Schweitzer named top NW ski resort

SANDPOINT — After one of the best snow years in recent history, Schweitzer Mountain Resort ended its season with the title of overall favorite ski resort in the Pacific Northwest as well as resort with the best nightlife in the Pacific Northwest, according to a popular Web site.

The rankings come from OnTheSnow.com, a Web site based in northern California that attracts as many as 1.2 million viewers per month.

The awards, given in regional and national categories, were based on 7,500 reviews submitted by the site’s readers during an eight-month period.

In the Northwest category, other awards were given to 49 Degrees North, located near Spokane, Wash., Mount Baker Resort, located near Bellingham, Wash., and Mount Bachelor, located outside of Bend, Ore.

With the exception of Shanty Creek Resort in Bellaire, Mich., only Schweitzer was recognized in more than one category in a region.

Tom Chasse, Schweitzer CEO and president, said he is extremely honored by the ratings and touted the importance of receiving awards based on customer reviews.

“Personal recommendations are incredibly important in our competitive industry and this type of guest survey by an outside entity is valuable in that it tells us what people are saying behind our back,” Chasse said.

Being recognized for having the best nightlife can be attributed to the resort’s emphasis on attracting diverse musical acts to the area, like the annual Music with Altitude series, said Jennifer Ekstrom, Schweitzer communications manager.

“We offer a great product, great services and great amenities, and as more people enjoy that, the more the word spreads and it starts to snowball,” Ekstrom said.

For Schweitzer, the recognition comes less than a year after being named one of the the 25 best resorts in North America and third best for tree skiing by Skiing Magazine.