Schweitzer unveils winter plans and updates

New high-speed quad and new phase of Schweitzer Creek Village in works

By Reader Staff

Schweitzer will debut an array of new features this winter, including a high-speed quad and revamped guest arrival experience.

“Every winter at Schweitzer is an opportunity to create cherished memories,” stated Schweitzer President and CEO Tom Chasse in a news release. “With improved access via the new Creekside Express and chances to chill at Cambium, we are setting the stage for unforgettable experiences this season.”

Schweitzer will open the Creekside Express chairlift, a high-speed detachable quad that replaces the Musical Chairs fixed-grip double. The new lift is catered to guests of all ages and abilities, with the detachable design making it easier for beginner skiers and riders to load and unload. The Creekside Express will provide access to the mountain from the base area with an increase in capacity to 2,400 riders per hour — double the previous capacity. The design also allows for foot passengers without skis or snowboards to be transported to and from the village, even in the summer. 

Upper terminal pieces and a lift shack were added to the top of the new Creekside
Express quad chairlift.
Photo courtesy Schweitzer.

The Creekside Express is the third new lift at Schweitzer in the past five years, and marks the completion of the first phase of the new Schweitzer Creek Village project. 

Designed to reimagine the guest arrival experience for day-guests, Schweitzer Creek Village will be unveiled in phases, with subsequent parts of the project to include a new 1,400-space parking lot, a new day lodge, improved access to the mountain, and expanded beginner and intermediate terrain.

Schweitzer’s Cambium Spa will also be open for its first full winter season. Cambium is located in the Schweitzer village, adjacent to Humbird, a 31-room boutique hotel that opened in 2022. 

Construction is nearing completion at the new $22 million employee housing project, Schralpenhaus in Ponderay. 

The first phase of the project, which includes 84 apartments, is expected to open in advance of the 2023-’24 winter season. Schralpenhaus includes one-, two- and three-bedroom units all with full kitchens, washers and dryers, and access to ski and bike storage. Schweitzer employees will have first access to the new housing, with unleased units made available to other community members. 

Future plans for the development include additional housing units, covered picnic areas, outdoor play areas, walking paths, workout facilities and a full-service day care facility aimed at serving Schweitzer employees with young children in need of quality, affordable child care. 

For more information, including season pass sales, visit schweitzer.com. 

While we have you ...

... if you appreciate that access to the news, opinion, humor, entertainment and cultural reporting in the Sandpoint Reader is freely available in our print newspaper as well as here on our website, we have a favor to ask. The Reader is locally owned and free of the large corporate, big-money influence that affects so much of the media today. We're supported entirely by our valued advertisers and readers. We're committed to continued free access to our paper and our website here with NO PAYWALL - period. But of course, it does cost money to produce the Reader. If you're a reader who appreciates the value of an independent, local news source, we hope you'll consider a voluntary contribution. You can help support the Reader for as little as $1.

You can contribute at either Paypal or Patreon.

Contribute at Patreon Contribute at Paypal

You may also like...

Close [x]

Want to support independent local journalism?

The Sandpoint Reader is our town's local, independent weekly newspaper. "Independent" means that the Reader is locally owned, in a partnership between Publisher Ben Olson and Keokee Co. Publishing, the media company owned by Chris Bessler that also publishes Sandpoint Magazine and Sandpoint Online. Sandpoint Reader LLC is a completely independent business unit; no big newspaper group or corporate conglomerate or billionaire owner dictates our editorial policy. And we want the news, opinion and lifestyle stories we report to be freely available to all interested readers - so unlike many other newspapers and media websites, we have NO PAYWALL on our website. The Reader relies wholly on the support of our valued advertisers, as well as readers who voluntarily contribute. Want to ensure that local, independent journalism survives in our town? You can help support the Reader for as little as $1.