Schweitzer Beta

Heading to Schweitzer this weekend. Would rather stay Cascades side of things, but committed to a friend for ID....oh well.

So, any beta on resort or backcountry would be appreciated.

thanks
Ed

Haven't been for years but i remember really enjoying the terrrain on the backside (outback bowl).  The one chair in the middle opens up lots of terrain for just a single chair.  good trees out there....

I made a trip to Schweitzer last year and worked there several seasons ago so I'm not local, but I would suggest sticking to the backside of the resort. Since they put a T-bar up to the top of Little Blue there is easy access to the next peak outside of the boundary, Big Blue. Good stuff out there, just one ridge back. If you're making laps on the backside (inbounds) just pay attention to how to get back to Snow Ghost (double chair) so you don't have to ride Stella (6-pack) to get back to Snow Ghost. Here's a bad pano-stitch of Big Blue:

Thanks.

Big Blue looks fun...equivalent of South Country at Crystal?

Couldn't say for sure, I'm at Mission Ridge mostly and have only made it to Crystal a few times. But I will second the opinion that lapping the Snow Ghost chair, unloading left and dropping into Outback Bowl, OR unloading right and following the ridge out to wherever you feel like dropping, are both great options. I've never ridden off of the backside of the resort to the west but trail map shows gates.

I went to Schweitzer last season. I had a great time. I rode the snowcat and got in 6500 vertical on a 1/2 day trip. I also met some locals and we did some skinning at Kootaney Pass. I bet you'll have a good trip. I've heared you can hire some of the snowcat staff to guide you to objectives like Big Blue. They drew me a bunch of maps.