Good Sunday morning from the hill above Schweitzer. If you are waking up with us at The Village Overlook, take a look outside first, because winter is knocking on the mountain's door. Snow showers are dusting the upper elevations this morning at 32 degrees, feeling closer to 21 in the wind. The KOTX radar map shows a real fall front sweeping through, with widespread precipitation echoes stretching from Colville and Spokane through Coeur d'Alene and right over Sandpoint. Down in town it is raining, 44 degrees, with northeast gusts up to 37 miles per hour. Expect a mountain high of only 38 today, falling to 23 tonight under clearing skies. Sandpoint should reach 48 this afternoon and dip to 31 overnight. Monday brings drier air and sunshine, with a mountain high of 46.
Up at the resort, the mountain is deep in its quiet shoulder season. The lifts are still, the trails are resting, and Schweitzer is counting down toward its tentative opening target of November 27, conditions permitting. This morning's snow showers, the first real flakes of the fall on the upper mountain, are a gentle reminder that the countdown to first turns has begun. It will not be long before snowmaking ponds and lift maintenance give way to corduroy and powder mornings.
Sunday is community life day in the panhandle, and Sandpoint has a way of showing up for its home ground. Circle next Saturday, October 17, on your calendar: the Fall Shoreline Clean Up with the Idaho Conservation League starts at 8 a.m. at Sandpoint City Beach Park, a hands-on morning of caring for the lakefront we all love. Yesterday's fourth annual Matchwood Brewing Oktoberfest filled town with German food, music, and games, with proceeds supporting the Bonner Community Food Center, while the Sandpoint Oktoberfest partnered with the Litehouse YMCA to raise funds for affordable access to local health and wellness programs. And the Sandpoint Farmers Market keeps its Saturday morning markets going at 9 a.m. as the harvest season winds down, one more reason to stock the pantry with local goodness.
On the civic front, the Sandpoint City Council took an important step on October 7, voting to retain Stantec as the owner's representative for the city's wastewater treatment plant reconstruction. The five-year agreement carries a ceiling of five million dollars, with Phase 1 of the plant work estimated around sixty million. It is the kind of unglamorous but essential project that keeps a growing town healthy, and it will be moving through design and construction for years to come.
However you spend this Sunday, consider spending it with us. The Village Overlook sits in its quiet perch above the ski village, and there is no better seat in Sandpoint for watching a fall front roll through and flurries dance over the slopes. Pull up a chair by the window and watch the seasons change in real time. We would love to host you the next time the mountain calls.