Alterra to Acquire Schweitzer, Idaho, Expanding Its Pacific Northwest Portfolio
Schweitzer, Idaho will become the 17th resort in Alterra’s portfolio.
Earlier today, Alterra announced that it has entered an agreement to acquire Schweitzer, Idaho. This panhandle resort sits at the eastern edge of the Pacific Northwest, and at 2,900 acres, is Idaho’s largest mountain by claimed skiable acreage.
This development comes just two seasons after Schweitzer joined the Ikon Pass, a multi-resort pass product owned by Alterra. There are no changes to Schweitzer’s 2023-24 Ikon Pass access at this time—full Ikon passholders will continue to have access to 7 days at Schweitzer, while base passholders will have access to 5 days with holiday blackouts.
The finalized sale has not been completed yet, but the deal is expected to close later this year.
Our Take
While it isn’t as big or well-endowed in high-alpine terrain as some competitors, Schweitzer has long offered a very strong intermediate-to-advanced footprint with minimal crowds and reasonable lift ticket prices. Residents of Pacific Northwest cities such as Seattle and Portland often choose to visit Schweitzer as an alternative to the much closer but significantly more crowded Washington and Oregon resorts.
Schweitzer is currently a 5 or 7-day Ikon Pass partner depending on the level of pass, and with Alterra’s acquisition, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the resort upgraded to unlimited access in the next season or two. Some may cynically expect a large uptick in crowds, just as some other Alterra-owned resorts, such as Winter Park, Solitude, and Crystal, have seen in recent years. But Schweitzer sits in a very remote Idaho location—the resort is six hours from Seattle and seven hours from Portland—which makes it less susceptible to a major crowding increase than these other resorts. Schweitzer is about one-and-a-half hours from Spokane, but this city is modestly-sized enough that even if there’s an uptick in resident visits, we don’t expect a material change in crowd flow.
On the other hand, Alterra’s acquisition could bring an increase in Schweitzer’s lift ticket prices. Alterra has never been conservative with their lift ticket pricing, and many of the company’s U.S. resorts—including Stratton, Steamboat, Deer Valley, Sugarbush, and Palisades Tahoe—are priced near or at the top of their regional markets. With Schweitzer’s current 1-day adult rate going for as low as $100—even on peak weekends holidays—it’s priced a lot lower than it could be for the terrain it offers.
Ultimately, we’ll have to wait and see what this acquisition means for Schweitzer and Alterra—the deal hasn’t even been finalized yet, so the impacts to Schweitzer’s overall experience are still up in the air. But we’ll be back to the resort next season to find out for ourselves.
Considering a trip to Schweitzer? Check out our comprehensive mountain review here. Additionally, you can check out our comparison between the Epic, Ikon, Mountain Collective, and Indy Pass products below.
