In January, my family and I arrived at the Pomerelle Mountain Resort in southern Idaho to find fresh dust, cheap lift tickets, lines and barbecues for barbecue at the base. What more could a skier ask?
Maybe a faster chair, but we put it on this vintage charm.
Last autumn, when I bought the indy pass-the response of the small seats in Epic and Ikon Passes-I had never heard of Pomerelle, one of the resorts I had now accessed.
But Indy Pass, founded in 2019 with 34 members, is available to introduce skiers to independent, often family resorts-more than 230 of them-who do not have the marketing force individually to compete with Vail and Alterra Mountain Company resorts of Epic and Ikon.
Ski is an expensive sport. Large resorts often run more than $ 200 for a lift ticket of the same day, offering access to extensive ground and high -speed chair to maximize execution time.
On the contrary, small ski resorts offer cheaper prices at all, from lift tickets to meals, which are particularly attractive to families and beginners. Parking is usually free.
Designed for a variety as well as affordable skiers, Indy offers two days each to resort members on three continents (the majority is in the United States). To test the repayment, I bought Indy+ Pass for $ 469 last Spring (this upgrade to Base Pass $ 349 gets rid of the blackout dates) and studied the indy pass map. The clusters of the resorts in the east, midwest and Rocky Mountains offered interesting opportunities for skiing-central road trips.
Last month, with my husband and my son, we drove about 1,200 miles between Salt Lake City and Missoula, Mont. Ski seven days in five resorts in Utah, Idaho and Montana. We came out financially – individual tickets will cost $ 547 per person for this ski trip – while exploring the accommodation and learning to embrace the family time in slow chairs.
‘Ski the way it was’
Vail Resorts had just installed a strike at nearby Park City Mountain Resort when we started from Salt Lake City for Beaver Mountain, an indy member near Utah’s Logan, about 110 miles north.
The Seholzer family has been operating Beaver, considered the oldest, constantly running a family resort in the country since 1939 (regular lift tickets cost $ 70).
“Our informal phrase is” ski as it was, “said Travis Seeholzer, general manager of the third generation of resort.” There is no fast -lifting and glamorous accommodation, but relaxing days of skiing away from the hustle and bustle. “
At noon in a snowy Saturday, Beaver was relatively busy with cars parked under the wooded approach. Still, it was less than a five -minute walk from Harry’s Dream Lift, a triple chair that led us to the 8,860 -foot summit.
Small resorts tend to have shorter routes. Compare Beaver’s 1,700 feet with the 3,200 feet of Park City. But we appreciated the variety-most of the routes were scored or advanced-and were part of a relaxed ski scene, where Byo snacks are filled with Lodge Cubbies.
“We thought Epic and Ikon were a death sphere. We found the complete opposite,” Mr Seholzer said. “A lot of people are just looking for this different experience and a little slower pace.”
Fresh powder, agreement burgers
From the Beaver, we drove 155 miles northwest to Albion, Idaho, to ski the next day from Marsh Creek Inn, a comfortable 19th -century cabin of a lobby (the room of two beds costs $ 130 at night).
The manager sent us a community to make the Declo dinner at Wick’s Steak Place, the traveling restaurant, with Rodeo events on every TV, walls on the walls and apple steaks (from $ 24.99) and American Wagyu Burgers ($ 17.99) in the menu.
In the morning, the fresh snow slowed our approach to Pomerelle on a steep and wrapped road through the frozen pine trees of the Sawtooth National Park in a basic elevation of about 8,800 feet.
Founded in 1940, the ski area-with two main chairs, 500 acres and a sharp drop of 1,000 feet-takes 500 inches of snow on average annually. By the afternoon, we were still watching the fresh dust fields.
“We are here to spread the passion for skiing,” said Zack Alexander, director of the mountain, noting the resort -friendly family (tickets are $ 53) and the popular ski school. “We try to offer the same quality experience that you can get in larger resorts without all the decorative and expenses.”
A cast iron wood stove heats the simple base of the base, which was filled with cafeteria tables connected to rows of metal stools. Outside, she cooks roasted juicy $ 10 cheeseburgers over a grill grill.
“People will come back for this burger,” Mr Alexander said with laughter.
Limited hours
By buying the slightly higher indy+ pass price, we were able to cross the blackout dates, which vary according to the resort. But we have learned the harsh way that some resorts are not open daily, including Soldier Mountain, Tiny Fairfield, Idaho.
The dual operation, with 1,150 acres and a 7,177 -feet peak lift, is about 140 miles north of Pomerelle. Our host in an Airbnb attic on a Highland cattle farm ($ 120 per night) near Fairfield informed us that the soldier was operating Thursday until Sunday.
By phone, one of his investors and former mountain general manager, Paul Alden, explained that the remote location – 90 minutes or more than Twin Falls and Boise – and lack of local residence make it difficult to open full hours.
“We are a drive-to area and the drivers-tos are not close,” Alden said.
A high quality treatment
We thought briefly to hit the nearby Sun Valley, one of the nation’s most famous resorts, until we honored tickets at $ 255 per person. Holding in the Indy plan, we drove 200 miles north via the Payette River Scenic Byway River at the Tamarack Resort in Donnelly.
Tamarack has been problematic for 20 years in business-the owners of a majority deposited in 2008-but you wouldn’t know it from the expansive base village with 132 Condos ski/skiing over modern shops and restaurants.
The high -speed lifts gave us the 7,700 -foot summit, with photogenic views over the Cascade lake. The intermediate and advanced routes dominated the unhappy slopes, with 2,800-minimum drops and dust spots between the trees. A luxurious production resort-an elaborate Midmountain Lodge opened this season-Tamarack felt like a high-end excursion.
For the next three nights, we based ourselves on McCall, an adventure city of 20 miles north of Tamarack with access to another nearby member of Indy, Brundage Mountain Resort.
In winter, McCall attracts skiers, snowboarders and snowmobilers, but residence rates remained reasonable in the recently renovated Nordic Inn ($ 135 per night), within walking distance of restaurants and shops.
McCall closed early during our stay. Barman at Salmon River Brewery closed after serving us a dinner (Potpie, $ 16) and joined us under the block at the 1947 bar forites for a nightclub.
‘Low density, family -friendly’
It could have been the Ptarmigan wandering on the slopes on the Brundage, but we are tough for the six lifting area with a sharp drop in 1,921 feet, which seemed to have more snow than nearby Tamarack.
We found a groove in the Brundage we repeated for over two days, spending morning on the sunny backdides lakeview Bowl, traveling with groomed blues and searching for dust to the trees with each other after going to the northwestern front in bright afternoons.
Not as luxurious as Tamarack or as rustic as Pomerelle, Brundage maintains a “low density, family -friendly atmosphere,” said Ken Rider, general manager.
Most of the skiers we met at Bar & Grill at Resort’s Bar & Grill over $ 6 Après-Ski beers on the sun deck or Bear’s den Cabin serving $ 8 cups of chili were Idahoans. A regular from Boise recognized the surrounding mountain ranges from the top of a chair on over 7,600 feet, including the distant Wallowa mountains in Oregon, describing Brundage as her favorite.
“It’s a hidden jewelry,” he said.
Moving to the snow
From McCall, we could turn west to Indy resorts in Oregon and Washington or continue in northern Idaho. Instead, we chose to visit friends in Montana via Missoula, a stunning five -hour route northeast over the snowy Lolo Pass on the state border.
Twelve miles outside Missoula, Montana Snowbowl makes a first first impression. The A-Frame refuge, focusing on an open fireplace and a small hotel by the door seems to fit the tight, sloping base area.
Grizzly’s double chair aging lifts skiers 2,000 feet outside the base on a long walk to about 7,000 feet. The nearby chair Lavelle Creek arrived at the summit at about 7,600 feet. Payment for long commute was a good snow on top. But this worsened on the descent. Snowbowl needed snow.
Conditions did not prevent us from enjoying Missoula, a vibrant city of college with many brewing, including Gild, with $ 6 and $ 5 Chorizo ​​Tacos. We checked at the elegant Wren Hotel, placing the sights in the city center nearby ($ 139 at night).
We hoped for the snow one night, we got a dusting and left Snowbowl by noon. With Indy Pass, we felt that he was not sorry for the rescue. We would live for skiing another day elsewhere. Our season – already repaid – had just begun.
