Industry News
The 2023/24 ski and snowboard season has kicked off in Idaho, or should we say “Wydaho.” Grand Targhee Resort, Wyoming, openend on November 17, 2023, albeit with very limited terrain, but was the first ‘Ski Idaho’ destination to open this winter. While the resort lies four miles beyond the Gem State’s border, it is affiliated with Ski Idaho because the only way to reach it is through Driggs, Idaho. Ski Idaho is an assoication that consists of 19 family friendly alpine ski areas offer trails and backcountry for skiers and snowboarders of all ages and skill levels, breathtaking views, hundreds of inches of fresh powder, affordable passes, and short lift lines.
At Grand Targhee, only the Shoshone Chairlift and the new Huckleberry Conveyor Lift are currently open, however the Dreamcatcher Lift will be opening tomorrow, Friday, November 24. There is currently only one groomed run off of each lift and some other ungroomed terrain off of Shoshone and there will be no easy way down from Dreamcatcher at this point, so please: advanced riders only. According to Mark Neff, Grand Targhee’s director of mountain operations, the resort has had a slow start to the winter with warm temps and limited precipitation. He said it has very limited snowmaking and relies on Mother Nature to provide enough for opening day. The resort will keep people up to date on additional lift and trail openings via its smartphone app.
“The start to every season is a little bit different. This year we have had limited snowfall and warm weather leading up to opening day. We decided to only open the Shoshone and Huckleberry lifts for the time being, so there will only be a few runs open. We need quite a bit more snow until we can safely open Dreamcatcher and the south side of the resort.”
— Mark Neff, Grand Thargee Director Mountain Operations
The next Ski Idaho resort to open was Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area, which did not start spinning lifts, however opened its Explorer Terrain Park on November 18, 2023. For Thanksgiving weekend, Bogus is planning to open the Coach Chairlift, Easy Rider Carpet, and Explorer Carpet this Saturday and Sunday, November 25-26, from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Valid season passes for the weekend include: True Bogus, Beyond Bogus, and Anytime Winter passes. Midweek and Night Season Passes are not eligible; Twilight Season Passes are eligible from 3:00 p.m. to close at 4:00 p.m.
Meanwhile, Kelly Canyon Resort and Sun Valley Resort will open Thanksgiving Day. Kelly Canyon’s new snow-tubing hill at Ryder Park in Idaho Falls, Gateway to Kelly Canyon, is slated to open November 23, too. Two more Idaho ski areas plan to open Thanksgiving weekend: Silver Mountain Resort, and Schweitzer. Both were intending to open on Friday, November 24, but Schweitzer announced that this would be pushed back to Saturday, November 25. Lookout Pass Ski & Recreation Area, also had planned to open for Thanksgiving but has had to push back opening to December 1, 2023.
Beyond that, four other Ski Idaho destinations have announced tentative opening dates. Soldier Mountain is targeting December 8, Tamarack Resort plans to open December 9 or earlier if Mother Nature permits, and the Little Ski Hill and Snowhaven Ski Area and Tubing Hill are eyeballing December 22 and December 23, respectively.
Opening dates for Ski Idaho’s remaining eight destinations, Bald Mountain Ski Area near Pierce, Brundage Mountain Resort, Cottonwood Butte Ski Area, Lost Trail Ski Area, Magic Mountain Ski Resort, Pebble Creek Ski Area, Pomerelle Mountain Resort, and Rotarun Ski Area, are to be determined based on weather. Check the mountains’ websites and social media feeds for updates.
