Schweitzer opens Sky House on summit
—Photo by KEITH KINNAIRD A Schweitzer Ski Patrol member makes his way toward Snow Ghost in this view from the Sky House deck.
—Photo by KEITH KINNAIRD Schweitzer CEO Tom Chasse, left, and Kate McAlister of the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce cut the ribbon the Sky House lodge on the Schweitzer summit on Friday. Matt Borud of Idaho Commerce is partially obscured.
—Photo by KEITH KINNAIRD A skier braces against polar winds in this image from inside the Sky House.
SANDPOINT — Schweitzer Mountain has etched a new facet into one of the most breathtaking views in North Idaho.
Unmitigated comfort.
The resort celebrated a grand opening Friday of the Sky House, a 9,300-square-foot lodge that sits at the summit of Schweitzer Mountain.
The summit on clear days offers expansive views of Lake Pend Oreille, in addition to the Cabinet and Selkirk mountain ranges. But that view can be bittersweet when a north wind knifes through even the most impressively engineered outerwear fabrics.
Polar winds from an Arctic system raked the 6,375-foot summit on Friday, causing skiers and snowboarders to tug at face masks and neck warmers to cover any exposed skin. But the cruel winds were harmless to visitors inside the Sky Lodge. They soaked in the views through large windows and sipped hot chocolate.
Schweitzer CEO Tom Chasse said the grand opening marked the completion of a journey that took, from concept to reality, four years. The two-story lodge went through four iterations before a final design was selected.
Construction spanned two seasons and was hampered by the rebounding housing market in Bonner County, which made finding subcontractors a challenge, Chasse said. Then there’s the logistics of muling construction materials up the mountain and building in an exposed, alpine environment.
“Obviously, it was not without its challenges,” Chasse said.
The lodge is divided into two sections — the Red Hawk Cafe and the Nest.
The Red Hawk Cafe features upscale cafeteria fare and open seating that can accommodate 120 guests. The Nest, the lodge’s bar and restaurant, adds another 50 seats and 25 barstools.
During the summer season, another 80 seats are available on the deck.
“You can just imagine having your anniversary, your wedding or your special day here in the space. It’s going to be outstanding,” said Chasse.
The lodge’s manager, Chef Peter Tobin, said the kitchen’s emphasis will be on scratch-made food preparation.
“Everything that comes out of the kitchen is going to be prepared by the cooks that are back there. That’s one of our emphases,” said Tobin.
Tobin, however, admitted that keeping the kitchen stocked proved to be a little more difficult than anticipated.
“Taking fresh vegetables up a cart when it’s minus 2 is a tougher than I thought it was going to be,” he said.
Schweitzer officials were joined by officials from Boden Mountain Architecture and Idagon Homes, Kate McAlister of the Greater Sandpoint Chamber of Commerce and Matt Borud, chief business development and marketing officer for the Idaho Department of Commerce.
Schweitzer employs up to 600 people during the peak winter season, making it one of the largest employers in the county. Chasse said the new lodge added new jobs on the mountain.
“By adding this structure we’ve probably added another 30 jobs in the wintertime,” Chasse said.