Tonight at 5 p.m., Schweitzer's leadership team will stand up at the Heartwood Center on Oak Street in Sandpoint to look back on the past year and preview the 2026-27 season. The event is called State of Schweitzer. It's free, doors open at 4, and it ends with a short Q&A. It's also the first public season kickoff since resort president and COO Tom Chasse said this winter will be his last in the job.
For anyone who skis the mountain all winter, the 2026-27 list is short. It has a food truck in a parking lot, an ice cream counter, two lesson programs, and some private group bookings. None of it is a new lift, run or lodge. The resort's one big project is a parking lot and road below the Roundabout, and the resort's target for paving those is the winter after this one. This is a bridge winter, for the mountain's arrival routine and for its leadership.
The letter that set this winter's tone
Chasse announced his transition in a September 2 post on the resort's blog. He wrote that he had recently earned Schweitzer's 20-year employee pin and that this would be his last winter as president and COO. The Bonner County Daily Bee covered the news on September 17, reporting that the 2026-'27 season will be his last.
In his blog post, he summed up two decades of work at the mountain like this:
"The confidence from ownership, staff, and community has supported my vision to enhance the overall guest experience with steady, methodical growth while maintaining the authenticity of a local ski hill, not an easy task."
He listed the major work of his tenure: replacing five aging lifts, expanding snowmaking coverage, taking Sky House from concept to reality, and building the Humbird hotel and Cambium Spa. He also wrote that the mountain has "a solid team in place, a well-maintained asset and a long-range plan," along with the "goofy" culture he credits everyone with building.
"Steady, methodical growth" describes this winter well. The lifts are already replaced, and the long-range plan is underway in the dirt by Schweitzer Creek. What's left to add this season are the small things that change how a ski day starts and ends.
Sky House turns ten in the same winter
One of Chasse's signature projects reaches a milestone this season. Sky House, the summit lodge at the top of the Great Escape Quad, marks its 10th anniversary this winter. It has the quick-service Red Hawk Café and The Nest, a sit-down restaurant. From the mountain's highest point, the resort says the view takes in Lake Pend Oreille and, on clear days, parts of Idaho, Washington, Montana and Canada. Scenic foot-passenger tickets let non-skiers ride up for the view.
Sky House also ties into one of this year's new programs. Women's Wednesdays sends its participants there after each session.
This year's additions, from first coffee to last chair
Every new item on the 2026-27 list sits at one end of the ski day or the other. Here they are in the order a day on the mountain runs:
- Breakfast at Red Barn. The Schwagon, Schweitzer's first food truck, debuted in the Village this past summer. For its first ski season it moves to the Red Barn parking lot, which the resort calls its primary park-and-ride location. The winter menu has hot breakfast, including breakfast burritos and coffee.
- Wednesday mornings with a group. Women's Wednesdays is a new six-week program for skiers of every level, beginner through advanced. Instruction runs 9 a.m. to noon, and afterward participants get discounts on food and drinks at Sky House. The program costs $450 per person.
- Three lessons for a first-timer. Learn to Ski in 3 costs $425 and covers three group lessons with lift access, instruction and rental equipment, on skis or a snowboard, for ages 13 and up. Anyone who finishes all three gets a free Grad Pass good for unlimited skiing from March through closing day. For a spouse, teenager or houseguest who has never skied, it's a defined path from the first lesson to spring skiing.
- An afternoon stop at Lakeview Lodge. A new candy and ice cream shop at Lakeview Lodge, steps from the slopes, will sell ice cream, classic candy, souvenirs and afternoon treats.
- After hours, by booking. Three new group experiences round out the list. Private Night Skiing gives a group the Basin Express terrain after hours, with options for an outdoor snow bar, private dining, an après-ski reception or lodging. The Crow's Bench Cellar Dinner is a six-course meal for smaller groups, with wines chosen by Schweitzer's on-mountain sommelier. The Rowdy Grouse Elopement Package is an on-mountain wedding for up to 10 guests, Monday through Thursday.
The breakfast truck is at the park-and-ride lot because, for one more winter, Red Barn is still the main way many day skiers get up the hill. The project that will change that is on the other side of the Roundabout.
The road behind the "future road" sign
Anyone who has driven to Schweitzer in the past few years has passed the sign at the Roundabout pointing to a "future road." The resort's July 30 construction update says that road is finally taking shape. It will lead to a new 1,400-space parking lot at Schweitzer Creek Village, which will eventually become the mountain's second base area.
The work is big. The July update said haul trucks and excavators were moving 3,000 to 3,700 cubic yards of dirt on a typical day, about the volume of an Olympic swimming pool. In the same update, the resort quoted Tom Trulock from its 2022 master plan update calling it "the largest road and utility project in Schweitzer's history." He explained that the work has to plan for the mountain's sewer, water and power needs "for the next 20 years and beyond."
The August update, posted September 9, covered the next stage. The old bridge came out, and crews from Big Sky began foundation work, poured concrete and started bolting together a new bridge from steel arch sections. Crews were already applying topsoil to finished slopes and had started trenching for dry utilities, and the Vista wall at the bridge was the next piece to go in. The new bridge will carry two lanes of traffic into the future parking area.
On timing, the resort says its goal is to have the road and lot paved and ready for the 2027/28 winter season. It has looked at opening portions of the lot sooner, but weather, materials and budget all affect the schedule.
Some of Creek Village is already in use. The skier bridge over Schweitzer Creek and the lift from Creek Village to the main village opened in December 2023. The master plan calls that lift Creekside Quad, and the resort's current safety page calls it Creekside Express. Uphill foot passengers are allowed on it. Beyond the parking lot, Schweitzer's master plan proposes rentals, a SnowSports School, a day lodge, snowmaking, and beginner and intermediate terrain with about eight runs, three lifts and a carpet. The fall announcement describes dining and ticketing as future phases.
Chasse's line about "a long-range plan that will sustain the quality of the guest experience" points to this project. His last winter is the one when its biggest piece is still being built.
Fifteen days from the Heartwood Center to opening day
Opening day is set for Friday, November 27, the day after Thanksgiving, conditions permitting. The resort lists the date as tentative, with details to come. Here's the calendar until then:
- Thursday, Nov. 12, 5 to 6 p.m.: State of Schweitzer at the Heartwood Center, 615 Oak St., Sandpoint. Doors open at 4, and the event is free and open to everyone.
- Friday, Nov. 13, noon to 7 p.m.: Consignment drop-off for the SARS Sandpoint Ski Swap.
- Saturday, Nov. 14, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.: The 2026 SARS Sandpoint Ski Swap at the Bonner County Fairgrounds, 4203 N. Boyer Road. Admission is $5 per person or $10 per family. Sellers can pick up checks and unsold gear from 5 to 6 p.m.
- Sunday, Nov. 15: The Schweitzer season pass sale ends. Unlimited and Sunday-Friday passes are part of the sale.
- Friday, Nov. 27: Tentative opening day, conditions permitting.
The resort described tonight's presentation as a recap of last year plus updates on what to expect this season, with time for questions at the end. It's the last fall kickoff of Chasse's tenure, and one of the few times this season residents can ask the people building the Creek Village road about it in person.
Schweitzer winters, from the first morning at Red Barn to the day you can park at Creek Village, are what we track for clients across Sandpoint and the mountain. If you'd like to talk through how the mountain's next few seasons fit into your plans for a home here, Overland Reizen is glad to help. Discover Your North Idaho Lifestyle.
