SCHWEITZER MOUNTAIN Saturday Shots

The perfect winter continues here in North Idaho and these photos, in my humble opinion, attest to that fact. I woke up this morning to yet another "balmy" day in Sandpoint (around 45 degrees), bright sun and brilliant snow covered mountains in every direction. Today was one of the few days this winter where I didn't seek out powder stashes. Today was meant for letting it all loose on the impeccable groomers and testing the edges of the old GS skis.

The photo on the left looks out over the South Bowl toward the Northeast. In the background is Lake Pend Oreille and the Cabinet Mountains of Montana. The right photo is the South Bowl looking Southeast down the Ridge. Those are the double black diamond chutes dropping off to the left. You can see the spindrift the wind is creating...today was definitely high alpine environment adventure. Of course, that makes it even more beautiful.

Here's a shot of the terrain the Selkirk Powder Company accesses by snowcat. This is some of the best back country powder skiing in the country. Skiing Magazine ranked Schweitzer as the 3rd best tree skiing mountain in North America! According to Powder Magazine, Schweitzer "dishes out expansive bowls, tight tree skiing, perfect pitch, the best park in the Pacific Northwest....it has unmatched beauty." - Powder Magazine, October 2008

Looking out over the North Bowl you can see the Cabinet Mountains of Montana and the Selkirk Mountains of Canada. That is more spin drift blowing over the crest. The alpine wind was so strong at the top it was blowing my ski poles out of my hands.