Schweitzer Mountain is located in Sandpoint, Idaho.

A USGS aeriel photo of Schweitzer Mountain

History:

Schweitzer Mountain got its name from an old Swiss “hermit” who lived at the bottom of basin, Schweitzer is German for Swiss. According to legend this man had a fancy for cat stew and consequently many of the local cats had gone missing until a police investigation. He was soon taken away but lives on through the mountain. Skiing started at Schweitzer in 1933 but was not a ski resort until 1963. Jim Brown was one of the men who skied then and saw its potential as a ski area. Jim joined forces with Jack Fowler and Grant Groesbeck both from Spokane, WA to develop Schweitzer into a ski resort. After a lot of hard work on November 30, 1963 Schweitzer Basin was opened, it had a lodge and a mile long double chair lift. Ever growing in 1988 Schweitzer Basin was renamed Schweitzer Mountain Resort in 1988 and was opened in the summer for hiking and mountain biking.
Unfortunately in 1996 Schweitzer Mountain had run out of cash and filed for bankruptcy. It was purchased for $18 million dollars by Harbor Properties a year later. Harbor Properties also owns Steven’s Pass in Washington.  They made immediate improvements to the ski rental and repair shops, parking,  installing a shuttle system, and a retail shop just to name a few of these improvements. They also invested $5 million dollars to renovate the lodge to something closer to what it looks like today, as well as add condominiums.