive to Ymir, BC and stay at the Ymir Hotel, a funky old hotel that played jazz songs and had artwork everywhere. I met Hans the 80-year-old owner. I am motivated to get to sleep early with more snow in the forecast.
(I was required to include a prefix. However, since this trip covers at least two areas: Northern Rockies/Alberta as well as Pacific NW/AK/BC - perhaps a moderator could put this in both.)
A long belated TR, but hopefully the content will make it worth the wait. With the first week of April off for my spring break, enough points on Southwest for a free round-trip flight to Spokane from Reno, and “free” skiing using a Mountain Collective Pass as well as Powder Alliance resorts on my Sierra at Tahoe Pass, I was ready to go solo and explore.
Saturday, March 31, 2018 – Getting There
Incoming flight to Reno is over an hour and a half late. This would mean that connecting flights would be missed, so I get rescheduled, Instead of flying through Las Vegas and arriving in Spokane at 2:30 PM, I get sent on a 2:00 flight through Denver for a four hour layover which has me arriving in Spokane close to 11:00 PM. (I get a whopping $100 voucher for the inconvenience.) After picking up my rental car, a Jeep Patriot, I arrive at my hotel, Sandpoint Days Inn, at close to 1:00 AM.
Sunday, April 1, 2018 – Schweitzer, ID
After sleeping in I arrive at Schweitzer, which received a few inches of fresh snow, and start skiing at 10:15 AM.
Looking up from the base of Schweitzer.
Toomey’s Trail
I parked next to Shawn, who helped direct me to the lodge to get my ticket using my Sierra at Tahoe (Powder Alliance) pass. I see him at the base of a chairlift a little later. He is a local and shows me around the mountain. There are plenty of powder stashes around the mountain that involve going through tight trees to get to some steep untracked stashes that hold deeper and fluffier snow than the few inches of dust on crust on other parts of the mountain. There are also some steep bowls that hold softer snow too. I finish skiing at 1:30 PM.
I drive to Ymir, BC and stay at the Ymir Hotel, a funky old hotel that played jazz songs and had artwork everywhere. I met Hans the 80-year-old owner. I am motivated to get to sleep early with more snow in the forecast.