Tuesday, October 27, 2026
Thirty-one days out from Schweitzer's tentative opening day on Friday, November 27, the mountain is giving skiers exactly the kind of Tuesday they want to see. Rain was falling in the village and at the summit this morning, snow is in the resort's village forecast today and Wednesday, and both countdown clocks that matter are running. The Schweitzer season pass sale ends November 15, nineteen days from now, before prices go up, and 3-Packs are on sale starting at 249 dollars for a limited time. If new gear is on your list, the SARS Ski Swap comes to the Bonner County Fairgrounds on November 14, a fundraiser for the Schweitzer Alpine Racing School, with check-in on November 13 and shopping from noon to 6 p.m.
The resort's own Mountain Report, updated minutes before our final check this morning, put the village at 35 degrees with rain and a west-northwest wind at 6 miles per hour, while the summit sat at 29 degrees with rain and a southwest wind at 28 miles per hour. The snow report fields still read dashes across the board, with base depth, season total and the last 24 hours all unposted, and the mountain remains closed for the season at 0 of 10 lifts, 0 of 92 trails and 0 of 2,900 acres open. The village forecast turns colder: a high of 31 and a low of 28 with snow and wind today, 28 and 26 with snow and wind on Wednesday, and 30 and 30, cloudy, on Thursday. Our shared morning radar, built from the Spokane and Missoula radars, matches the mood, showing showers over Bonners Ferry, Sandpoint and Coeur d'Alene this morning.
Tuesday is road day in this column, and today the roads deserve the attention. Those same showers are crossing U.S. Highway 95 through Sandpoint and Coeur d'Alene and Interstate 90 along the Spokane to Coeur d'Alene drive, so expect wet pavement and spray on both commutes. In Coeur d'Alene, the Idaho Transportation Department says Huetter Road closed beneath I-90 on October 26 and stays closed through November 1 while crews demolish the existing westbound bridge so it can be rebuilt next spring with more lanes; drivers should use Atlas Road instead. Once Huetter reopens, Atlas Road will close for up to two weeks for similar work, with Huetter as the alternate. Westbound I-90 also remains reduced near Northwest Boulevard, its off-ramp closed until both westbound lanes reopen in early November, and traffic from Huetter Road to State Highway 41 is shifting to the south side of the interstate for about a year. Up Schweitzer Mountain Road, take the wet curves gently, especially with snow in the village forecast today and Wednesday.
Around the panhandle, the Idaho Liberty Bell Tour is on the road today as part of the state's America 250 celebration, bringing the recently restored bell to communities in all 44 Idaho counties. Today's stops are close to home: Bonners Ferry Middle School from 8:30 to 9 this morning, East Hope near the Old Church from 10:40 to 11:10, Clark Fork Junior and Senior High School from 12:05 to 12:35, Athol from 2:20 to 2:50 this afternoon, and a longer stop at McEuen Park in Coeur d'Alene from 4 to 6 this evening. It is also the final week of early voting in Bonner County: early voting runs weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and ends at 5 p.m. this Friday, October 30, ahead of Election Day on Tuesday, November 3.
Today's calendar is a working Tuesday rather than a festival day. At the Bonner County Fairgrounds, the Lake Pend Oreille School District's Drive the Bus event runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and adults can drive a school bus through a parking lot course and meet the district transportation team. The Bonner County Commissioners hold their regular Tuesday meeting at 9 a.m. at the county administration building in Sandpoint, the library hosts its Tuesday Coding Club, and the evening brings the day's biggest public meeting, the Schweitzer Basin Water customer workshop covered next.
Tonight's workshop is one mountain households will want on the calendar. Schweitzer Basin Water is seeking a general rate increase of about 134 percent in Idaho Public Utilities Commission case SCH-W-26-01, a request that would set a 93 dollar monthly residential flat rate and raise infrastructure and tap fees. Commission staff will host a workshop tonight from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the Marigold Conference Room at the Sandpoint Center, 414 Church Street. Did you know you do not have to attend to be heard? Written comments in the case are due by January 12, 2027, and can be filed through the commission's comment form using the case number.
Days like this are the quiet magic of late October on the mountain: snow falling at the summit, rain on the lake below, and a village counting down to opening day one forecast at a time. If you are planning a ski season visit, a pass deadline trip, or just a cozy weekend above the clouds, we would love to welcome you to The Village Overlook, our hotel-style studio on the hill above Schweitzer's ski village. Come watch the snow line creep down the mountain, then be first in line when the lifts start turning on November 27. Until then, drive carefully, vote early if you can, and keep the ski tunes coming.