Bogus Basin: Difference between revisions
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[[Alf Engen]], the father of the American powder technique, selected the site for the ski area at Bogus Basin in 1939. Bogus opened to the public in December 1942 with a 500 foot (150 m) [[Ski tow|rope tow]]. |
[[Alf Engen]], the father of the American powder technique, selected the site for the ski area at Bogus Basin in 1939. Bogus opened to the public in December 1942 with a 500 foot (150 m) [[Ski tow|rope tow]]. |
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The first [[chairlift]] at Bogus was installed in 1959 at Deer Point and night skiing debuted in December 1964. The resort currently operates 7 chairlifts and one [[Magic carpet (ski lift)|Magic |
The first [[chairlift]] at Bogus was installed in 1959 at Deer Point and night skiing debuted in December 1964. The resort currently operates 7 chairlifts and one [[Magic carpet (ski lift)|Magic Carpet]]. Three of the chairlifts are [[Detachable chairlift|high-speed quads]] (#1 ''Deer Point'', and #6 ''Pine Creek'') were installed in 1996 and 1999, and the newest on #3 "Superior" in Summer 2011.<ref>[http://www.idahostatesman.com/2011/04/17/1612600/bogus-replacing-superior-lift.html]</ref> |
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Bogus Basin has {{convert|2600|acre|km2}} of mixed runs, bowls, and glades, with {{convert|900|acre|km2}} groomed. The lift-served vertical drop is 1790 feet (546 m) on the east-facing "back side," with a summit [[elevation]] of 7582 feet (2311 m) [[AMSL|above sea level]] at the top of '''Shafer Butte''', the highest point of the Boise Ridge mountains. This back side of Shafer Butte was opened in January 1977, following the installation of chair #6 (''Pine Creek'') the previous summer. A fixed-grip double for 23 seasons, it became a high-speed quad in the summer of 1999.<ref>[http://www.bogusbasin.org/about/bogus-basin-history-timeline/index.aspx bogusbasin.org] history - timeline</ref> |
Bogus Basin has {{convert|2600|acre|km2}} of mixed runs, bowls, and glades, with {{convert|900|acre|km2}} groomed. The lift-served vertical drop is 1790 feet (546 m) on the east-facing "back side," with a summit [[elevation]] of 7582 feet (2311 m) [[AMSL|above sea level]] at the top of '''Shafer Butte''', the highest point of the Boise Ridge mountains. This back side of Shafer Butte was opened in January 1977, following the installation of chair #6 (''Pine Creek'') the previous summer. A fixed-grip double for 23 seasons, it became a high-speed quad in the summer of 1999.<ref>[http://www.bogusbasin.org/about/bogus-basin-history-timeline/index.aspx bogusbasin.org] history - timeline</ref> |
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Revision as of 03:27, 6 September 2011
| Bogus Basin | |
|---|---|
| Location | Boise National Forest Boise County, Idaho  United States |
| Nearest major city | Boise 16 miles (26 km) |
| Vertical | 1790 ft (546 m) |
| Top elevation | 7582 ft (2311 m) AMSL |
| Base elevation | 5790 ft (1765 m) Pine Creek - (Chair 6) 6150 ft (1875 m) main base area - (Chair 1) |
| Skiable area | 2,600 acres (11 km2) |
| Trails | 53 - 22% easiest - 45% more difficult - 33% most difficult |
| Longest run | Paradise 1.5 miles (2.4 km) |
| Lift system | 7 chairlifts - 3 hi-speed quad - (# 1,3,6) - 1 triple - (# 2) - 3 double - (# 4,5,7) 1 Magic Carpet |
| Terrain parks | 3 |
| Snowfall | 200-250 in (508-635 cm) |
| Snowmaking | portable, for patching |
| Night skiing | 5 chairlifts - (# 1,2,3,4,7) until 10 pm - 7 nights / wk 165 acres (0.67 km²) |
| Website | Bogus Basin.org |
Basin
Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area is a ski area located in southwest Idaho in Boise County, 16 miles (26 km) north-northeast of the city of Boise.
Bogus is operated by the Bogus Basin Recreation Association, a non-profit organization, on private and leased land in the Boise National Forest. Ski season generally runs from Thanksgiving weekend until the weekend preceding April 15, depending on snow conditions. The area also has cross-country skiing on 23 miles (37 km) of Nordic trails.
Ski area
Alf Engen, the father of the American powder technique, selected the site for the ski area at Bogus Basin in 1939. Bogus opened to the public in December 1942 with a 500 foot (150 m) rope tow.
The first chairlift at Bogus was installed in 1959 at Deer Point and night skiing debuted in December 1964. The resort currently operates 7 chairlifts and one Magic Carpet. Three of the chairlifts are high-speed quads (#1 Deer Point, and #6 Pine Creek) were installed in 1996 and 1999, and the newest on #3 "Superior" in Summer 2011.[1]
Bogus Basin has 2,600 acres (11 km2) of mixed runs, bowls, and glades, with 900 acres (3.6 km2) groomed. The lift-served vertical drop is 1790 feet (546 m) on the east-facing "back side," with a summit elevation of 7582 feet (2311 m) above sea level at the top of Shafer Butte, the highest point of the Boise Ridge mountains. This back side of Shafer Butte was opened in January 1977, following the installation of chair #6 (Pine Creek) the previous summer. A fixed-grip double for 23 seasons, it became a high-speed quad in the summer of 1999.[2]
On the front side, Bogus Basin's southern lift-served summit is at "Doe Point," adjacent to Deer Point, which is slightly higher and covered with communications towers at an elevation of 7070 feet (2155 m). Both vantage points overlook Boise and the entire Treasure Valley, over 4000 vertical feet (1219 m) below. Bogus' base area and main day lodge (J. R. Simplot Lodge, formerly Bogus Creek) are at 6150 feet (1875 m), at the base of the north-facing slopes served by the #1 (Deer Point) quad chairlift, installed in the summer of 1996. The original double chairlift on #1 was installed in 1959 and upgraded in 1981. The #4 (Showcase) double chair, which replaced a surface poma lift in 1972, is east of and parallel with the #1 chair. The #7 double chair (Coach) has served the beginner area since 1996; it is the relocated and shortened #1 chairlift of 1981. It honors Bill "Coach" Everts, an early area manager and longtime director.
At mid-mountain, a second day lodge (Pioneer Lodge - 1973) sits at 6800 feet (2072 m) with a sizable parking lot, a cluster of condominiums (1975), and the Jason Harper Training Center. From this Pioneer area, there is direct access to the gentle south-facing slopes served by the #2 (Morning Star - 1965) chairlift and the north-facing slopes of the #5 (Bitterroot - 1973) double chair (vertical: 525' - 160 m), which runs only on weekends and holidays. In addition, there is connecting trail access to the base of the #3 (Superior) chairlift. With its 1500 foot (460 m) vertical rise, chair #3 serves the advanced & expert terrain on the northern face of Shafer Butte, unloading at 7480 feet (2280 m). The original fixed-grip double chair was used for nearly a half century and was a 9 minute ride. It was replaced by a high-speed quad in the summer of 2011, which will cut the ride time in half. [3] Night skiing was added to chair #3 with the installation of lights in the summer of 1986, and chair #2 was changed from a double to a triple in the late 1990s.
Bogus Basin's average annual snowfall is 200-250 inches (508–635 cm). Due to limited water resources, there is no significant snow making, only small portable units for patching. Night skiing is available on 165 acres (0.67 km²), on runs served by five of the chairlifts (none on #5 or #6). Three terrain parks are also available; two on the Deer Point mountain, one for advanced, the other for beginner to intermediate skill level. The Sunshine Park is located on the Morning Star side of the mountain.
The main day lodge at Bogus Creek was built in 1962; its ground floor contains the ticket office and ski lockers. In 2002, it was named for agribusiness magnate J. R. Simplot, because without him, there might not be a Bogus Basin. When the fledgling ski area was struggling to pay its debts in 1953, Simplot bought its ski lifts and other mountain improvements from the Kingcliffe Co. and sold them back to the Bogus Basin Recreational Association for just one dollar. His intervention averted almost certain financial demise and won the everlasting gratitude of a generation of skiers. Simplot was also the driving force behind Brundage Mountain northwest of McCall, which opened in November 1961.
Chairlifts
| Lift Name | Vertical Drop |
Length | Type | Ride Time |
Hourly Capacity |
Gradient | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # 1 - Deer Point | 880' - (268 m) | 3905' - (1190 m) | High Speed Quad | 4 min | 23.1% - (13.0 deg.) | 1996 (1981, 1959) | |
| # 2 - Morning Star | 625' - (190 m) | 3108' - (947 m) | Triple (1999) | 7 min | 20.5% - (11.6 deg.) | 1965 | |
| # 3 - Superior | 1500' - (457 m) | 4480' - (1365 m) | High Speed Quad | 4.5 min | 35.5% - (19.6 deg.) | 2011 (1965) | |
| # 4 - Showcase | 640' - (195 m) | 3520' - (1073 m) | Double | 7 min | 18.5% - (10.5 deg.) | 1972 | |
| # 5 - Bitterroot | 525' - (160 m) | 2566' - (782 m) | Double | 6 min | 20.9% - (11.8 deg.) | 1973 | |
| # 6 - Pine Creek | 1780' - (542 m) | 5800' - (1768 m) | High Speed Quad | 6 min | 32.3% - (17.9 deg.) | 1999 (1976) | |
| # 7 - Coach | Double | 1996 |
The Name "Bogus Basin"
How Bogus Basin actually earned its name is a matter of debate. One version dates to the 1880s, when two prospectors loaded a shotgun with a few dollars' worth of gold dust and blasted it into the walls of a worthless cave near Shafer Butte. They galloped down to Boise where they slammed their "find" on a local bar and sold shares in the "mine" to gullible patrons. By the time the new owners realized that they had been fleeced, the swindlers had disappeared.
Another version is a two-paged story of a hard-to-find drainage and an 1863 mining claim. Captain Tom Morgan and a group of no-accounts, filed a claim in the area of the current base facilities, near Shafer Butte. Later they returned to Boise with the fruits of their labor, reportedly as much as $50,000 worth of gold. After a legendary spending spree, it was discovered to be Fool's Gold (iron pyrite) that had been chemically tuned up. The group was neither caught nor ever seen again.
Other activities
The GoldRush Tubing Hill opened in the fall of 2003, constructed just west of the main parking lot for about $100,000. Annual revenues from the hill were expected to be four to five times that figure; revenues for its fourth season (2006–07) were just under $140,000.
Some summer activities are available at Bogus, including hiking, mountain biking (no lift service), and a disc golf course. The disc golf course opened in July 2005, centered at the mid-mountain Pioneer Lodge; the upper area of chair 5 (Bitterroot) hosts the north nine, and the south nine is on the upper area of chair 2 (Morning Star).
Bogus Basin Road
Bogus is accessed by Bogus Basin Road (an extension of Harrison Boulevard), which twists 16 miles (26 km) from the Boise city limits to the resort, only 10 miles (16 km) NNE as the crow flies.
The two-lane road turns 172 times and gains 3400 feet (1036 m) in elevation as the terrain changes from dry sagebrush foothills to snow-laden mountain forest. Originally a gravel road constructed by CCC crews (funded by the WPA) from 1938–42, Bogus Basin Road was first paved in 1962 and improved in 1998.
Season Passes
In March 1998, Bogus' general manager Mike Shirley initiated a ski industry revolution, slashing the cost of an adult season pass from $500 to $199, lowering the break-even point to just seven visits (& kids' season passes fell to just $29). Bogus Basin sold nearly nine times as many passes for 1998-99 season versus the previous year, halting the pass sales at 25,000 (2,854 for the 1997-98 season).
The new pricing strategy generated almost four times as much revenue (nearly $3.6 million) from season pass sales, all before June, six months before the season would begin. Total skier visits went from under 192,000 to over 303,000 (up 58%). Although the sales of day-tickets ($31 each) expectedly fell (almost 50%), Bogus' total revenue increased by $2.6 million (up 55%) to $7.3 million for the 1998-99 ski season.
Shirley's deep-discount strategy made waves, & sent ski executives scrambling as resorts from coast-to-coast lowered their prices for multi-day, multi-area, and season passes. Locally, ski equipment sales increased significantly, as dormant skiers upgraded their gear.[4]
United States Ski Team
Members of the U.S. Ski Team from Bogus Basin include:
- Jeret "Speedy" Peterson - freestyle aerials
- 2005 World Cup champion
- 2010 Olympic silver medalist - Dane Spencer - giant slalom
- Erik Fisher - downhill
References
- ^ [1]
- ^ bogusbasin.org history - timeline
- ^ Idaho Statesman] - Bogus Basin replacing Superior lift with high-speed quad for next winter 2011-04-17
- ^ SKI Magazine "It's the Price, Stupid," by Greg Trinker, October 1999, p.33-34
- SKI Magazine "Bogus Basin," by Andrew Slough, September 2002, p. 82-84
External links
- BogusBasin.org - official site
- Bogus Basin Virtual Tour - See the mountain virtually
- YouTube.com - old history and promotional videos
- Ski Lifts.org - photos of Bogus Basin's lifts
- Bogus Basin Ski Patrol
- Bogus Basin Ski Racing Alliance
- Bogus Basin Masters Racing Team
- Idaho Ski Resorts.com - Bogus Basin
- Pioneer Condos.com - condominiums at mid-mountain of Bogus Basin
- Idaho Winter.org - official state tourism site
- Boise National Forest - official site
- Weather.com - hourly forecast for Bogus Basin
- Terra Server USA.com - USGS map from Bogus Basin - Shafer Butte area
- Disc Golf Course at Bogus Basin - Gem State Disc Golfers