Bogus Basin newest additions aim to help beginners on the slopes

Bogus Basin aims at opening for ski season on November 23. So far this non-profit recreation area has received 18 inches of snow, they’ve made snow for 36 hours and they have a base of eight inches.

“It’s a great way to start because it is best to make snow on top of natural snow,” said Brad Wilson, Bogus Basin’s general manager. “It really speeds up the process.”

What will be open on Saturday, November 23 depends on what happens between now and then, but snow is in the forecast this next week.

“We will have the terrain park open for sure and Coach,” said Wilson. “Coach is a brand new coach lift and Coach Trail which is three times as long as the old Coach Trail should all be open on the 23rd and anything else is a bonus.”

This summer Bogus Basin built two new SkyTrac fixed grip quads to replace their two oldest lift on the mountains. They include the new Coach lift that is twice as long and the Bitterroot Lift that Wilson believes will give beginners more time on the slopes.

“We are super excited to offer a much better beginner experience and we replaced the old Bitterroot Lift which was an old double with another quad,” said Wilson. “It is going to be fantastic and focused towards low intermediates and families with young kids.”

Another change includes the Bitterroot Lift being open all week long, it used to just be open on weekends.

“Realistically, most people have not even skied over there before,” said Wilson. “Now that area is going to be just supercharged because we have done a lot of work over there. We actually cut a new trail called Wake Up Jim.”

Bogus Basin has also focused their snowmaking on the tubing hill to get that open as soon as possible, only a limited number of season passes remain and this non-profit recreation area is fully staffed after raising wages and providing transportation to the mountain.

“We hire kids from 14-years and older so it is a great first job for kids,” said Wilson. “If you are retired it’s also a great job to make a little extra money and get a free season pass.”