Its’ hard to believe that we’re closing in on Opening Day for the 22/23 winter season. We had a few bonus weeks of summer with unseasonably warm temperatures which extended boating, biking and outdoor dining through mid-October. Boy have things changed since then. It’s been full on winter here in the Schweitzer community as mother nature transitions toward another “La Nina” weather pattern. Here in the Northwest, La Nina’s impact is typically copious amounts of snow. Let’s hope we’re in the sweet spot.

Over the summer, we worked hard to complete the village landscaping around Humbird and the Crow’s Bench restaurant. I’m confident that the completed arrival area and outdoor patio will be a welcome sight with benches, ski racks and a couple of outdoor firepits to cozy up around. 

Just steps away from Humbird you’ll find a brand-new addition to the village. Cambium Spa, a 3,600 sq. ft. wellness spa boasts 5 treatment rooms, a relaxation lounge and recovery room. This new village amenity will provide guests with unique treatments and programs designed to shorten recovery time and optimize your mind and body for a day on the slopes. Cambium will be opening in anticipation of the holidays so stay tuned for more details!

Our summer construction projects go beyond the village, with improvements in lift capacity and snowmaking. We completed the upgrade on Stella, high speed six pack which will increase our capacity by 25 percent.  Additionally, we’ve installed 4 new snowmaking machines to include coverage of the Hermit’s Hollow Tubing Hill. Last but certainly not least, we are working hard on parking solutions both long and near-term. For this season, we plan to reopen the Lakeview lot and have added capacity to the Fall Line lot, the Fire Station lot and the Lower Basin Trailhead parking lot at the roundabout. 

Our long-term parking solution is part of an even greater project called Base Camp. The vision for Base Camp is to become a dedicated area for our day-guests, perfect for beginner and intermediate skiers and riders, with ample parking and additional rental and SnowSports School  facilities. As early as next season, we’ll have skiers and riders enjoying laps on the new highspeed 4-person chairlift that will replace Musical Chairs next summer. Future enhancements will include parking for 1,400 cars, 3 additional lifts, 150 acres of new terrain and a day lodge with amenities like dining, retail, rental and SnowSports school.

As always, this is an exciting time of year at Schweitzer and we can’t wait to welcome you all for post turkey day turns (conditions permitting) in a few short weeks. Until then, keep those snow dances coming and check out Ski Magazine’s recently published resort guide, where Schweitzer made its debut at #11!

Tom Chasse

Schweitzer CEO & President