Schweitzer Winter 2026-27: What's New and What's Being Built

Schweitzer's announcement for the 2026-27 season doesn't mention a new lift or new terrain. The resort plans to open on Friday, November 27, conditions permitting. The winter announcement it released on September 24 adds a food truck, an ice cream shop, a few lesson programs and some private group dinners. Unofficial Networks said the season had no flashy upgrades. That's accurate if you only look up the mountain.

Look down instead. Below the Roundabout, for years, a sign has pointed to a "future road." That road is now the biggest project on the mountain. It's also why this winter feels small up top. Spending has shifted from the summit and the village to the ground under a second base area. And the man who ran the last era is spending his final winter watching that shift happen.

Twenty Years, Mostly Spent Up the Hill

On September 2, Tom Chasse wrote on the resort's blog that the 2026-27 season would be his last as Schweitzer's president and COO. According to the Bonner County Daily Bee, his 20 years make him the longest-serving leader in the resort's history. He came after 49 years in the ski industry, and he turns 70 this fall.

Most of what he built is above the parking lots. The Daily Bee lists five aging lifts replaced, more snowmaking, Sky House at the summit, the Humbird hotel, Cambium Spa, and more than $100 million in village improvements and new construction during his time. In his own post, he described the approach as "steady, methodical growth while maintaining the authenticity of a local ski hill, not an easy task."

Sky House turns ten this winter. The summit lodge sits at the top of the Great Escape Quad and holds two restaurants, the quick-service Red Hawk Café and The Nest, a sit-down dining room. For many owners, the summit lodge, the high-speed lifts and the hotel are just what Schweitzer looks like now. All of them came in under one president.

No successor had been named in the coverage published by early October. The September 24 release still lists Chasse as president and COO. On what comes next, he told the Daily Bee: "We've got a solid team in place, a well-maintained asset and a long-range plan that will sustain the quality of the guest experience while maintaining the 'goofy' culture that we've established together."

That long-range plan is the dirt work you drive past on the way up.

What's Happening at Creek Village This Fall

Schweitzer Creek Village is planned as a second base area for the mountain. Some of it already works. The Creekside Quad has run since December 2023, and a skier bridge is in place. The current phase is bigger and harder to see from the chairs. It covers a 1,400-space day parking lot and a road connecting it to the Roundabout.

The resort has called the size of the job "massive." In the July 30 update, it quoted Tom Trulock's comments from the 2022 master plan: "This will be the largest road and utility project in Schweitzer's history. Most people don't realize it's more than just a road and a parking lot. We have to plan for Schweitzer's future sewer, water, and power needs for the next 20 years and beyond." Over the summer, haul trucks and excavators were moving 3,000 to 3,700 cubic yards of earth on a typical day. The resort compared that to the volume of an Olympic swimming pool.

The September 9 construction update, which covers August, is the most recent progress report:

1. The old bridge over Schweitzer Creek was removed.
2. Crews from Big Sky did foundation compaction and testing for the new bridge supports.
3. Concrete pours began, and crews started bolting together the steel arch sections of the new vehicle bridge on site.
4. The Vista wall at the bridge is under construction. It will be backfilled after the bridge is assembled.
5. Crews cut and filled slopes along the road and inside the parking areas, then laid topsoil on finished slopes.
6. Trenching for dry utilities began.

The vehicle bridge will carry two lanes in and out of the new parking area. It isn't the skier bridge that already exists. As of the September update, it was still being assembled and was not finished.

The timing is the key fact for this winter. The resort's goal is to have the road and lot "paved and ready for use by the 2027/28 winter season." It has looked at opening parts of the lot sooner, but says weather, materials and budget could change the schedule. The September release says construction "continues this winter" and gives no opening date for any part of the lot. Plan on driving past an active site all season, not parking in a new lot.

Over the long term, the master plan calls for about eight new runs, three lifts and another carpet at Creek Village. The services planned there lean toward beginners: expanded beginner terrain, rentals, the Snowsports School and a day lodge.

The Small Additions Are at the Start and End of the Day

Once you know what's being built downhill, the September list of new items reads differently. Most of them sit at the edges of a ski day: the morning arrival, the first lessons, and the stretch after the lifts close.

At the Red Barn. The Schwagon was Schweitzer's first food truck when it started this summer. For its first ski season, it moves from the Village to the Red Barn parking lot, which the resort calls its main park-and-ride. It will serve breakfast burritos, coffee and other hot breakfast items before people head up. The 2026/27 shuttle details hadn't been posted as of early October. The resort's Selkirk Recreation District section still says "2026/2027 info coming soon," so check before planning your mornings around a bus schedule.

At Lakeview Lodge. A new candy and ice cream shop, still unnamed, will sell ice cream, classic candy, souvenirs and afternoon snacks a few steps from the slopes.

For new skiers. Learn to Ski in 3 costs $425 for ages 13 and up. It includes three group lessons with lift access, instruction and rentals. Anyone who finishes all three lessons gets a free Grad Pass good for unlimited skiing from March through Closing Day. This is the kind of skier the planned Creek Village services are aimed at. Women's Wednesdays is a six-week program for all ability levels. It runs 9 a.m. to noon, costs $450 per person, and includes food and drink discounts at Sky House afterward.

After hours. Private Night Skiing gives groups the Basin Express terrain after closing, with an optional outdoor snow bar, private dining, an après-ski reception or lodging. The Crow's Bench Cellar Dinner is six courses for small groups, with wines picked by Schweitzer's on-mountain sommelier. The Rowdy Grouse Elopement Package offers on-mountain weddings for up to 10 guests, Monday through Thursday.

None of these needed a lift crew or a summer of earthmoving. They use buildings and terrain the resort already has, while the expensive work goes on near the creek.

Dates for an Owner's Calendar

The season pass sale ends November 15, and Schweitzer 3-Packs are $249 while the limited supply lasts. Pass options include the Schweitzer Unlimited Pass, the Sunday-Friday Pass and the Ikon Pass. If you're buying through Ikon, the Ikon Pass Schweitzer page says prices go up after October 8. That's four days from now.

Opening day is planned for November 27, conditions permitting. It will be Chasse's last opening day as president. When he retires, he says he wants to play hockey "during daylight hours," ski 100 days a season and spend some sunny days on the lake. Taylor Prather, Schweitzer's marketing and communication manager, told the Daily Bee he still skis at least 80 days a winter and "greet[s] everyone by name."

According to the resort's current schedule, the first winter with the new road and lot paved and in use would be 2027/28, the season after he leaves.

If you own on the mountain and are wondering how a second base area and a leadership change might affect your corner of Schweitzer, Gove & Co can walk you through what has been published so far. Request a Private Market Review, and we'll talk about it one winter at a time.