Sandpoint, Idaho voted #1 ski town in America!

Well, this came as a bit of a surprise. I love it here in Sandpoint but...#1 ski town in the U.S.? The folks at Rand McNally really do love us. I guess I can just sit back now and fend off the onslaught of buyers hoping to be a part of this bonanza. I'm thinking that may not happen but our notoriety certainly can't hurt business. The great part of this is our geographical location...Sandpoint is located in a narrow valley between Lake Pend Oreille and the Selkirk Mountains. We're just not going to get a massive population explosion with sprawling neighborhoods. There's no room here!

I'm still perplexed by the #1 ranking, however. I've lived in a few pretty exceptional "ski towns" and, not knowing the criteria Rand McNally used in claiming Sandpoint the #1 ski town in the U.S., I would have to say that there are more than a few ski towns who could lay a stake to the #1 claim. Who can beat the restaurants and nightlife in Aspen and Vail? How about the powder in Park City? Then there's Telluride, Jackson, Taos & Sun Valley. ...but, who's counting.

As I write this, however, it is hard to argue with Rand McNally's findings. I skied today (we call it a lunch break) for the 5th consecutive deep powder day. I didn't require a snorkel but I did get my share of "face-shots". Tonite we'll be heading to Trinity At City Beach for their thin crust chicken pizza and a "very" cold adult beverage. (By the way, the photo above was taken from there last summer. It's about 300 yards from downtown Sandpoint). Yes, we can argue who's #1, but,I must admit, the arguement would fall on a few deaf ears around here.

Linked here is The Sandpoint Daily Bee's take on the ranking from this morning's paper.

To the left is a portion of the Schweitzer North Bowl on the back side. The sun is peeking through a perfect powder day.

To the right is the front of Schweitzter Mountain Resort.