2020 - 2021 Far West Skier's Guide - FWSA69

90th Anniversary Booklet/FINAL.qxp_90th Anniversary Booklet 12/6/20 2:16 PM Page 69

recreational areas in the country.
The area opened with a rudimentary rope
tow, added a T-bar, graduated to Poma lifts, and installed a fixed-grip double chairlift in 1959. Today
Bogus Basin offers four high-speed quads, three
fixed-grip chairlifts and two magic carpets. An 800foot tubing hill provides fun for non-skiers. The
4,251 foot Glade Runner Mountain Coaster offers
an exhilarating ride both in winter and summer.
Bogus Basin Recreational Area encompasses
two mountain peaks in the southern reaches of the
Bitterroot Mountains: Deer Point and Shafer Butte.
Skiers can descend Shafer Butte from points radiating 360º, catching the morning sun on Paradise,
and heading to the north slope of Matchless for
colder, lighter powder after a storm. The ski area
covers 2,600 skiable acres and provides 165 acres
for night skiing. The Nordic Center offers 37 kilometers of groomed trails. Today, Treasure Valley
residents can use Bogus Basin as their playground
every month of the year. Skiers, snowboarders,
Nordic skiers, Telemark skiers, snowshoers, and
snow tubers appreciate the close proximity of
Bogus Basin's slopes, just 16.5 miles from the city.
Hiking, mountain biking, concerts, conferences,
weddings, and day camps are just a few of the activities offered during the summer season. The
founders' dream of creating a year-round recreational area has been realized.
Excellent year-round programs exist to teach
children about their environment. Bogus Basin has
teamed up with the Boise and Meridian Parks and
Recreation departments to let kids explore the forests, hike, and follow animal tracks on the mountain
during summer months through Mountain Discovery Camp. The Nordic Group, the Boise National
Forest, Winter Wildlands Alliance, and Bogus Basin
partnered to create SnowSchool, in which students
come to Bogus to snowshoe and learn about the
winter habitat, animal and plant winter adaptations, and environmental science concepts while
recreating safely in a winter environment. Last year
19,888 kids participated in winter and summer programs on the mountain.
Bogus is close enough to downtown for office
workers to sneak to the mountain at lunch time, ski
two runs, and return in less than two hours. Many
locals brag of skiing in the morning and returning
to town in the afternoon for a round of golf.
Bogus Basin has been credited as an innovator in the ski industry. In 1948, the Bogus Basin Ski
Club hosted the first National Junior Ski Championships, drawing skiers from across the country.
The same year, Bogus sought to attract women to
skiing, and Wednesdays became Ladies Day on the
mountain. The program provided bus service, babysitting, lessons and lunch for women in the Treasure Valley.
In 1971, Bogus Basin named Irene LaMarche, the first woman to direct a large full-time

ski school in the United States. In the late 1960s and
early 1970s Bogus Basin skiers, including instructor
Ed " Airborne Eddie " Ferguson, helped invent the sport
of freestyle skiing, also known as hot dog skiing, by
combining spread eagle jumps, front and back flips,
ballet moves and jumping off bumps.
The ski school created the Mogul Mouse program in 1982, to teach children ages three through
five to ski. Bogus Basin was the first to offer lessons
to three year olds; at the time, the youngest instructional program in the country began at five years of
age.
In 1998, the Bogus Basin management and
board offered a revolutionary pricing plan to lower
season pass prices to $199. Across the country skiing
had become a high-priced sport, attracting fewer and
fewer skiers and boarders. Bogus Basin was the first
ski area to significantly reduce the cost of season
passes from $550 to $199 for an adult. Pass sales
jumped from selling 2,854 to 25,000 season passes.
Prior to the $199 season pass sale, Bogus Basin
recorded 192,000 skier visits. The following year
300,000 skier visits were recorded due to the reduced
cost of season passes. Ski areas around the nation
took notice and lowered their season pass prices.
In the last five years, Bogus Basin has created
a master plan with the help of SE Group. Construction on summer season improvements began in the
summer of 2017, adding additional mountain bike
trails, a bike skills park and pump track, a mountain
coaster, a 12,000 square foot heated patio, one acre
lawn, base area activities, and new terrain that is designated for beginner bikers. The base area activities
popular with summer guests include the Glade
Runner Coaster, tubing, a climbing wall, mining for
gems and trampoline bungee jumping.
A 13-million-gallon pond and 24 snow guns
were added in 2018 to bring snowmaking to the
mountain. Snowmaking covers runs on the Deer
Point and Morning Star chairlifts. The snowmaking
operation guarantees a December opening for skiers
and boarders. During the last five years Bogus Basin
hosts an average of over 317,000 guests during the
winter season.
The increasing popularity of Bogus Basin in
both the winter and summer is spurring management to cut new trails within the current boundary
and look at adding additional lift-served skiable acres
in cooperation with the Forest Service. Bogus Basin
is providing more summer bike trails for beginnerto-expert riders.
Bogus Basin is dedicated to fulfilling their mission statement: To engage the community in affordable, accessible, and fun year-round mountain
recreation and education. The management and
Bogus Basin Recreational Association aims to give
every child in the Treasure Valley an opportunity to
ski, snowboard, mountain bike, or otherwise enjoy
the outdoors at Bogus Basin. n

Modernized high speed quads take skiers to the
top of Pine Creek. photo from the Bogus Basin Photo Arrchives

Mountain biking is a popular summer sport
at Bogus. The Around the Mountain Trail was
listed as one of the top ten mountain bike trails
in the nation. photo from the Bogus Basin Photo Arrchives

About the Author:
Eve Brassey Chandler is the author of Building
Bogus Basin, Brundage Mountain: Best Snow
in Idaho, and in 2017, Eve received the Western Ski
Heritage Award from the Far West Ski Association.
During her writing career, she has primarily focused on
writing histories for hospital, university and non-profit
organizations. A native Idahoan, Eve has served on
many local and statewide boards and is currently a
Bogus Basin Recreational Association board member.

FWSA 90th Anniversary Booklet / 1930 - 2020

2020 - 2021 Far West Skier's Guide

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of 2020 - 2021 Far West Skier's Guide