In January my family and I arrived at Pomerel Mountain Resort in southern Idaho, where we smashed the grill on the base with fresh powder, cheap lift tickets, no lines and bargain burgers. What more can a skier ask for?
Perhaps a faster chair, but we chalked it to the vintage charm.
When I bought the Indy Pass last fall – a small answer to the epic and the Icompass – I had never heard of Pomerel, one of the resorts I can access now.
However, founded in 2019 with 34 members, Indipus exists to introduce skiers to independent, often family-owned resorts – now over 230. Epics and icons.
Skiing is an expensive sport. Large resorts often command over $200 for same-day lift tickets, providing access to extensive terrain and high-speed chairlifts to maximize runtime.
In contrast, small ski resorts offer cheaper prices than anything, from lift tickets to lunch. This is especially appealing to families and beginners. Parking is usually free.
Designed for skiers looking for variety and affordable prices, Indy offers two days each at member resorts on three continents (mostly in the US). To test the payoff, I bought an Indy+ Pass for $469 last spring (this upgrade on a $349 base pass will be exempt from the blackout date). Clusters of resorts in the East, Midwest and the Rocky Mountains provided an attractive opportunity for ski-centric road trips.
Last month, my husband and son drove about 1,200 miles between Salt Lake City and Missoula, Montana, and skied seven days at five resorts in Utah, Idaho and Montana. We came out financially ahead – individual tickets cost $547 per person on this ski trip alone – explore the throwback lodge and family time with a slow chairlift I learned to accept it.
“Skiing like before”
Vail Resort had just settled its strike at nearby Park City Mountain Resort when it departed from Salt Lake City in Beaver Mountain, a member of Indy near Logan, Utah, about 110 miles north.
The Seeholzer family runs Beaver and is considered the country's oldest, continuous, and family-run resort since 1939 (regular lift tickets cost $70).
“Our unofficial catchphrase is to “ski like we used to,” said Travis Seeholzer, the resort's third generation general manager. “There aren't many fast lifts and flashy lodges, but there are relaxed days of skiing away from the fuss.”
At noon on a snowy Saturday, the Beaver was relatively busy with cars parked on forested approach roads. Still, it was less than a five minute walk to Harry's Dreamlift, a triple chair that took me to the 8,860-foot summit.
Smaller resorts tend to do shorter runs. Compare Beaver's 1,700-foot vertical drop to Park City's 3,200-foot. However, we appreciated the kinds that most of the runs were intermediate or highly rated, and thanked that Bio was part of the lodge's relaxed ski scene, stuffed with cubies.
“We thought the epic and icon were the knees of death. We found the complete opposition,” Sheeholzer said. “A lot of people are just looking for that different experience and a slightly slower pace.”
Fresh powder, bargain burger
From Beaver, we drove to Albion, Idaho, 155 miles northwest, northwest, and performed our next ski day from Marsh Creek Inn, a comfortable motel with a 19th century log cabin that serves as a lobby (the two bedrooms are available). (It costs $130 per night).
The manager sent one community to Declo for dinner at Steak Place in Wick. This includes all TV rodeo events, taxidermy on the wall, applewood steaks (starting from $24.99), and American Waso burgers (tablet on the wall). $17.99) on the menu.
In the morning, fresh snow slowed the approach to Pmerel to a base elevation of nearly 8,800 feet, on a steep, winding road through the matte pines of the serrated national forest.
Founded in 1940, the ski area features two main chairlifts, 500 acres and a 1,000-foot vertical drop, earning 500 inches of snow each year. By the afternoon we were still tracking a fresh powder field.
“We're here to spread our passion for skiing,” said mountain manager Zach Alexander. The resort's family-friendly prices (tickets cost $53) said the popular ski school. “We are trying to provide the same quality experience that you get at a bigger resort, without all the ruffles and no cost.”
A cast iron wood stove heated the simple base lodge. This is packed with cafeteria tables mounted on rows of metal stools. Outside, we grilled a juicy $10 cheeseburger on the slope side grill.
“People are coming back for that burger,” Alexander said with a laugh.
Limited time
Buying the slightly higher priced Indy+ Pass helped me avoid blackout dates that vary from resort to resort. But we learned the hard way that several resorts aren't open every day, such as Soldier Mountain in small Fairfield, Idaho.
The two-lift operation, with 1,150 acres of acres and a 7,177-foot summit elevation, is about 140 miles north of Pomerel. Hosts at Airbnb Loft at Highland Cattle Ranch ($120 per night) near Fairfield informed that the soldiers are operating Sunday through Thursday.
By phone, Paul Alden, one of the investors and former general manager of the mountain, is opening full-time due to the remote location, over 90 minutes from Twin Falls and Boise and no local accommodation. I explained that it is difficult.
“We're a drive-to-area and there's no drive toss nearby,” Alden said.
High-end treat
We briefly considered hitting nearby Sun Valley, one of the most famous resorts in the country, until we priced tickets for $255 per person. Sticking to Indiplan, we ran 200 miles north via the winding Payette River Scenic Byway to Donnelly's Tamarack Resort.
Tamarak has had problems in business for 20 years, with its majority owner filed for bankruptcy in 2008, but its vast expansive with 132 ski-in/ski-out condominiums above trendy shops and restaurants. I don't know that from Base Village.
A high-speed lift reached the 7,700-foot summit. We had a photogenic view of Lake Cascade. The mid- and advanced driving dominated the uncrowded slopes with a 2,800-inch vertical drop and powder stash between the trees. A luxurious resort made – this season, the elaborate mid-mountain lodge opened – Tamarak felt like a high-end excursion.
For the next three nights we are visiting Brandage Mountain Resort, a member of nearby Indy, based on McCall, an adventure town 20 miles north of Tamarack.
In the winter, McCall attracts skiers, snowboarders and snowmobiles, but the accommodation was reasonable, with a newly renovated Nordic Inn ($135 per night), restaurants and shops within walking distance.
McCall shut down early during his stay. The bartenders at Salmon River Brewery served our dinner (Chicken Pot, $16) before closing, and joined the 1947 Forester's Bar block to join the Night Cap.
“Low density, family friendly”
It could have been a puttal migan wandering the slopes in brandage, but we fell violently into the 6-lift area with a 1,921-foot vertical drop.
We repeated over two days, spending the morning in a sunny backside lake view bowl, groomed and searched for powder between the blue hair, switched to the front side northwest on a bright afternoon, for two days I found a repeated groove across.
General Manager Ken Ryder is not as luxurious as Tamarack, or as rustic as Pomerel, and brandage maintains a “low density, family-friendly ski vibe.”
Most of the skiers I met at the resort's Smokies Bar & Grill were Idahonians at Bear's Den Cabin, who poured $6 Aplesis ski beer on the sundeck and drank eight chili peppers. Boise's patrons identified the surrounding mountain ranges visible from the top of the more than 7,600 feet of chairlift, including Oregon's distant Walloa Mountains, and described brandage as her favorite.
“It's a hidden gem,” she said.
I'm going to snow
From McCall west to Indy Resorts in Oregon and Washington and continued north Idaho. Instead, we chose to visit a friend in Montana via Missoula. Missoula is a stunning five-hour drive northeast beyond the snowy Roro Pass on the state border.
The Montana Snow Bowl, 12 miles from Missoula, makes a sloppy first impression. The A-Frame Lodge, centered around an open fireplace, and the small hotel next door, appear to barely fit in a tight, sloping base area.
The aged double grizzly chair lifted the skier from a base of 2,000 feet to nearly 7,000 feet in its long ride. The nearby Lavelle Creek chairs arrived at the summit, near 7,600 feet. The reward for the long commute was the good snow on the top. But that got worse on the descent. The snow bowl needed snow.
This condition didn't stop you from enjoying Missoula, a lively university town with many breweries that include chorizo ​​tacos for $6 and $5, from craft beers. We checked in to the stylish Len Hotel and lined up downtown attractions within walking distance ($139 per night).
We wanted snow overnight, dusted it in and left the snowbowl by noon. Indipass, regret felt no relief. We are about to ski on another day. Our season was already rewarded, but we were just getting started.
