This is opening weekend for some southern Idaho ski resorts. At a panel discussion hosted by the Idaho Statesman on December 4, representatives from four ski resorts spent their time discussing changes to infrastructure. Early December snowfall has led to early December starts for these ski resorts.
Bogus Basin added snow-making guns, fed by a storage reservoir that can hold up to 13 million gallons. But this early in the project, according to General Manager Brad Wilson, the reservoir only captured 3 million gallons.
"We ran the guns for 60 hours straight," said Wilson, "and used up 2 of the 3 million gallons that we had."
For years, visitors to the Tamarack Ski Resort have been greeted by buildings in a state of half-construction. “Tama-wreck,” as it was called jokingly by Jon Reveal, the new president, who represents a new ownership interest there. Reveal is committed to completing that work.
"The Tyvek village," he explained, "that when you drive up, there’s four stories of Tyveks. We hope to have the outside of all of the buildings finished by the start of the following year."
From Brundage Mountain Resort, Sheila Francis pointed out menu changes at resort restaurants, but also highlighted basic improvements, like fixing the road on the way to the ski lifts.
"Oh my goodness," she exclaimed, "having a new road is amazing. I don’t know if anyone is familiar, but Ice Box Corner? It’s gone! We made it straight."
Representing Sun Valley, Kelli Lusk says they added new employee housing, but there was also unexpected construction work this summer.
"The Warm Springs Day Lodge caught on fire a few days after the season last year," she said, adding, "which we were not expecting." She said the 25-year-old lodge was a leader among day lodges when it first opened in 1993, with its high ceilings and wide wood beams. She says the lodge will reopen on December 15 with more seats, a new bakery and a reconfigured bar.
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