SNOW!!! THE SCHWEITZER MOUNTAIN COUNTDOWN HAS BEGUN!

TRAILS OPEN: 0; LIFTS OPEN: 0; NEW SNOW: YES!

As I was driving up Schweitzer Mountain this morning, heading to my office in the Village, I noticed at about the 3,000 foot elevation the rain that has been invading the Sandpoint Valley below was turning a little slushy. This phenomenon happens each Fall, of course, and my corresponding reaction is also the same each Fall. OH MY GOD, THE COUNTDOWN HAS BEGUN! There is going to be snow in the Village!

The first thing to do? …crank up KPND (the local eclectic and wonderful fm station) and ride it in! I’m not the only one in Sandpoint who gets excited about snow. SANDPOINT is a ski town, after all. The next 10 minutes of the drive was consumed with AC/DC and the frenzied sounds so closely associated with ripping through the powder of the Schweitzer back bowls. (Trust me, I'm no "head-banger" but I can certainly relate when thinking about making turns in the powder)

(The picture to the right is the "RIDE 7B" cap. The local license plates have 7B on them which designates the owner as a Bonner County resident ...home of Schweitzer Mountain.)

This year, SCHWEITZER MOUNTAIN RESORT has added a 4 million gallon holding pond near the top of the mountain to feed the snowmaking system which, we hope, will insure a Thanksgiving opening. Schweitzer is rarely in need of natural snow (average snowfall is over 300” per season) but, Thanksgiving openings are a rarity.

Investing in Real Estate at a ski area is an act of PASSION. It certainly can be a wise financial move and, given market conditions today, it appears that is currently the case. Prices are low (especially here at Schweitzer compared to other major resorts) and interest rates remain very favorable. Actually pulling the trigger to make an offer, however, is about PASSION. People who own at Schweitzer are here because they love and NEED the North Idaho mountain experience. The three seasons leading up to winter are electrifying with natural beauty and wonder. The hiking, mountain biking, berry picking, animal watching, people watching, music festivals, tennis tournaments and "LIVING" are what gives our lives purpose up here. But let’s face it… the skiing is “to die for.” (#3 BEST TREE SKIING IN NORTH AMERICA • #1 SKI AREA IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST • LABELED THE #1 MOST EXTREME TOWN BY THE BANFF FILM FESTIVAL U.S. TOUR (I’m not exactly sure what “most extreme” refers to ...but I like it).

My AR friend Russel Ray likes to chastise me about the impending onslaught of winter from his San Diego “paradise”. Well, Russel, the winter onslaught has begun and with each snowflake the excitement level crescendos. The beauty of working up here on the mountain is that my clients ALL share the PASSION. We live and breathe this stuff and it really is a joy to help customers find the perfect ski-home. The snow is falling…now is the time to make that leap of faith…life only gets better as you imbed yourself in the Schweitzer experience.

…8 WEEKS AND COUNTING…

MSN REAL ESTATE has written yet another bogus article for consumers about the value of Realtors®. This one is classic...

"10 things your real-estate broker won't say

1. "Your open house is really just a networking party for me."
Hire a real-estate broker to sell your home, and one of the first things he'll likely suggest is hosting an open house so that potential buyers can casually check out your property on a weekend afternoon. But while open houses are promoted as a great way of finding a buyer, a National Association of Realtors study found that their success rate is a mere 2 to 4 percent.

No matter. Holding an open house serves another important purpose — for the broker. "It gives him a database of clients," says Sean McNeill, an independent real-estate broker based in New York City who says that he doesn't like open houses, preferring to match clients with appropriate buyers. "At open houses, you get all kinds of people walking in. Some are (trying) to see how much they should sell their own places for; others just want to get a look at what's out there." All are perfect pickings for a broker looking to increase his roster of buyers and sellers. "Think about it," McNeill says. "The broker is devoting a couple hours of a weekend. He won't do that unless it helps him in a big way." But it doesn't necessarily mean that a seller should forgo an open house altogether — "It's still a real good way to showcase your house," McNeill says."

First, the 2 to 4 percent statistic is completely manipulated. I agree that open houses are not necessarily a buyer gold mine, however, there are agents who consistently do well at open houses. I am not one of those but my wife is! As Real Estate professionals, we pick our strong suits and offer those services to our clients. For MSN to imply that we all offer open houses to all of our clients for strictly self serving means and, further, misrepresent our intents is nothing more than a form of media sensationalism. In fact, I know of very few Realtors® who even recommend "opens". Those that do encourage "opens" are the ones who have found success at them and put the required energy into them.

Second... If, in fact, an open house is a "networking party" as MSN maintains, I can think of nothing better for the client. If people are walking through a client's home and networking, how is that a bad thing?

Third... Then the author wraps up his opinion by saying, "It's still a real good way to showcase your house." What? I thought he just got done saying it doesn't work and it is self-serving?

Oh well, enough ranting. I've got some GREAT price reductions to work on. (I wasn't even going to post a blog today!).

SANDPOINT SUNRISE...6:25 a.m.

When I wake up in the morning and see something like this, my first thought is, "This can't be real." When I realize it is, I find myself crawling on the rocks trying to capture it. As wonderful as this picture is (shot with an Olympus Camedia C-3030 camera...$150.00), it cannot give justice to the "real" beauty the universe decided to unleash this morning.

In the words of Tom Robbins..."When a person accepts a broader definition of reality, a broader net is cast upon the waters of fortune."

Thank you Sandpoint, Idaho. The world is a good place after all...

Below is an email to my running friends with a race report about the Inaugural Sandpoint Half-marathon in Sandpoint Idaho. It was a pretty course, well-organized and the people were just wonderful. Very nice race and a nice addition to the running schedule.

Howdy everybody!

Numbers first, I guess. I turned a 1:47:31 for the half which placed 4^th in my age group, 52^nd overall at the Sandpoint Half. While it's a minute per mile slower than I ran 5 years ago, it's still really nice to be able to step to the line and race. I didn't realize how much I missed racing.

So the course - it's advertised as the scenic half and it lives up to that name. The course takes off from the beach in the city center and, after a couple of left turns takes you out the long bridge across the lake. It was a little tight before you get to the bridge because they were doing some construction on the trail that connected to the bridge. It's not paved at the moment but was relatively flat with decent footing - no worse than running a good gravel road.

Once you pick up the bridge, it's a straight flat shot for a couple of miles. If you want to know where you stand, this is your chance to find out. Personally, I was sightseeing and looking for someone to draft behind. Fat chance though I had a crowd right behind me.

Across the bridge and up the trail next to Hwy 95, the route follows the trail generally uphill (though not very steeply). One thing I hadn't thought about was that the lake is naturally at the bottom of a bowl. To run an out and back means that you will have an uphill. It just didn't occur to me until mile 3 when we started our baby climb. It's small rollers with one decent hill at mile 4.5, a left turn at Sagle Rd, another half mile to the turnaround - which was really well done - the race organizers used a parking lot to run us around a parking lot so we didn't have to do a screaming U-turn (I hate those).

6.5 miles back the way you came and, voila, it's time to kick. Unfortunately, I had to kick. Someone was catching me from behind on the finish. Terribly rude of them but as I've told the kids, kicking won't kill you. It just hurts like heck.

16 roadkill on the final 5 miles without getting passed, so pacing was good. It was windy on the way out so I ran fairly conservatively to the turnaround. I was sub-8 on the way back and felt in control until about Mile 11. Then it was time to be stubborn and hang on. Gratifying.

Construction is under way for the Sand Creek Bypass.

This bypass has been on the planning table since the 40's and highly debated for years. I for one think that it will relieve the congestion we are feeling in downtown Sandpoint and that businesses downtown will be accessible once again.

Want to see more aerial photos see http://calljerry.biz/BywayProgress8-09/ Jerry of Aerial Photos Property Watch & Technical Jobs 208-265-4609 Fax 815-572-5461 jerry@lutherworks.com

Also visit IDTs photogallery at http://www.itd.idaho.gov/slideshow/sandcreekbyway_ss/default.htm