Road Trip 2018: Jan. 18-20: On the Road / Bogus / Brundage
Road Trip 2018: January 18-20: On the Road / Bogus Basin / Brundage
Thursday, January 18, 2018: On the Road Again…
Subaru Packed and set up with Studded snow tires… plus, had the front rally bar with the PIAA fogs installed… Dogs fed… Dog sitters briefed… Filled the tank last night and now ready to hit the road on this year’s adventure in search of snow…
Every winter is different and this season with it’s slow start at Lake Tahoe, hitting the road with my buddy, Dan Giesin has always been a traditional Rite of Winter for many years as countless visits to other resorts planned before and after, all centered around joining our associates at our annual NASJA (North American Snowsports Journalists Association) Western Winter Summit Meeting…http://nasja.org
For the past two years, we have added a travel mascot… Hula-Gan the “Hula Ski Powder Monkey” and with him joining us on this year’s road trip, we are hoping he brings us good luck in finding fresh snow and real powder.
This year’s NASJA’s meeting is set to start Sunday evening, January 21 at Schweitzer Mountain Resort in Sandpoint, Idaho, then move to Nelson, British Columbia, Canada to ski Whitewater and finish up the morning of January 25…
We planned to ski Bogus Basin and Brundage Mountain Resort before heading north to Sandpoint and Schweitzer…
Dan and I headed out to eventually hit Interstate 80 to Winnemucca, NV… From there, after a stop at Subway for a bite, we headed north on Hwy 95 towards McDermott, thru the Jordan Valley and to the Boise, Idaho… We’ve made this drive a few times before and the mountaintops along the route had some white stuff, but just on the tops… there have been winters where these were covered with snow, but not this year.
Not meant to be a commercial, but we have been use to staying at Holiday Inn Express… https://www.ihg.com/holidayinnexpress/hotels/us/en/boise/boidt/hoteldetail
This, now an upgrade from the early days of our road trips staying a Super 8’s, because of free internet… and, sometimes being frustrated attempting to work out their hotel rooms, especially a few years back, when I would kick Dan out of the room to record my radio ski reports, edit the recording and file transfer it back to the radio station… Sometimes the internet would take so long to transfer it, and yes, I would curse and wait for it all to go directly to the radio station computer… Before that technology, I use to have to accumulate the information and then call the station and give them a 3-2-1… countdown and record the report over the phone line… So, glad that I retired from the broadcast industry a few years back and don’t have to do this when I am on the road…
I still produce the Lake Tahoe Mountain Resort Report on the website at BikeandSkiTahoe.com, but do this when I am home and on my time with no deadlines or pressure other than a goal to post it and promote on Facebook before 9:00am or when the lifts open…
Boise, Idaho is a cool town… with good mountain culture… art, music, food, a college town, lots of nearby outdoor adventures and Bogus Basin Recreation Area… http://boise.org
Brad Wilson, who has spent many years in and out of the ski resort industry… in sales, management and most recently GM at Diamond Peak, is the Man at Bogus Basin… We go back many years and he not only leads a team of professionals on the mountain, but he can also bend a ski! The next morning we will meet up with Brad and good friend Lynne Wieland and make some turns…
Before retiring, we walked up the street from the HIE and enjoyed a great meal at Barbacoa Grill… http://www.barbacoa-boise.com
Where a Chop Chop Shrimp Salad and a BBQ Duck Quesadilla was the perfect ending to a travel day… Oh, and by the way, Bogus Basin was expecting a few inches of new snow overnight.
Friday, January 19: First day of Skiing at Bogus Basin
Got up and looked outside to see clouds and stuff being spit from the sky… Snain or ? Coffee first then think about the breakfast offered at HIE…
I suffered a dog bite from a stranger’s dog, just after Christmas that took the flesh off of the top of my knuckle, exposing my tendon above my middle finger of my right hand… This open wound had been prohibiting me from skiing or really doing anything else, including riding my bike for a couple of weeks and I and my Doctor was hoping that it would be healed enough for me to be able to slide it in a glove and be able to grip a ski pole to ski… It was healing but still sensitive to touch and the skin had not grown back over the wound, but found knuckle bandages and antiseptic ointment to cover it and got a glove liner and cut off the fingers to pull on to protect it, before inserting into the glove… I was anxious to ski since, I had not been on the slopes for nearly 3 weeks.
Bogus Basin is only 16 miles from downtown, but takes a little bit to drive up the access road with many switchbacks asking yourself… are we there, yet? Half way up, it was snowing and sticking to the road… no problem, I have studded snow tires and good grip. https://bogusbasin.org
Bogus Basin offers 2,600 acres for day skiing and 165 acres for night skiing… The mountain offers 1,800 vertical feet serviced by 11 Lifts & Tows leading to 91 named runs… Plus a lot more… This past summer they installed the Glade Runner Alpine Mountain Coaster offering year round fun!
We arrived at the parking lot and there was 6” of fresh powder waiting for us… Hula-Gan our traveling Hula Ski Powder Monkey mascot delivered with fresh snow on our first ski day of this year’s road trip
Hula-Gan our Hula Powder Monkey Happy to find Fresh Pow at Bogus Basin
Brad Wilson & Lynne Wieland
Brad Wilson, General Manager of Bogus Basin, along with Lynne Wieland, Marketing Assistant, equipped with her camera were waiting on us to get out and make some turns in the Fresh Pow… We Jumped on Chair #1… Deer Point Express and rode to the top of the front side… skied a traverse and jumped in to a delicious run that was freshly coated with the white stuff and made my first powder turns of the season…
Lynne got first tracks as the photographer to set up to shoot a couple of pictures…
First Powder Turns of the Season at Bogus Basin
Above photos: Lynne Wieland / Bogus Basin
We rode back up Chair #3… Superior Express and ski some more freshies down to the base of Chair #6… Pine Creek Express… Visibility was lacking with Flat Light and Dan, who was recovery from a recent procedure to reattach his retina, was having issues in seeing properly and opted to sit one out at the on mountain Pioneer Lodge as we continued to do laps in the fresh snow… There is nothing better that taking a freshly groomed run with 6” of fresh snow on top and gliding down the run with ease and flow… feeling the snow flowing over your boot tops and cruising making floating turn after turn… I was in heaven!
I lost both Brad and Lynne, as there is no friends and waiting on a powder day, and continued to make laps from Pine Creek to Superior, back and forth and there weren’t too many other riders on the mountain… but it was getting skied out…
The snowfall lightened up and visibility got a little better, so Dan and I reunited and went back up to take a few more runs, then stopped at the Pioneer Lodge for a quick bite before skiing down and packing up to leave Boise. We attempted to reconnect with Lynne, but kept missing her at the lift and again at the lodge, but bided her a big Thanks for shooting our powder pictures and Farewell until next time, via Text.
We headed out of Boise on to Hwy 55 in route to McCall, Idaho… our second stop before heading to the NASJA Western Winter Summit meeting. It was snowing pretty good as we entered and drove through the Payette River Canyon and into McCall…
I really do love McCall as it reminds me of Lake Tahoe, maybe 60 years ago… a small town on a lake with lots of history, good mountain culture… art, music and great dining options… and most of all, friendly and welcoming locals… http://www.discovermccall.com
We checked into the Historic Hotel McCall in the center of town next to the lake and I drew the small straw to have to bunk on the couch of this one bedroom suite… This Hotel was the bomb… really nice set up with a bar and restaurant. http://hotelmccall.com
We had the pleasure of dining in Rupert’s in the Hotel last year and they don’t miss a beat…http://rupertsathotelmccall.com
Later on that evening we walked over to the McCall Brewing Company for dinner before calling it a day… http://mccallbrew.com
Saturday, January 20, 2018:
Breakfast was included at the Hotel McCall and we headed to Brundage Mountain Resort… There was a whole 1” of fresh snow on the mountain, and nonetheless, it was another day of skiing fresh snow… Hula-Gan delivered again with fresh snow on our second ski day…
Brundage is a Fun Mountain with lots of variety and a friendly staff… The base is at 5,882 feet and the summit is 7,803 feet and offers 1,921 Vertical… Serviced by 6 Lifts & Tows and has 46 named trails… by the way there is also 18,000 acres of Guided Backcountry Snowcat skiing available within their permit area. https://brundage.com
April Thomas Whitney, their PR Manager, equipped with her camera, met us at the base and we headed up the mountain on the Bluebird Express. Their professional Ski Patrol members were working on their snow sculpture getting ready for the Annual McCall Winter Carnival snow sculpture contest… This year’s theme was “There’s No Place Like Nome” and their sculpture truly reflected this… https://mccallchamber.org/winter-carnival/
We skied over to the Lakeview Bowl side of the mountain and skied some fresh snow, while April shot photos of us skiing down the Springboard Trail… Back up the Lakeview Lift and another down Kickback… April had to entertain another VIP and departed leaving Dan and I, to explore for the rest of the day… Skiing was really good, especially on real snow and although skies were gray and the light was flat to start, we did see some blue skies, and enjoyed get around and skiing a multitude of runs, off Lakeview and the Centennial Lifts; and even though it was Saturday, there was a good crowd enjoying the slopes.
Above Photos by: April Thomas Whitney / Brundage Mtn
We stopped for lunch in the Day Lodge, upstairs in the Upper Lot Pub… This is now set up offering small plates, etc in a gourmet fashion and when I can find homemade French Onion Soup, I never pass it up… Just the right light lunch that is tasty and warms one up… https://brundage.com/dining/upper-lot-sidestash/
After lunch, I skied a couple of more runs, Dan took a couple more and I hung out in Smokey’s Bar & Grill, meeting and conversing with other skiers, trading tales and powder stories of Tahoe and being on the road… https://brundage.com/dining/smokys-bar-grill/
We spent a second night in the Hotel McCall and for some reason, found our way back to the McCall Brewing Company for dinner and viewing the Dub’s game… Interestingly enough, my 2018 Subaru Outback 3.6R also came equipped with a 3-year subscription to SiriusXM Radio and Dan and I follow the NBA Channel and broadcast games and especially the Golden State Warriors…
In the morning, we will be packing up and heading north to Schweitzer Mountain Resort in Sandpoint Idaho to join our media members at the NASJA Western Winter Summit Meeting…