Sandpoint

Idaho

Americas Best Value Inn Sandpoint

Huckleberry Hill Bed and Breakfast

Schweitzer Mountain Bed and Breakfast

The Colburn Schoolhouse

The Waterhouse

Chateau de Melusine

Western Pleasure Guest Ranch

Talus Rock Retreat

K2 Inn

Schweitzer

Humbird

Cedar Street Hotel & Suites

Best Western Edgewater Resort

The Idaho Club

Dynamic By Hotel Inn

Inn at Sand Creek

Condos at Sandpoint

resort.fhr.heroTitle

Vicki

Good riding today in the trees.  A bit windy with poor visibility through some spots but consistently nice rides all day!

Tychi

Kpowderski

To go off my other review- there was snow to be found! 

Clugger

3/4-3/7:  snow is getting hard and fresh is needed.  2” wasn’t enough.  Getting warm in the afternoons and re-freezing overnight.   Seems to be softening up in sunny areas by 11ish.  First visit to resort and really liked it

Skied Tuesday and Wednesday - Tuesday was hard pack but got blessed with some evening snow to make Wednesday a near perfect day of on and off coverage of fog and some sun to slash into. I enjoyed it 

WEDNESDAY FEB. 26 2025 DAY #14

CONDITIONS
9am: Official temp 28°. Official new snow  = 8 inches.  The 8 inches is a little deceiving as some of that came yesterday afternoon.  It was not a powder day - but the 14 inches over the past two days softened things up,

VISIBILITY:
All four seasons today.  Periods of a Blue Bird sky & brilliant sunshine.  Unfortunately the day also included a fairly thick fog that would come and go.  The summit at 10am boasted Ansel Adams-esque views of the mountains and the Lake - which I can't get enough of.  The summit at 10:02am was like stumbling around on all fours wearing a blindfold - like one of the plethora of horrible scenes in Fifty-Shades-of-Grey (which is one of the worst movies of all time - Right up there with Avatar: Way of Water - if you want to be in tourture five hours  - watch them both back-to-back.  Not me - I'd rather be locked in some Clockwork Orange room with my eye's taped opened, tied to a chair and forced to watch a Celine Dion concert on a constant loop).  

LAST DAY:
Yes my flock - I return to Detroit Thursday.  I can confirm that the blog was followed by at least #10 people here in Idaho.  Assuming some extra sheep from the MotorCity - I think we're well into the 'teens.  Years past - I'm not sure the flock reached double digits.  Have no fear - you can continue to follow me on...instag.....no I mean Twitt....I mean X....that's not right - Facebook......No no no - it's TikTok - no not that...I mean YouTube......sorry I'm not on anything.  I leave the burden of the Cross on your shoulders.  Go forth my apostles - spread the word:  Snowboarding, Rock'n'Roll and Beer will save humanity.  It's up to you now.

LIST FIVE THINGS YOU DID LAST WEEK:
1. I snowboarded.  2. I drank beer.   3. I cranked Rock N' Roll.  4. ahh I ahh mmmm??  5. yes no maybe - no I didn't do that.  So I can only come-up with three  -  but these three will save the planet.  I hold my head high.  I'm doing this for altruism = the greater good.  I'm doing it for you.  There's a mountain biking trail about an hour north of Detroit - Highland.  JseaL and I have done it many times.  You know what - it's not even fun. It's 2.5 hours of misery.  You never go fast.  No down hills.  No jumps.  No skinny's - nothing.  Yet - everytime I finish it - I think "that's the best trail in the world".  Everyone's quick to rattle off their accomplishments "well JAB let me tell you -I built a new deck / I coached my daughter's soccer game / I swam the English Channel / I ran a marathon / and I decoded the Human Genome - so It was a pretty productive day".  Wow! that's amazing - but ahhhh  so what  - I biked Highland!!!!.  That's how I feel about my three accomplishments last week. I've got you beat.

TUNES:-
Shinedown // Sound of Madness
John Mellencamp //  the Lonesome Jubilee 
KIdRock // Rock N' Roll Jesus

Penultimate Run:
Great Divide to Village - 3:30pm. 

First Beer:  
Powder Hound Pizza - Boise Brewing Co. - SnowBoarder Porter.

RockOn

JAB

JABSportsUSA

TUESDAY FEB. 25 2025 DAY #13

CONDITIONS
9am: Official temp 30°. Official new snow  = 4 inches. A wild ride the past few days.  The four inches this morning was wet and heavy - but after two days of rain - I'll take it.  In SandPointe and the base of the mountain road   -   it was pouring rain at 8:30am.  Once up the road and at the village - wet heavy snow had replaced its younger brother.  I thought - well the higher I go -  it must be better.  Wrong - full on blizzard conditions at the summit.  I would say 50mph winds and stinging snow.  I went down to the base and the mid-mountian lifts - good call.  As I'm typing this (7:30pm Pacific time) - I just received a conditions update email from SMR - #8 inches during the day.  It was all that.  By 12noon the nuclear winds had reached the base - good - cleared everybody out.  From 12noon to 3:30pm I had 8 inches of fresh snow and the wide open groomers to myself.

VISIBILITY:
For me - the summit was un-rideable.  It was so windy - hard to stand on one foot and hook-in my binding.  Visibility you ask - Zero.  Blinding snow, fog and flat grey - I could only slowly slide-slip down and pray I don't run over someone or fly off a cliff.  Mid-mountain down to the base was far better - but still challenging.  The wind and snow were blasting staight up.  The new snow covered-up the lip between groomed and not groomed.  If you ventured off the groomers - two days of  freeze / thaw frozen soft balls were ready to take you down.  See yesterday's crash report for more color.

DROP the "THE" -JUST FACEBOOK:
SueZfromSeattle great meeting you today (*****footnote - I always ask members of the flock if they want to be in the blog - then I ask for initials or a nickname 'yes use Susie from Seattle' --- can I use a 'Z' — 'sure'*****) we owned the mountain all afternoon.  Fantastic to hear you and your family found and are enjoying the blog - even your 8-year old!  SueZfromSeattle then asked  "are you on Facebook"?  No.  I explained  - for a brief moment in history --- maybe 6th to 7th grade-ish --- I was in the "A" crowd but quickly discovered and permanetly ostracized to the "C"  crowd - where I reside to this day.  The "C" crowd is very small.  What I'm saying - "I have no friends to 'Friend' me - but the blog is fun - if that's what Facebook is like - I may consider it".  Uh ooh - that's where this fun little 4-minute chairlift jaunt turned sour.  "NO - your blog is not like Facebook.  There's no forum.  No one has a chance to reply.  You're on a pulpit spewing anything you want............"  SueZfromSeattle - I'm sorry - but I cranked my headphones at this point and didn't hear another word.  

TUNES:
INXS // Kick
The Romantics // Rhythm Romance
The Romantics // Strictly Personal
The Romantics  // National Breakout
Adrenaline   //  25 years

Penultimate Run:
Great Divide to Village - 3:40pm. 

First Beer:  
SandPoint FOB - Payette Brewing Co. -  Sofa King Sunny Hazy Pale Ale

RockOn

JAB


MONDAY FEB. 24, 2025 DAY #12

CONDITIONS / PURE MICHIGAN
9am: Official temp 32°. Official new snow  = -0-.  It rained all night at the Sandpoint, ID FOB.  Street infront my apartment flooded  onto the lawn.  Low temperature last night was 22°. I know what that means. It's going to be a Pure Michigan day.  Indeed it was.  The rain subsided and sun was a shadow dancing behihd the cloulds.  My fears were cofirmed.  The mountain was a giant ice cube.  1st run at 9:30am over perfectly manucured corduroy - loosened my filings.  Steel edges on a snowboard - no match for the mouintain.  Chatter.  I can't do chatter.  I've always opined "why in the $o$!*( $u!$'n" world can't they groom early AM instead of late PM.  Could be my first skunked day of the trip.  I retreated to safe confines of   --  the bar.  A very early Bloody Break - with hopes that things loosen-up as the day warms.  I sequestered myself in the Lodge until about 11:00 AM.  Amen - the groomers softened-up and I had a decent afternoon.

VISIBILITY:
Chairs to the summit re-opened.  You could almost recogonize the ouline of a large sphere behind the clouds - but it never quite revealed itself.  No matter - visibility was fine.

CROWDS:
None.

CRASH:
First major crash of the trip. As usual  - stupid mistake doing nothing sexy.  Comfortably cruising on the softened corduroy - I wasn't looking where I was going.  I ventured off the groomer onto the now fully cured concrete. My back edge hit.  Slam I went down.  It was a crash where you have to take inventory of yourself  - padding your entire body before attempting resurrection.  Didn't feel anything protruding - a good start.  Didn't feel anything broken - excellent.  As I type this 9:00 PM Monday night - I'm contorting my neck to look at my backside in the mirror.  The continent of Africa - in beautiful shades of blue, purple and black are forming on my lower back and right cheek. The continent is about the size of a wine bottle.  The adamantium has completely depleted me of my mutant healing powers, this one's going to last.

Appropriate time to once again visit the JABSportUSA Three Univisersal Rules of sports - which I viloated today:
  1.Where head goes - your body follows.
  2.Bend your knees.
  3. To do tricks - you need guts and speed.
               
    TUNES:
BuckCherry //  15
Robert Plant // Pictures at Eleven
Kings of Leon // Come Around Sundown  
Dam Yankees // Dam Yankees   (Tommy Shaw is probably better than Ted). 

The Greatest = All Genres / All Time:
Guitary Player:         Eddie VanHalen
Musician:                  Prince
Song Writers:           Lennon - McCartney

Penultimate Run:
Terrain Park  - 3:40pm.  Battered and bruised -  but I was able to secure last chair.

First Beer:  
Pucci's Pub - 10 Barrel Brewing Co. -  Apocalypse IPA

RockOn

JAB


SUNDAY FEB. 23, 2025 DAY #11

CONDITIONS
9am: Official temp 36°. Official new snow  = 1 inch.  If it's possible - conditions got worse.  The conditions from yesterday gestated into uncured cement today.  It rained all last night.  It rained all morning to about 11am.  It was misery.  I took an hour Double Bloody break from 10am to 11am.  My Burton AK 100% Gortex snowboard suit - the the the top top top of the line - junk.  Soaked through within an hour.  I brought a can of boot water repleant.  I'm going to use the entire can and pretend I'm Jackson Pollock and spray every inch - can't make it worse.  

When I emerged from my mid-morning siesta the deluge finally stopped.  Still cold and wet (but now charged with liquid courage) I ventured back-out to the rain forest.  The slowest, thickest and stickiest snow I've ever been on. I was literally falling over the nose as my board  planted in the snow and refused to succumb to gravity.  Only someone with a serious condition  would go out in these conditions.

VISIBILITY:
The tops of all the mid-mountain lifts were completed socked-in.  All the chairs to the summit were closed.  I stood at the base of the non-running Lakeview Triple - I could see up maybe --- two chairs.  I don't blame SMR for closing these lifts - you could ride off a cliff and never see it.

THINGS I MISS FROM HOME / DETROIT / MICHIGAN:
the LovelyJSK and JJ2004; the Creatures; my hollow-body Ovation; Syphus; $0.99 cent gas station coffee and cheap cost of living.

THINGS I DON'T MISS FROM HOME / DETROIT / MICHIGAN:
There's really only one = Michigan State University (MSU) Spartan fans.  For all the great Seattle people I've met  — think Washington Huskies vs. Washington State Cougars.  MSU fans = they're lunatics.  MSU fans are envious, covetous, resentful, and green with envy.  I know many many MSU fans.  I have direct and extended family members that are Spartan fans.  I would say #10 to #20 are in my inner circle.  Over the years,  If accounting for co-workers, customers and friends - I'm well into triple digits that are more than just acquittances.  Most are fine Americans - competent doctors, lawyers, engineers, teachers, law enforcement, skill trade and business owners.  Most are far smarter and more accomplished than I.     I even like 2 or 3 of them.  My theory  - which has been well validated -  they're really University of Michigan Wolverine fans.  They know more about the Wolverines than I do.  Last Friday night's basketball game  - The Spartans beat the Wolverines.  I'm still getting text, emails and voice mails - all the similar flavor.  "Your Big Men only scored xx points in paint", "what stupid fouls by the Michigan guards".  "The Michigan front court only had xxx rebounds".  Not one referenced the Spartans.  If I reply back to these lunatics I always get - "your Nat'y was a fake" / "you had to cheat and steal signs" / "Harbaugh went the NFL to avoid retribution"........on and on.....again not one mention of their team.  My advice - if you have personal, social, professional and business relationship with Spartan fans - you'll be fine --- but once you start talking about the Michigan Wolverines - run.  It's not completely their fault - all the toxic fumes from couch burning at Cedar Fest has given them mania whenever the Michigan Wolverines are brought up. 

TUNES:
Alanis Morissette // Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie   """....supposed former infatuation junkie""""
Honeymoon Suite // Racing After Midnight
John Mellencamp //  Freesom's Road
Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise // Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise 

Penultimate Run:
Gypsy to Village - 3:40pm.  To the greatest lifties in North America - thank you.  Always friendly, always Rock music 
blaring and they open the lifts early on Pow. Days!  Trevor - you're the King "Last run and you're the last chair - chair #37."  Thank you my man - but I had to circleback to ensure going forward he uses "Penultimate Run"  instead.  Don't want to jinx anyone.  Trevor - I'll be there Monday - hold that last char for me.  I'll be at Pucci's 3:45pm for apres - my treat.

First Beer:  
Pucci's Pub - Iron Goat Brewing - GoatMeal Stout.

RockOn

JAB


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