There are still plenty of ways to make the most of what’s turning out to be a snowy spring season—March powder dumps and soft spring turns, terrain park sessions, pond skims and the laid-back community vibe that defines our regional ski hills. Even better, spring is when next year’s season passes go on sale at the lowest prices of the year. Locking in a pass now means skipping ticket lines, committing to more time outside and setting yourself up for a full winter of skiing and riding when the snow returns in force. 

We’re fortunate to live near a cluster of resorts where season passes remain affordable. Use your pass just a handful of days and it pays for itself. Here’s a look at the spring pass sales and what each of the four Ski the NW Rockies Association resorts around Spokane has to offer. 

MT. SPOKANE SKI & SNOWBOARD PARK 
Spring Season Pass Sale: Lowest Rates End May 31 
Location: 30 miles from downtown Spokane 
Lifts: 6 chairlifts plus surface lifts 
Vertical: 2,000 feet | Acres: 1,704 | Runs: 52 

The closest ski hill to Spokane continues to be a community hub, offering night skiing, family programs and creative terrain park events. March highlights include the snowboard-focused Getting Down to Vizzness jam session on March 7, the Wild Mike’s Rail Jam on March 14 and Toyota Free Ski Friday on March 20. Youth can also ski free during Spring Break, April 8–12, adding extra value for families already planning mountain time. 

Spring Season Pass Pricing 
Adult (18–59): $579 (renewing, $529) 
Youth (7–17): $399 (renewing, $349) 
Senior (60–69): $449 (renewing, $399) 
College/Military/Veteran: $499 (renewing, $449) 
 

With night skiing perks and programs ranging from homeschool days to the Prime Timers social club, Mt. Spokane remains one of the most accessible and community-driven options in the region. 

49° NORTH MOUNTAIN RESORT 
Spring Season Pass Sale: Typically March to Mid-May 
Location: Chewelah, Wash. 
Lifts: 7 | Vertical: 1,871 feet | Acres: 2,325 | Runs: 90 

Eastern Washington’s largest ski area keeps spring lively with a packed lineup after early March. The Sheimo Cup Race returns March 7, followed by a Seafood Boil with live music on March 14, the always-rowdy Hawaiian Daze & Slush Cup on March 21, and the Out Like a Lion weekend celebration April 4–5. A season pass at 49 includes access to extensive terrain and the resort’s Nordic trail system. With two summits and varied terrain, 49° North offers one of the most diverse riding experiences in the region along with strong family pass options.  

Don’t miss your chance to lock in the lowest rate on a 49° North season pass for the 26/27 season this spring! Combo passes to both 49° North and Silver Mountain are also available. 

SILVER MOUNTAIN RESORT 
Spring Season Pass Sale: Lowest Rates End May 15 
Location: Kellogg, Idaho 
Lifts: 7 | Vertical: 2,200 feet | Acres: 1,600 | Runs: 80 

Silver Mountain’s gondola access and big-mountain feel make it a favorite for both weekend warriors and destination visitors. Spring brings a lively lineup after early March, including the Doug E Fresh Banked Slalom and Ski Bum Prom on March 7, Toyota Free Ski Friday on March 13, Marchi Gras festivities on March 21, the Silver Cup Race March 28–29, the Jackass Rail Jam April 4, and the always-entertaining Pond Skim on April 11. 

Spring Season Pass Pricing (through May 15) 
Renewing passholders save an additional $20 
Adult (24–61): $509  
Youth (7–17): $349  
Young Adult (18–23): $399 
Senior (62–69): $469 

Silver and 49 combo passes and Silver winter and summer passes also on sale. 

LOOKOUT PASS SKI & RECREATION AREA 
Lock in the Lowest Season Pass Price this Spring  
Location: I-90 at the Idaho/Montana stateline 
Lifts: 5 | Vertical: 1,650 feet | Acres: 1,023 | Runs: 51 
Average annual snowfall: 450 inches 

Lookout Pass lives up to its nickname “The Powder Place” with plenty of snow, a welcoming atmosphere, and some fun spring highlights for passholders and prospective season pass buyers alike. Lookout’s spring calendar includes a Season Pass Holder Appreciation Day parking lot party on March 7, complete with BBQ and s’mores, and a Toyota Free Ski Friday day on March 27 where Toyota, Lexus, or Scion drivers receive a complimentary lift ticket for the day. March 29 brings the resort’s annual Rail Jam with divisions for all ages and levels, followed by a free Ski Golf event on April 4 and an Easter Egg Hunt on April 5. These events add community energy and fun to spring skiing and show what’s possible with a pass in your pocket.  

The mountain also hosts regular Prime Timers lunches and offers perks like free birthday skiing and partner discounts with nearby lodging and restaurants. It continues to be one of the most affordable ways for families and frequent skiers in the region to commit to a full winter of days on snow.  

Don’t miss your chance to lock in the lowest rate on a Lookout season pass for the 26/27 season this spring! 

49° NORTH & SILVER MOUNTAIN COMBO PASS 
For skiers and riders who want more mountain access and flexibility, the Combo Pass provides access to both 49° North and Silver Mountain. Combo passes go on sale during the spring pass sale window and represent one of the best values for those planning frequent days on snow. 

Spring season pass sales remain the smartest way to invest in next winter—especially after a lighter snow year. Whether you’re chasing powder days, family ski weekends, or simply more time outside, locking in your pass now ensures you’re ready when the flakes start flying again. 

Sponsored

The post Spring Season Pass Sales Are On Here’s why now is the best time to lock in next winter on the slopes.  appeared first on Out There Venture.

Cover photo courtesy of Silver Mountain

Sunny spring conditions and frequent March and April storms often deliver some of the best days of the season, so don’t put your gear in storage just yet. End your season in celebratory fashion with a fun spring event or two and plenty of good mountain vibes. Find details and operation schedule updates online. 

49° North Mountain Resort (Chewelah, Wash.) 

• March 6: One complimentary lift ticket for each Toyota vehicle driver for Toyota Free Ski Friday plus party on the deck.  

• March 8: Chewelah Peak Challenge Fat Tire Bike Race, in partnership with North Division Bicycle, includes demo bike (with registration fee) and 7 k race, conditions permitting. 

• March 14: Seafood Boil family-style lunch.  

• March 21: Annual Hawaiian Daze features a full day of competitions including snow golf, scavenger hunt, poker run, costume contest, Slush Cup and more. Proceeds benefit 49’s volunteer ski patrol and mountain host programs. 
  
  

Mt. Spokane Ski & Snowboard Park (Spokane, Wash.) 

• March 7: Getting Down to Vizziness, a terrain park two-hour jam session with host and judge Pro Rider Austin Visintainer.  

• March 14: Final night ski includes Wild Mike’s Rail Jam event—a collaboration with Wild Mike’s Pizza, providing $10 off night-ski pizza-box coupons—and Après After Dark Party. 

• March 20: Toyota Free Ski Friday—one complimentary lift ticket for each Toyota vehicle driver; must arrive before 1 p.m. to receive lift ticket from Toyota reps in parking lot of Lodge 2.  

• April 8-12: Youth ages 17 and younger ski free during spring break.  

Schweitzer Mountain Resort (Sandpoint, Idaho) 

• March 21: Celebrate the first-ever Pride On the Mountain event, in partnership with Sandpoint Alliance for Equality (SAFE). Schedule includes Rainbow Ridge Ski Parade and evening drag show. 

• March 27: Discounted lift tickets for annual Community Day. 

• March 28-29: Snow Ghost Banked Slalom competition, in collab with 7B Boardshop. Fundraiser for Bonner County Skatepark Association. 

• April 4: Hillside Hustle rider-choice grassroots events.  

• April 12: Closing day—details TBA online. 
  
  

Silver Mountain Resort (Kellogg, Idaho) 

• March 7: Doug E. Fresh Banked Slalom for snowboarders—11^th annual fundraiser for the Doug Johnson Memorial Fund. Stick around for Ski Bum Prom (costumes encouraged) with night skiing til 6 p.m. and party at Moguls. 

• March 13: Toyota Free Ski Friday.  

• March 14 and April 18: Hang out with Silver Mountain ski patrollers and their avy dogs during Jackass Apres Club nights, 6:30-9:30 p.m., at The Beanery (446 Railroad Ave), less than a mile from base village. 

• March 21: Marchi Gras (not a typo) is like Mardi Gras but at Silver Mountain—bead necklaces provided at the gondola base and New Orleans-inspired food atop the mountain.  

• March 28-29: Silver Cup Ski Race—register online. 

• April 4: Jackass Rain Jam with free day-of registration at Chair 2 Terrain Park (starting at 11:45 a.m.).  

• April 11: Who doesn’t love a Pond Skim?! Silver’s first and only previous event was in 2019, so this is kinda a big deal. No fee to participate. 

• April 18: Leadman Triathlon, presented by Dave Smith GMC, is the annual charity fundraiser adventure tri—ski, bike, run—for teams and individual racers.  

Lookout Pass Ski Area (Mullan, Idaho) 

• March 7: Season Pass Holder Appreciation Day with a parking lot party, 4-6 p.m. 

• March 27: Toyota drivers ski or ride free for Toyota Free Ski Friday. 

• March 29: Lookout’s annual freestyle Rail Jam (11 a.m.-3 p.m.) includes divisions for all ages and skill levels plus prizes. Great spectator event! 

• April 4: Bring your own club to play nine holes on America’s only snow golf course! Free to play for all ages; course open noon-3 p.m. 

• April 5: Easter Egg Hunt while you ride the slopes—all ages with one-egg limit per person. All eggs include candy and prize-winning number opportunity. 

• April 10: Ski/ride free at Lookout Pass for Parker Subaru Experience the Outdoors Day with a free voucher provided in person at Parker Subaru in Coeur d’Alene (limited availability). Bring voucher to the mountain ticket booth to redeem for a free lift ticket valid only for April 10.  

• April 12: Dress festive for Lookout’s annual Hawaiian Luau day, which includes a Cardboard Box Derby where participants use sleds made entirely of cardboard and duct tape.  
  
  

Whitefish Mountain Resort (Whitefish, Mont.) 

• March 14-15: Two-day event and one of the longest-running of its kind in North America, the 27^th annual Nate Chute Banked Slalom & Boardercross Competition raises funds for the Nate Chute Foundation dedicated to youth suicide prevention. 

• March 21: DREAM Adaptive Shred Fest for all abilities includes vertical or adventure challenge event and fundraiser to support adaptive recreation opportunities in Flathead Valley. 

• March 28: Corn Cup Slopestyle—skier and snowboarder freestyle competition.  

• March 28: Sample regional brews at Spring Brewfest and enjoy music and food trucks in the resort village. 

• March 29: Women-only event for all skill levels (includes trans women and non-binary riders) for the Lady Power Park Hour, noncompetitive slopestyle event to build terrain park confidence and community.  

• April 4: Classic Pond Skim competition with cash prize.  

Big White Ski Resort (Kelowna, BC) 

• Tuesdays through March 17: Ski BINGO—Pick up a bingo card from the village and mark off while hitting the slopes, noon-3:30 p.m.  

• Thursdays through March 19: Twinkling Trail in Happy Valley—group walk after paper lantern craft activity.  

• March 21-22: Loose Moose Challenge inspires terrain coverage to find hidden letters to reveal a mystery word for a prize.  

• Fridays through March 27: Tube & Groove at the snow-tubing park and dance party with resort mascot Loose Moose.  

• Saturday nights: Carnivals at Village Centre through March 28 and weekly fireworks shows through April 4. 

• April 5: Easter Egg Hunt throughout the Village on Easter Sunday, 9-10 a.m., with a designated area for kids age 5 and younger. Bigger kids can search for hidden “chicks” to claim for treats.  
  
  

RED Mountain Resort (Rossland, BC) 

• March 14-15: Rattlecat Cup is a two-day banked slalom race, all ages and skill levels. 

• March 22: Park Project Rail Jam is a low-pressure session for all abilities (ages 7+) with a supportive community to promote skill progression. Open to skiers, snowboarders and snowskaters.  

• March 28: Bring your dog to the slopes for the 5^th annual Wiener Take All, a canine race event with prizes. 

• April 4: Slush Cup to go big and win prizes. 

Whitewater Mountain Resort (Nelson, BC) 

• March (every weekend): Spring Music Series—live music performances at the resort village throughout March.  

• March 21-22: Blast Beerfest—celebrate local breweries and cideries with samples in Whitewater’s on-the-snow beer garden; enjoy live music and scenic views of Ymir Peak.  

Former junior high Ski Club member Amy McCaffree now stays on the groomers but still downhill skis with her husband and their two kids, now teenagers, who ski much faster than she ever will again—and she’s okay with that. 

The post Chase the Spring Snow Festivals, Races and Pond Skims Across the Region  appeared first on Out There Venture.

For the second year in a row, 49 Degrees North Mountain Resort is partnering with three local elementary schools to offer fourth- and fifth-grade students the chance to learn to ski or snowboard. The program, Corey’s Run FIRST TRACKS Ski Academy, was established by David Zalewski, father to Corey, who passed away after being caught in an avalanche in the Idaho Panhandle backcountry in January 2024. 

Around the first anniversary of Corey’s passing, Zalewski had an idea. “I was thinking of some way to honor Corey’s legacy and the things he enjoyed in life,” he says. What Corey loved most was being outdoors. Zalewski remembers the year Corey received his first season pass to Snoqualmie—a winter that brought little snow. Undeterred, Corey convinced his father to drive him to the mountain anyway. For hours, Corey hiked up the hillside, snowboard in hand, just to make that thrilling ride downhill. He carried that insatiable spirit throughout his life, jumping into everything with “both feet,” Zalewski recalls. 

Through Corey’s FIRST TRACKS, students who might not otherwise have the opportunity spend three consecutive Fridays at 49 Degrees North. They leave school shortly after lunch and spend the afternoon on the mountain, with lift tickets, lessons and rentals provided at no cost. The program is designed for beginner skiers and snowboarders, allowing students to build confidence over several weeks rather than through a single-day experience. The resort even keeps the lifts running an extra half hour for participants. 

Henry Holub, one of the instructors involved, says the program’s goals are multifaceted. The first is to honor Corey’s legacy by passing along his love of the outdoors. The second is to create lifelong skiers and snowboarders. Many participating families lack the resources to take their children skiing, with cost and transportation presenting the greatest barriers. Programs like Corey’s FIRST TRACKS offer more than a lesson—they provide an entry into a way of life. 

Holub, who also works as a substitute teacher in Spokane and serves as a PTO president at one of the participating schools, has seen the program’s effects extend beyond the slopes. Students ask if they will be able to ski again, and many families report returning to the mountain together after the program ends. School staff have also noted increased confidence and stronger peer connections, describing the experience as a powerful team-building opportunity. 

Ali Pasino, 49 Degrees North’s snowsports school director, believes outdoor recreation fosters freedom and self-reliance, particularly for youth from more urban environments. With more than twenty years of experience guiding and coaching, Pasino has seen how challenging outdoor settings can transform young people. “If you can conquer a mountain,” Pasino says, “you can conquer anything.” She believes the natural world teaches resilience in ways few other environments can. “The world convinces us in countless ways that we can’t do things. I relish every time someone learns that they can succeed.” 

Zalewski, Holub and Pasino hope to see the program continue to grow. Last year, 44 students participated. With the addition of a third elementary school, that number could exceed one hundred. While Zalewski privately funds student lessons, transportation remains a challenge. Community members can help by supporting transportation costs or providing snacks for students on their way home. Holub also hopes participants will continue into opportunities such as the mountain’s Junior Instructor Program. 

As Corey’s skills grew, backcountry skiing became his true passion, Zalewski recalls about his son. “Any day with snow was a good day.” For Zalewski, it’s more than holding onto Corey’s legacy. “It’s about giving young people, young kids, the opportunity to experience all the beauty and adventure of being on the mountain. Being able to encounter and share in the wonders of god’s creativity, his creation. There was no place Corey would rather be than floating downhill on freshly fallen champagne powder snow making those FIRST TRACKS of the day.” Corey wouldn’t have it any other way.

The post Honoring a Mountain Legacy at 49 Degrees North  appeared first on Out There Venture.

Cover photo courtesy of Potato Boys

In this little area of the Inland Northwest that we call home, we rarely get recognized on the world scale for our skiing and snowboarding. While many of us who live here know all about the epic terrain right at our fingertips, few take the adventure head-on. With the release of the Potato Boys’ new film “Caution Terrain”—their third ski film based in the backcountry of Idaho—the crew has launched their biggest adventure yet. 

The debut of the new film by Essex Prescott, Blake Bowerman, Stephen Matkin, Kyle Vandever, and Cameron “Hootch” Hotchkiss at the beautiful StanCraft Jet Center at the Coeur d’Alene Airport this past November was an event to behold. It’s inspiring to watch a local ski crew hit the big screen and get recognized by the community and outlets like “Freeskier Magazine” and Newschoolers.com. With more than 700 attendees at the launch and over 285,000 views racked up on YouTube so far, the film has been a huge success. 

For this latest release, the team regrouped and took on a few lines that had given them the slip in years past. With a mandatory plane drop for all the camp supplies, the team was able to enter an area that’s rarely explored, especially in winter. The film follows the crew through it all as they head into this basin and boot-pack 1,000-foot couloirs to ski lines of their dreams—all while living the ski bum lifestyle in their own backyard. The film launch party also raised more than $8,000 for the Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center. You can watch “Caution Terrain” on the Potatoboys208 YouTube channel or follow them on Instagram @essexprescott or @potatoboys208.

The post “Famous Potatoes: Caution Terrain” Ski Film Debuts in CDA  appeared first on Out There Venture.

Many field guides or flora and fauna books fail because they are twice as thick as this one and try to cover too much area. Sometimes writers aim to cover all the species in North America or provide a complete guide to every species on the Pacific West Coast. This book succeeds with hundreds of photographs and line drawings, plus the book offers strong visual support for step-by-step identification. This helps a lot when you’re examining bark, leaves or cones. The book features several hand-drawn illustrations and more than 1,400 photos in 400 pages. 

Even within the Pacific Northwest, tree appearances can vary due to factors such as microclimates and cultivars versus wild trees. As with any field guide, expect to adapt and verify in the field.  

This guide builds beginners’ confidence by providing the tools and steps to start identifying regional trees. Any nature enthusiast, gardener or landscaper will appreciate the book, which would make a great gift for anyone living near Spokane’s Manito Park or Finch Arboretum.

The post The Trees Around You: How to Identify Common Neighborhood Trees in the Pacific Northwest By Casey Clapp  appeared first on Out There Venture.

Cover photo courtesy of Nicole Aguado

Their first trip together was a life-changing experience.

Nicole and Lydia had never met before they climbed into Lydia’s old van with her daughter Naomi and headed east, deep into the Montana forest, chasing what would quickly become a truly epic and unforgettable adventure. There was no careful buildup or cautious first meeting. Just two women who admired each other’s hiking posts online, trusting a shared love for the outdoors enough to say yes and see what happened on the trail.

They met through the Spokane/North Idaho Hikers Facebook group, the community Nicole started as a place for herself and others to catalog hikes, collaborate with other outdoor lovers, and swap trail ideas. What began as a small local group quietly grew into a network of more than forty thousand members across the Northwest. Nicole and Lydia noticed each other there, drawn to each other’s adventure posts. Two seemingly very different women who admired one another’s solo adventures from afar until admiration turned into conversation.

When Lydia mentioned an upcoming trip and invited Nicole along, Nicole did not hesitate.

That trip brought many firsts.

It was not only Nicole’s first adventure with Lydia. It was her first night roughing it in a Forest Service cabin. The cabin Lydia chose was perched on the banks of Lake Como. The cabin was sparsely decorated and oversized, its big, cold rooms filled with bunk beds and empty space, lit only by oil lanterns that had to be ignited by hand. There was no electricity, no running water, no familiar comforts to lean on. Water had to be hauled from the lake and boiled. Meals were cooked on the hot coals of the wood fireplace. As their first evening together settled in, the cabin creaked from the wind whipping across the cool, early May water of Lake Como. With no modern distractions, conversation was plentiful. What could have felt awkward instead felt natural, two very different people finding common ground over a shared love for adventuring in the great outdoors.

The next morning delivered another first. Midway through a hike around the lake, the weather turned without warning. The light dimmed. Wind rushed hard through the trees. Thunder rolled in fast and close, followed by sheets of rain that soaked everything within minutes, including Nicole and Lydia. With no clear place to hide, they pressed into the forest together and waited it out, cold, uncomfortable, and alert. Fear has a way of stripping things down to what matters. In those minutes under the trees, small talk disappeared, and a deep trust was quickly born.

When the storm finally passed, they finished the hike changed, not by the hike itself, but by what they had endured side by side.

That night, back at the cabin, they warmed themselves by the wood fire. Smoke clung to their clothes. Boots steamed as they dried near the heat. Exhaustion softened everything. By then, the weekend had already done its quiet work. The firsts had piled up, and somewhere inside them, a lasting friendship had taken hold.

What began as a leap of faith with a stranger became the first of many adventures together.

It also became a living example of what Nicole had unknowingly built.

Nicole did not grow up outdoorsy. The mountains were something she admired from a distance, not something she felt called into. That changed later in life, after a friend introduced her to fishing, camping, and the quiet clarity that comes from spending time outside. Hiking followed, first as an outlet, then as a necessity. When life felt heavy, the trail made it lighter. When things fell apart, movement helped put them back together.

In 2018, in the aftermath of a breakup and searching for something that felt grounding, Nicole started a Facebook group. It was meant to be simple. A place for a few friends to share hikes around Spokane and North Idaho. A few friends joined at first. They posted photos. They traded trail names. They encouraged one another to get outside.

Then the group grew.

Slowly at first, then rapidly.

Today, Spokane/North Idaho Hikers includes more than forty thousand members. It has become the largest online hiking community in the region, a living, breathing network of people who ask questions, share knowledge, plan trips, and sometimes find the courage to try something they never thought they would. Nicole never planned to be a community leader. She became one because the need and the desire for connection in the outdoor community were undeniable.

The scale of the group became impossible to ignore during what many members still refer to simply as “the Jeff situation.” A local story involving a man named Jeff inviting ladies to join him for a hike unexpectedly went viral, and almost overnight, Spokane/North Idaho Hikers found itself at the center of the internet’s attention. Membership requests surged into the hundreds per day. People from well outside the region flooded in, many with no interest in hiking at all, but eager to follow the story as it spread across social media and local news.

For Nicole, it was a crash course in just how visible the group had become. Moderation turned into triage. She worked to protect the integrity of the community, filtering out noise while trying to keep the group focused on its original purpose. At the height of the attention, it was clear that Spokane/North Idaho Hikers was no longer just a casual online gathering. It had become a public-facing platform with real reach and real responsibility.

Through it all, Nicole stayed focused on why the group existed.

Connection.

People message her often to say the group helped them hike for the first time. Others say it pulled them out of isolation or gave them confidence to explore alone. Some meet friends. Some meet partners. A few, like Nicole and Lydia, meet people who change their lives entirely.

Nicole often hikes alone. She likes the quiet, the space to think, the way the forest strips life down to its essentials. She plans carefully, checks trail conditions, pays attention to the weather, and trusts her instincts. The wilderness does not scare her. It demands respect, and she gives it fully.

Photography has become part of her process, too. She shoots with her phone, capturing alpine lakes, mountain goats, and ridgelines wrapped in clouds. She does not chase perfection. She chases moments. Her photos are not about proving where she has been. They are about inviting others to imagine themselves there.

Her passion for adventure has taken her far beyond the Inland Northwest. Nicole recently embarked on a solo trip to New Zealand, a trip that confirmed something she already suspected: that she is capable of more than she once believed. She has jumped out of planes, backpacked into hot springs, and adventured across the world, and continues to say yes to experiences that stretch her comfort zone.

Through it all, Lydia remains one of her closest adventure partners. They travel easily together, balancing each other’s differences. They plan trips, improvise when plans fall apart, and laugh at the absurdity that sometimes comes with chasing epic experiences. Their friendship began with trust, was cemented by discomfort, and continues because it just works.

Nicole’s life is now shaped by the outdoors and the people she meets because of it. She dreams of future trips to Iceland, Patagonia, the Swiss Alps, and deeper into the places where cell service fades, and the noise disappears.

Looking back, it is easy to trace the line.

A Facebook group.
A message.
A van headed east.
A cabin.
A storm.
A life-long friendship.

Somewhere between carrying water from a lake and waiting out thunder under the trees, Nicole learned what she had been building all along. Not a hiking group. Not following. A doorway.

People join Spokane/North Idaho Hikers for all kinds of reasons. Some are looking for trail recommendations or current conditions. Others want to learn more about the outdoors, build confidence, or find people to hike with. Many simply want to feel less alone in their curiosity about the natural spaces around them. What they find, often unexpectedly, is a vibrant community, one built on shared experience, mutual respect, and the simple willingness to show up for one another, on the trail and beyond.

Nicole knows that feeling well. Over the past decade, she has evolved from a city girl to a true backwoods adventurer.

——

If you’re looking for some new adventure ideas or some new outdoor-loving friends, join the Spokane/North Idaho Hikers community on Facebook and see where it leads you!

The post How Spokane/North Idaho Hikers Became a Gateway to Adventure and Community appeared first on Out There Venture.

By Barry Campbell 

Cover photo courtesy of Terry Cooper

As the saying goes, it pays to be in the right place at the right time. And sometimes the pay isn’t in the form of income, but life experiences. Terry Cooper, founder of the regional ski-cult hit “Ski Flakes” videos, can tell you all about that.  

Cooper grew up in South Carolina and, like so many others, took a long and winding path to Sandpoint, Idaho. After serving in the Navy during the final years of the Vietnam War—including the evacuation of the country in 1975—he set out on a restless quest for meaning. He crisscrossed the country on a motorcycle, pedaled thousands of miles by bike, and ultimately found his way into the Rocky Mountains. 

By the early 1980s, he and his wife, Brenda, had moved to Sandpoint after a stint in Steamboat Springs, Colo. For Cooper, who had fallen in love with skiing in the low-lying resorts of North Carolina before discovering Colorado’s big mountains, Schweitzer offered a new kind of home, and he was hooked when he saw it. “What I wanted to do was ski,” he said. “That was it.” 

A Big Camera and a Bigger Idea 

Skiing was Cooper’s passion, but making a living in Sandpoint required creativity. He bought fixer-upper houses, tended bar, taught ski lessons, and eventually became a realtor. Still, his eyes were on the slopes. The question was, how could he ski as much as possible and share the stoke with others? 

The seed for “Ski Flakes” was planted in Steamboat when Cooper saw a man shooting ski footage on the mountain and screening it at the bar that night. Patrons loved seeing themselves on screen.  

By 1992 he brought that idea to Schweitzer. Inspired, he invested in one of the earliest pro video camcorders. With a little hustle, he arranged to play his ski footage at a local après-ski bar, The Keg (now the St. Bernard), for $30 a week. People started asking for copies. 

Soon, Cooper was selling VHS tapes, experimenting with editing and eyeing local cable TV airtime. He pitched the idea to Schweitzer’s then-owner, Bobbie Huguenin, who saw the potential to connect the mountain with the town. “Ski Flakes” was born. 

From the start, even though it was partially inspired by the gold standard ski filmmaker Warren Miller, it was clear this was a local/regional production. It was raw, spontaneous, and real. “It was reality TV before reality TV,” Cooper said. “You went out, shot whatever was happening and made a story out of it.” 

Will Work for Free Skiing 

Cooper rarely scripted “Ski Flakes.” He didn’t have to. Armed with an attention-grabbing camera, a crew of local characters and an eye for quirky moments, he turned the slopes, bars and parking lots into his stage. 

In the early years, his crew included journalists and storytellers like Liz Zimmerman and Chris Park, who helped craft narratives from Cooper’s footage. In later years, Scott Rulander joined as a second videographer. Their payment? Ski passes bartered through Schweitzer. “We were poor, but we were skiing,” Cooper laughed. Together, they cranked out 60-minute episodes every week during ski season—13 in a row—each a mashup of ski footage, party scenes, interviews and local history. 

Editing was a marathon. Cooper remembers staying up all night on Wednesdays to deliver a finished VHS tape to the cable station Thursday morning. He’d drive tapes to Sandpoint, Coeur d’Alene, Spokane and even ship them to Cranbrook for broadcast. The show aired nearly constantly in Sandpoint and on Schweitzer and on prime time in the other markets, reaching an estimated audience of 100,000 viewers. In the pre-internet 1990s that kind of reach was unheard of for a regional ski program, and it caught the attention of advertisers. 

Powder, Parties, and Pioneers 

What made “Ski Flakes” unique was its mix of content. Half the show might be deep powder turns and tree skiing, the other half might be raucous bar parties or tongue-in-cheek interviews. “I didn’t want it to be sexist, but I did want it to be sexy,” Cooper recalled. “People wanted to see themselves having fun, and they wanted to see the characters of the mountain.” 

But Cooper also had a historian’s eye. He sought out Schweitzer’s early pioneers—Jim Toomey, Bud Moon and Jack Fowler—and wove their stories into the show. He tracked down home movies from Schweitzer’s earliest days in the 1960s and preserved them on television. He spent years interviewing Red Mountain legend Booty Griffiths, who helped found one of the oldest ski schools in North America. 

For Cooper, it was never just about turns. It was about people and place. “My goal was never to tell their story,” he said. “It was to have them tell their story.” Over nearly two decades, “Ski Flakes” became a cultural record: Olympians Nancy Greene and Susie Luby; the Mahre brothers; TV personality Ben Stein; extreme skier Glen Plake; and countless locals found themselves immortalized on tape. 

Though Schweitzer was home, “Ski Flakes” expanded into what Cooper dubbed the Borderline Tour, a circuit of ski areas along the U.S.-Canada border: Red Mountain, Whitewater, Fernie, Kimberley, Panorama and Montana’s Big Mountain (now Whitefish Mountain Resort). Years before it was branded the “Powder Highway,” Cooper and crew were skiing it, cameras rolling. 

They didn’t have the luxury of waiting for perfect conditions like big-budget film crews. If it was storming, they shot. If visibility was bad, they turned it into a skit. That improvisational style gave the show an authenticity and relatability that connected with viewers. 

For a self-described ski bum, “Ski Flakes” opened doors that money couldn’t buy (like tours of the secret-est of stashes). Cooper and his friends were invited heli-skiing, cat-skiing and into backcountry bowls. “I’d say, ‘I need to ski first so I can shoot you coming down,’” he laughed. “So I always got first tracks.” 

He filmed scary moments too: huge sluffs flowing over his skis, sketchy helicopter drop-offs and fogbound adventures. But for every adrenaline spike, there was an equally memorable dinner with a ski legend like Mike Wiegele or a behind-the-scenes story with resort pioneers. 

“It was the American Express camera,” Cooper said. “Carte blanche. You showed up with a big camera and people let you in.” Filming “Ski Flakes” also opened a door for him to travel the world with wealthy clients as their personal videographer, including luxe African safaris, Ferrari shows and Bing Crosby’s Los Angeles estate. 

If all this sounds glamorous, the reality was grittier. Cooper had invested tens of thousands of dollars in cameras, editing decks and music rights at a time when he was making only a fraction of that. Editing was primitive and tedious. He sold ads himself in each market—Sandpoint, Spokane, Coeur d’Alene and Cranbrook—often giving small businesses more airtime than they paid for just to help them succeed.  

Financially, “Ski Flakes” survived, but just barely. What sustained the show, though, was passion, barter and Cooper’s other career in real estate. “I talked to every single business in town, trying to get them to buy an ad on my show. And everybody’s like, ‘Television, what are you talking about? I don’t even own a TV. What the @%$# is that?’ It was pretty funny.”  

“I never made a lot of money,” he admitted. “But I got to do things I never would have in my life otherwise.” 

Rex Cosgrove, who has skied at Schweitzer for decades dating back to the mid 70s, recalled that limited channels were available in Sandpoint, and as soon as they arrived in town from their home in Moscow, his kids would turn “Ski Flakes” on—and leave it on—for the weekend. “It was kind of a big deal at the time that you could watch this local skiing culture on TV. And we loved it,” he said. 

Shelf Life 

By 2010 new filming for “Ski Flakes” wound down. Digital editing and internet video were reshaping the media landscape, and the economics of selling ads for a regional ski show no longer worked. But reruns kept it alive—up until 2025, it was still on Sandpoint’s local access cable—and even today, episodes still loop in Pucci’s Pub at Schweitzer.  

Pucci’s owner, Eric Salontai, said that the TV tuned to “Ski Flakes” often gets more viewers than even events like Gonzaga hoops games. “People still will look back toward the Ski Flakes TV. Even we employees still watch because we’re riders and enjoy the mountain scenes,” he said. 

He added that airing footage of Schweitzer’s history, including icons like patrollers Arlene and Ted Cook, and the namesake of his pub, John Pucci, in their prime, complements the pub’s atmosphere. “Ski Flakes just made you feel that you were part of this thing. You’d see familiar faces, and you’d see how much Terry loved the scene he was shooting. And that’s the real telltale of the good that he was doing, because he was super eloquent in his filming. Not derogatory, not vulgar, none of that,” he said. 

These days Cooper doesn’t sit still long, ripping tele-ski and single-track mountain bike lines nearly every day. However, the “Ski Flakes” Worldwide Headquarters (his office) is jam packed with a mountain of epic footage: 7,000 hours of video, only a fraction of which ever aired. He has slowly begun digitizing it, with thoughts of future documentaries or online archives. He also has extensive footage of rock star interviews at the Festival at Sandpoint and other rarities. “It’s history,” he said. “And it has value. You can’t get those stories back once they’re gone.” 

Legacy of a Flake 

In retrospect, “Ski Flakes” was far more than entertainment. It was connective tissue, linking Sandpoint to Schweitzer, Idaho to British Columbia, locals to Olympians. It captured a culture in transition: the rise of snowboarding, the shift from straight 210s to shaped skis, the evolution of après-ski from wild bar parties to today’s typically toned-down and phone-absorbed scenes. Most of all, it preserved the personalities—everyday skiers and mountain characters—who made the Northwest ski scene what it was. 

Today, as GoPros and drones flood social media with instant edits, Cooper’s work reminds us of a different era: one where telling the story took commitment, community and countless late nights with VHS decks and turntables. “Ski Flakes” may not have made Cooper rich, but it gave him—and the Inland Northwest—something even better: a lasting story of the evolution of a sport and a region. 

This winter Barry Campbell plans to chase powder at Schweitzer, soak up some Baja sun and continue building his company, Two Oaks Marketing. 

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For many Inland Northwest anglers, winter doesn’t signal the end of steelhead season. Instead, it marks one of its most social weekends of the year. The Steelhead Expo, running January 9 through 11, 2026, brings anglers together in Lewiston, Idaho, a town long synonymous with Clearwater River steelhead and cold-weather fishing culture.

Based out of the Hells Canyon Grand Hotel, the Steelhead Expo blends time on the water with an indoor gathering focused on education, gear, and community. The event pairs a multi-day steelhead derby with a fishing expo that features seminars, demonstrations, guest speakers, and vendors centered on Northwest steelhead fishing.

“The seminars were the biggest hit last year,” says Toby Wyatt, co-founder of the expo. “People crave those seminars,” he adds.

Expo hours are scheduled to complement time on the river, with doors open Friday from noon to 6 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The derby component runs throughout the weekend on the Clearwater and Snake rivers, encouraging anglers to fish during peak winter conditions and then reconnect indoors later in the day. Participants compete in men’s, women’s, and youth divisions, with youth anglers 15 and under able to enter for free when registered with a paid adult. All anglers must meet Idaho fishing license requirements. Catches are weighed at official weigh-in stations, with results determined by weight and length when needed.

For those traveling in, the Hells Canyon Grand Hotel serves as both lodging and event headquarters, making it easy to move between river sessions and indoor programming without added logistics. That accessibility helps keep the weekend relaxed and social, even as winter conditions shape each day’s fishing decisions.

“It’s a great venue,” says Wyatt. “Everything happens right there. It’s tournament headquarters. The weigh-ins are there. We have a wonderful brewery and live music. It’s quite the event for a fisherman.”

At its core, the Steelhead Expo reflects the shared rhythm of winter steelheading in the Clearwater country. Early mornings on cold rivers give way to afternoons spent learning, talking, and reconnecting with a community that understands why steelhead season never really ends when the snow falls.

Sponsored

The post The Steelhead Expo Brings Winter Anglers Together in Clearwater Country appeared first on Out There Venture.

By Chris Maccini 

Cover photo courtesy of Diane Delanoy

It was 29 years ago that Galen Chamberlain first picked up a copy of Rich Landers’ classic guidebook, “100 Hikes in the Inland Northwest.” At age 60, he’d just retired from a career in construction and was enrolled in a backpack school course through the Spokane Mountaineers. At the time, Chamberlain was far from an avid hiker.  

“I did a lot of skiing and cross-country skiing, but I never walked any more than a hundred yards in my life if I could help it until their backpack school,” he says. “I remember when I got back to the trailhead after three days, I told one of the instructors, ‘I ain’t never gonna hike again.” 

But while his feet and shoulders may have ached after that first hike, there was something that drew him back to the trail. Soon, he was hooked, and he set himself a goal to hike 500 miles per year. Chamberlain has kept track of every mile of every hike for nearly three decades, a total of more than 14,500 miles. 

Over the years, Landers’ “100 Hikes” became a constant companion. Each time Chamberlain completed one of the hikes in the book, he checked it off, often making notes on the weather, trail conditions and his hiking companions. When he returned to a hike again, he added another mark. Some hikes, like nearby Mount Kit Carson in Mount Spokane State Park (Hike #21), he has done a whopping 96 times. But it wasn’t until many years of hiking that the idea occurred to Chamberlain to try to complete all 100 hikes.  “I just started knocking ’em off,” he says. “And then after I got 50 or 60, I thought, hey, why not shoot for a hundred?” 

The trails in “100 Hikes” are spread throughout Washington, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and British Columbia. In addition to being an active outdoorsman, Chamberlain was also a pilot. He owned a small airplane, which allowed him to fly in and camp at remote airstrips, giving him easier access to some of the more remote hiking areas such as the Cabinet Mountains in Montana and the Eagle Cap Wilderness in Oregon. One by one, he checked them off in his increasingly tattered copy of the guidebook. 

The 100th Hike Attempt to Mortar and Pestle Lakes 

In the summer of 2018, Chamberlain and a group of friends set out to complete the final hike in the book, number 100: Mortar-Pestle Lakes. The hike is located in British Columbia’s St. Mary’s Provincial Park, a remote wilderness area northwest of Cranbrook, BC. As Landers’ description in “100 Hikes” puts it, “This little niche of wilderness is so far off the beaten track, it doesn’t even have an official trail in its 22,650 acres.” Landers describes a steep, sparsely marked “trail” over granite boulders and alpine larch, noting that the area was previously home to a logging operation and “there’s a good chance you will have to seek out the trail to some degree.” He rates the hike “moderately difficult” in the book.   

When Chamberlain and his friends arrived in August of 2018, they knew there was wildfire activity in the area to contend with. The day before their scheduled hike, Chamberlain called BC Parks and asked about the trail’s status. They advised him to check the website in the morning to be sure the area was not restricted. Early the next day, everything looked clear. They packed up and started the drive to the trailhead under smoky skies. They’d driven less than 10 miles outside of Cranbrook when they were met with a blockade. Apparently, a new wildfire had started overnight, and no one had taken the time to update the website. There would be no hiking that day. The group turned around and headed home.  

But Chamberlain was determined to complete the hike one day. This was the final hike he needed to complete his 100-hikes goal, after all. He decided his next attempt would be earlier in the summer to avoid wildfire danger. In 2019, he once again gathered a group of fellow hiking enthusiasts and made the drive up to Cranbrook, BC. As all good outdoorsmen should, they checked the weather forecast beforehand and noted that there was a 20% chance of light rain on the day they planned to hike. Everything seemed to be lining up for a successful attempt. This time, they made the drive into the old logging roads which accessed the trailhead and spent the night at an old horse camp in the area. 

The next morning, it was indeed raining, and the road was in rough shape. But Chamberlain and his friends figured they must be close to the trailhead, according to the directions and rudimentary map in “100 Hikes.” They set out hiking to find the trailhead and complete the hike. After six hours of hiking in the pouring rain, unable to even find the beginning of the trail they were after, they decided to give up. Afterward, Chamberlain wrote across the top of the Mortar-Pestle Lakes page in his “100 Hikes” book, “FORGET IT.” He figured the final hike would elude him forever. 

One More Try 

A few years passed. Chamberlain continued to hike all over the Inland Northwest and beyond, often with friends he met through the Spokane Mountaineers, logging his 500 miles every year. Among his frequent hiking companions were Diane Delanoy and her husband, Ken, active members of the Spokane Mountaineers. Ken had been among the group of hikers turned away in 2018 due to wildfire. So they knew about Chamberlain’s goal of completing all 100 hikes, and they knew just how challenging the final hike had proved to be. When Chamberlain approached Diane and Ken about making one more attempt at the Mortar and Pestle lakes hike in 2025, Diane sprung into action. 

“I went onto Facebook and found a British Columbia hiking group and just kind of searched through their posts trying to find any mention of Mortar Lake,” Diane says. “I came up with one. This gal had been up there. So I contacted her, and she was able to send me the GPS tracking thing that got them to the trailhead.” 

With the local knowledge and GPS data loaded onto Diane’s phone, Chamberlain set out this past September with the Delanoys and another friend, Denise Beardslee, for one final attempt. Following the GPS up the old logging roads, the group was able to successfully locate the trailhead. To their surprise, it was well-marked with signage and a logbook. They camped at the trailhead that night, excited to start up the trail the next morning. When they did, they realized Landers’ trail rating of “moderately difficult” felt like an understatement.  

“Honestly, I thought it was the hardest hike I’ve ever done,” Diane says. “Even though it was less than five miles up and back, it is straight up the whole time. You just climb up, up, up, up, up till you get to a boulder field. And then you’ve got to get through that to the ridge, where we could see the two lakes.” 

The group had planned to camp in the wilderness area another night, but after the grueling hike, they drove out and spent the night at a campground. There, they celebrated Chamberlain’s accomplishment as he checked off the final hike in his weathered copy of “100 Hikes.” As he did, Chamberlain made one edit to Landers’ description: he crossed out the word “moderately” so that the trail rating read, “difficult.”

 

Looking Ahead and Inspiring Others 

Now that Chamberlain has completed all 100 hikes, he doesn’t have another major goal he’s looking to reach. “I’m still doing [the hikes],” he says. “I wouldn’t do them all [again], but there are a few I’d like to do again.” 

Some trails he would like to return to include the Tucannon River-Diamond Peak Loop in the Blue Mountains (#82), and Lookout Mountain east of Priest Lake (#37). Apart from that, he plans to keep hitting that 500-mile-per-year goal for as long as he can. 

And, of course, Chamberlain has a big milestone coming up next summer when he turns 90 years old. He doesn’t have a grand expedition planned, but says he might rent a local grange hall to celebrate with friends or maybe take a kayak trip through Priest Lake’s Thoroughfare.  

For Chamberlain’s friends and hiking companions like Diane Delanoy, Chamberlain is a constant inspiration to continue getting outdoors and having adventures no matter your age. “He really does motivate me,” Delanoy says. “If there’s a backpack or a hike and my husband will say, do you want to go? It’s like, nah, I don’t know. But if Chamberlain’s going, I want to go. Because if he can do it, I can do it. Plus, he always brings the fun.” 

As for Chamberlain’s advice to younger hikers? “Just keep going,” he says. “Do your yoga, do your daily exercises, walk every day. You never quit. You just can’t quit.” 

Chris Maccini is a writer and audio producer based in Spokane. This winter, you can find him on the ski slopes and cross-country trails of Mount Spokane. 

The post At 89, Spokane’s Galen Chamberlain Completes the “100 Hikes” Challenge appeared first on Out There Venture.

If you are dreaming of sunnier, warmer days outside, the Spokane Great Outdoors Expo is a shot of summer when we need it most in the dead of winter. It’s a lively gathering with experts in the local outdoors community, RVs and outdoor gear on display and for sale, presentations and demonstrations on a variety of outdoor topics, prize drawings, and enough engaging kids’ activities to keep families occupied for hours. Visit Spokaneoutdoorexpo.com for the full schedule and details.  

TONS OF FUN FOR KIDS & PARENTS 

The Spokane Great Outdoors Expo is a savior if your family has been spending their winter days indoors, with enough kids’ activities, entertainment and indoor bike riding to turn another winter weekend at home into an adventure! Parents will find plenty to love, including RVs and outdoor gear, outfitters and gear shops, travel destinations and a full bar. 

Extreme Halfpipe Skateboarding Demos  

Watch rippin’ skateboarders pull off sick stunts on and off the half pipe! Demonstrations happen both days indoors at the Expo courtesy of Hopper Skateboards, Yousta, and sponsor Layne Stoops State Farm, your local Spokane insurance agency. 

Kids’ Adventure Passport Activity 

Kids and parents can explore the Great Outdoors Expo, visiting multiple booths to complete learning activities, art projects and other creative and fun challenges. Kids collect stamps in a passport booklet at each station that can be exchanged for a bag of prizes for kids and parents when they finish. 

Magic Shows by Magician Matthew Vanzee 

Kids and adults will be dazzled by these shows all weekend long by talented local magician Matthew Vanzee. Last year, his shows drew a standing-room-only crowd as he performed tricks that inspired wonder, gasps and laughter. Don’t miss this show! 

Live Wild Animal Presentations 

Get up close and personal with live snakes, other reptiles, insects, and raptors including hawks and owls and learn about these amazing animals (presentations both days). 

• Reptiles Presentation: Learn about the fascinating world of reptiles by getting up close with some live reptiles in a hands-on learning experience. Gain a deeper appreciation for these often-misunderstood creatures.  

• Hawk and Owl Presentation: Discover the world of birds of prey and see some live raptors up close while learning about the hunting skills, behaviors, and unique characteristics of these impressive birds as well as the role they play in maintaining ecological balance in the wild.  

Kids’ Indoor Bike Riding Area  

Kids of all ages can try out different bikes, from Strider balance bikes for the littles to BMX bikes for “kids” of all ages including adults in an indoor riding area (all weekend long). 

Archery for Kids and Youth 

Learn about archery with local experts and get the chance to experience the art of the bow and arrow in a safe, educational environment—all indoors.  

Marshmallow Roasting 

Roast free marshmallows at our indoor “Expo Campground” around a faux campfire, complete with live music, camp chairs and games. 

Learn How to Use a Crosscut Saw 

Ever wonder what it’s like to be on the end of a cross-cut saw clearing trail? Give it a try with members of the Idaho Trails Association and learn about ways you can help keep Idaho’s wilderness trails clear and accessible while meeting other like-minded volunteers. 

Indoor Expo Campground 

Enjoy our indoor campground as you dream about next summer’s adventures! Kick back in a camp chair, roast a marshmallow, play yard games, enjoy an adult beverage, check out RVs from R’nR RV and listen to live American string music. The indoor “Campground” is also where we hold hourly drawings for thousands of dollars in outdoor gear and other prizes. 

JOIN NEGATIVE SPLIT’S 5K “SWAG RUN”  

What’s the Swag Run, you ask? If you’re even a casual runner, this is your chance to get outside on a 5K run with other smiling faces and get a morning workout on the scenic trails and pathways around Riverfront Park and the Spokane River. The cool thing about Negative Split’s Swag Run is that participants get to take home leftover swag from past races. The race starts and finishes at the Great Outdoors Expo at the Spokane Convention Center Saturday morning (Feb. 21). Runners also score a free ticket to the Great Outdoors Expo at the finish line! Sign up at Nsplit.com. 

FREE ENTRY INTO THE SPOKANE GOLF SHOW 

Your Expo ticket doubles as entry to the Spokane Golf Show going on in the same space at the convention center.  

PRESENTATIONS ON OUTDOORSY TOPICS  

Learn about wildlife, trails and natural history at presentations by local experts happening all weekend long. Past presentations have covered topics including staying safe in the outdoors around bears and other predators, wilderness survival, local trails and natural areas, navigating the different types of e-bikes and where you can ride them, identifying native birds and more. Check the full schedule at Spokaneoutdoorexpo.com. 

SCORE A FREE BONUS ADVENTURE DEAL WITH YOUR TICKET  

Choose from one of several free bonus adventure deals with your Spokane Great Outdoors Expo ticket purchase while they last. All bonus deals are redeemable only at the 2026 Spokane Great Outdoors Expo with your ticket stub. In past years, bonus deals included discounts on indoor climbing, ziplining, Stonerose Fossil Site digging, Route of the Hiawatha kids’ shuttle, skydiving and more! 

OVER 70 OUTDOOR EXPERTS ALL IN ONE PLACE 

Talk to real human experts on all things outdoor recreation related at the Great Outdoors Expo, from nonprofit conservation groups, public lands managers and outdoor clubs to RV dealers and overlanding companies, travel destinations, outdoor gear retailers, outfitters and guides and more. 

Whether you’re planning next summer’s adventures, looking for family fun in the middle of winter or just wanting to connect with Spokane’s outdoors community, the Great Outdoors Expo is the place to be. Mark your calendar for Feb. 21–22 and get ready to explore the outdoors—indoors. Visit Spokaneoutdoorexpo.com for more info and tickets.  

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