Monday, October 19, 2026
Did you know we are just 39 days from Schweitzer's tentative winter opening day on Friday, November 27? That countdown is the headline on the mountain this Monday, and it comes with a fresh set of ways to learn and play this season. The resort's new Learn to Ski in 3 program, for guests ages 13 and older, bundles three group lessons with lift access, professional instruction and equipment rentals for 425 dollars. Finish all three lessons and you earn a Grad Pass for unlimited skiing from March through closing day. Schweitzer is also adding a six-week Women's Wednesdays instructional program and private night skiing, so first-timers, returning skiers and groups looking for something different all have a new reason to circle opening day on the calendar.
For the mountain weather, we go straight to Schweitzer's own Mountain Report, because conditions on the mountain are not Sandpoint town weather. This morning the resort reported the village at 42 degrees and clear, with wind at 3 miles per hour from the west, and the summit at 38 degrees and clear, with wind at 10 miles per hour from the east-southeast. Its snow fields are all dashes in the off-season, with 0 of 10 lifts spinning and 0 of 92 trails open, everything closed for the season. The resort's village forecast calls for cloudy skies on Monday with a high of 45 and a low of 44, then partly cloudy on Tuesday at 51 and 48, and mostly sunny to partly cloudy on Wednesday at 51 and 48. The resort also notes October 10 was its first official snow sighting of the season. The shared regional radar was quiet this morning, with no qualifying activity over the resort or the drive in.
Two planning deadlines belong on every skier's list this week. Schweitzer's season pass sale ends November 15, before prices go up, and limited quantities of the 249 dollar 3-Packs are available until sold out, according to the resort. Families should also note the Ski Idaho 5th and 6th Grade Passport: fifth graders get three free days and sixth graders get two free days at each of 18 participating Idaho resorts, including Schweitzer, for a 29 dollar processing fee when purchased before December 20, rising to 49 dollars after that date. Closer on the calendar, the SARS Ski Swap returns to the Bonner County Fairgrounds on November 14, a fundraiser for the Schweitzer Alpine Racing School. Gear check-in to sell runs November 13, with shopping from noon to 6 p.m. on the 14th.
Civic season opens today, too. Early voting in Bonner County for the November 3 general election begins Monday, October 19, with in-person voting from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays through October 30 at the Bonner County Elections Office, 1500 Highway 2, Suite 124 in Sandpoint. Friday, October 23 is an important deadline as well, the last day to preregister to vote and the last day to request an absentee ballot with the county clerk. A candidate forum is set for Tuesday, October 20, making this a good week to hear directly from the people on your ballot before you cast it, whether you vote early this week or wait until later in the early-voting window.
Today's events are led by the Sandpoint Idaho Film Fest, now in the middle of its inaugural run from October 17 to 24. Monday brings the Sandpoint Cinema Takeover, featuring the documentary feature Anne Packard: An Artist's Resolve and NALOX, a narrative feature filmed in Idaho. The festival keeps rolling all week: R-Night, a 21-and-older showcase, is Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Idaho Pour Authority, with free admission and donations suggested; Sally! screens Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at the Heartwood Center for 5 dollars; Caution: Terrain screens Thursday at 6:30 p.m. upstairs at Eichardt's Pub, free with donations suggested; and the festival closes with Premiere Night on Friday and Closing Night and awards on Saturday, both at 7 p.m. at the Panida Theater, with advance tickets at 20 dollars.
Friday also brings music with a purpose. SPIRITSONG and BOUNDLESS present A Journey in Song at 7 p.m. Friday, October 23 at First Lutheran Church in Sandpoint, celebrating their recent tour to London and Scotland with songs and slides, in a benefit for the Bonner Community Food Bank. The choirs repeat the program Saturday in Bonners Ferry and Sunday in Creston, each concert benefiting a local group. Back on the mountain, this winter also marks the 10th anniversary of Sky House, the summit lodge at the top of the Great Escape Quad, while work continues on Schweitzer Creek Village, the long-term second base area where a new day-use parking area took shape over the summer alongside the Creekside Quad and skier bridge.
If your week ahead could use a mountain view, consider this your warm invitation to stay at The Village Overlook, our hotel-style studio on the hill above Schweitzer's ski village. It is a cozy base for a fall film night in Sandpoint, an early-voting errand in town, or a quiet morning watching the slopes change color while opening day draws closer. Come up for the sunshine the resort is forecasting early this week, plan your passes and swap shopping before the November deadlines, and be part of the countdown. Winter is 39 days away, and the village is already getting ready to welcome you.