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Blazing a New Trail
Skiers, snowmobiles unite at Schweitzer
 The
breathless quiet on the backside of Schweitzer Ski
Area was pierced by a whoop of undeniable glee.
A foursome of skiers had turned west and
out-of-bounds from the top of the Great Escape quad
lift. They'd left the groomed slopes behind and were
plunging down a treasure of untracked powder.
They were all alone, but one skier couldn't keep the
secret.
"Yee-haaa!" he yelled.
From half mile away, their narrow band of tracks
looked like a single thread through the trees in in
unmarred blanket of snow.
As a team of skiers swooshed down from Big Blue
Mountain in a choreographed event to dedicate a new
groomed trail designed to bring snowmoblilers and
skiers harmoniously together at the top of
Schweitzer Basin, a group of more than 30
snowmobilers from across the country was being
guided from the south end of Priest Lake up the
Middle Fork of the East River drainage.
 Following
the lead of several other Western ski resorts, such
as Montana's Big Mountain, Schweitzer has begun
welcoming snowmobiles and skiing clientele, and
never the twain shall meet.
Schweitzer will periodically groom a trial off the
back side of the mountain to tie in with the
snowmobile trails that are groomed every couple of
weeks or so by the Priest Lake grooming association.
Ken Barrett, of
All About Adventures in Sandpoint, has gathered
all the permits and has started a snowmobiling guide
service out of the Schweitzer village. Barrett
already has the permits to guide mountain biking
tours out of Schweitzer.
The Priest Lake Chamber of Commerce has promoted the
trail connection to the tip of Schweitzer as a jewel
in the crown of the region's snowmobiling
attractions.
 Snowmobilers
already are fond of Priest Lake and more than 400
miles of groomed trails that can be accessed the top
of the quad.
The Schweitzer connection, and the unforgettable
views of Lake Pend Oreille from the tip of the ski
area, already have been gracing the pages of many
publications.
National snowmobiling group representatives and
writers brought in by the Priest Lake Chamber of
Commerce for the dedication event had nothing but
praise for their tour of the area.
But while much of Priest Lake's trail system is
tailored to snowmobliers of all abilities, the
Schweitzer connection can be deceptive.
"A month ago, we tried to get up here with nine
people and wandered all over the place for hours,"
said Russ Brown, chairman of the Priest Lake
Grooming Committee.
The Priest Lake area keeps its trails in good shape
with $32,000 a year in state grooming funds. But
that's not enough to keep the Schweitzer connection
groomed to perfection every day.
Because of a nine-day grooming cycle and the network
of logging roads, numerous junctions heading up the
Schweitzer connection can leave riders scratching
their heads.
"We've marked the route to some degree and we plan
to mark it even better," Brown said.
"Guide services might be real handy for this trail
system," said Barrett. "There's no gas at the tip of
Schweitzer, and if you use all your fuel riding
around to find your way up, you could be in trouble.
Also, a little wind and snow in the open terrain of
the higher elevations - the areas so coveted by
off-piste skiers - could drift in and obliterate the
trail behind a snowmobiler heading up the mountain.
"Snowmobilers have to be tuned in to the weather and
other conditions when they head up into the high
country," Barrett said. "Avalanche is an issue up
here."
Tom Trulock, Schweitzer's director of mountain
operations, straddled the ridge between unbridle
optimism and the liabilities the trail could pose.
"We want to make multiple use work up here," he
said. "Even the concept of snowcat skiing is out on
the forefront, but we have some liability issued to
explore, se we're phasing into this."
Signs are being posted to warn snowmobilers that
they must stay on the groomed trail when they enter
the portion of the route that's maintained by the
resort.
The speed limit is 20 mph, dripping to 10 mph as
riders approach the parking area at the tip of the
quad.
Snowmobilers are allowed in the Schweitzer portion
of the trail only between 8:30am and 2:30pm and they
must not go under the ropes that define the downhill
ski area, Trulock said.
But mostly he's concerned about how riders will use
the trail.
"I know most of them are going to be great," he
said, although he knows that some skilled riders are
going to liik at the unblemished slopes on the back
side of Schweitzer with the same powder lust as the
skiers.
Or some skiers unequipped for backcountry travel
might take risks they might not otherwise consider
on the chance that they could hitch a ride with a
snowmobiler back to the top of the chairlift.
This year, for the first time Schweitzer is going to
bill people who trigger search and rescue operations
around the ski area. "I have three invoices on my
desk for this season and they go for $2000-$3000 a
piece," he said. "Rescuing people out of the bounds
is a burden and it's expensive, and we want to be
careful about adding more burden."
"Communications is going to be the key," said
Barrett, who's working closely with Schweitzer.
Barrett says he's both a backcountry skier and a
snowmobiler and he knows there's plenty of room
along the Selkirk Crest for everyone.
"I hope we can mimic what's been done in the Vail
Pass Recreation Area (of Colorado), where
snowmobiliers, snowcat skiers, boarders and
backcountry skiers can share an area where everybody
respects the rules.
After riding the Great Escape quad and enjoying a
meal at the Schweitzer village, the large
snowmobiling group rode the lift back to the top and
started their engines.
A few skiers were intrigueed with the possibilities.
"I'm going to have to get a snowmobile and explore
the skiing on the backside," one skier said.
(Thanks to Rich Landers for writing most of this
article) |
Articles
Spokesman Review:
Blazing a New Trail
For information on snowmobiling in the Priest Lake
and Schweitzer areas contact:
All About Adventures: Guided Tours
Ken Barrett, CAA Level I
Idaho Outfitter and Guide
#11090
http://www.allaboutadventures.com
PO Box 1321
Sandpoint, ID 84864
208.263.6959 office
208.255.5943 fax
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