See and experience Bogus Basin Ski Resort with a focus on off-trail and “side country” options! The GPS data and videos below will allow you to virtually discover “Bogus”. Learn why this resort truly is a hidden gem – a great place to ski and ride!
Bogus Basin Website: http://www.bogusbasin.org/
Weather forecast for Bogus Basin Ski Resort.
Bogus Basin Master GPS data
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Ski Area Description:
Bogus Basin is located in the Boise Front range just 16 miles Northeast of Boise Idaho. The ski area is run by a non-profit organization. Its primary market is the local Treasure Valley in Idaho. The cool thing about “Bogus” as it is known to locals is that it offers 360 degrees of skiing on ~1,800 vertical feet. Although there are miles of groomed trails, there is also a significant amount of off-trail terrain. Bogus has two mountains that comprise the inbounds skiing, and two adjacent mountains that provide hundreds of acres of out-of-bounds skiing.
The “front side”
is primarily served by the Deer point high-speed quad, but there is a auxiliary double that runs on weekends and holidays, a triple chair, and a beginner double. A beginner “magic carpet” runs directly below the beginner double. The front side is comprised mostly of blue and green cruisers, with a couple of black diamond’s thrown in.
Technically, the runs on Shaffer Butte, (high point of the resort), are on the front side. However, they can only be reached by riding one of the backside lifts. The Shaffer “face” has the most sustained vertical runs of all the terrain at Bogus Basin. The disadvantage to skiing on Shaffer’s face is actually one of the biggest pluses on a powder day. Namely, you can’t get to it directly and therefore the powder lasts much longer than if there was a direct lift from top-to-bottom. One can routinely find fresh powder, (sometimes even on the day after a storm), even though these runs are plainly visible from the base.
Bogus Basin’s backside
is actually two distinct areas of the mountain that are separated by a ridge that runs to the north and connects the out-of-bounds territory of Mores Mountain.
The north facing runs are served by the Superior lift, (new High-speed quad for 2011-12 season). This area has some great crusiers, and the tree skiing off-trail is the place to be on a powder day.
Most of the runs have a great fall line aspect. They are primarily blues and black diamonds. Another huge advantage to this area of the mountain is that 2 of the best groomers are lighted and provide exciting night skiing opportunities. As previously mentioned, the new high speed quad will now make the night skiing an excellent choice, (in the past, the old lift was too slow and you would freeze your @$$ off on the way up).
The Pine Creek drainage is the second part of the backside equation. It is primarily an east-facing aspect that is characterized by long groomers that are separated by gullies, rocky outcrops, and treed areas. This area is served by the Pine Creek high speed quad. It has the longest groomed runs on the mountain, and the largest vertical.
Mores Mountain, Bob’s Knob, Clear Creek and Dry Creek drainage make up the primary side-country options. These areas provide 500-1,500 vertical options and are all accessible directly from out-of-bounds gates. Mores Mountain has the most to offer in terms of variety and vertical. The East bowl offers 1,500 vertical, and the west routes produce between 1,000 and 1,200 vertical. The best snow is found on the north and east aspects. This mountain offers a full 360 degrees of options. Although there are areas that could produce avalanches, I have only seen minimal activity in the 20+ years that I have been skiing at Bogus. The primary areas to be aware of would be the northeast section of Mores, and some of the chutes into the Dry Creek drainage.
GPS Data Commentary
The GPS data map above, as well as those at GPS-Exchange.com are all DOWNLOADABLE and free of charge. The data was collected by uploading actual tracks from a Garmin GPS unit. As stated above, this data is focused on ski runs at Bogus Basin that are Intermidiate to Expert Only. It does not contain any of the beginner runs, and it does not contain all of the official runs at Bogus Basin. It contains many off-trail and out-of-bounds routes and these routes have natural hazards such as cliffs, rocks, trees gullies and other obstacles! Use caution and always ski with a partner. All out-of-bounds access was gained through the established out-of-bounds backcountry gates that Bogus Basin deploys on the ski area boundaries. These are indicated with Waypoint markers in the data.
Summary
Pros: Close to metro area, terrain variety, OB terrain, 360 degree skiing
Cons: Snowfall can be marginal, weekend crowds
Key Statistics:
Vertical: 1,860
Acreage: 2,600
Driving distance/time from: Boise = 16 mi / 35 minutes
Lifts: 3 detachable quads, 3 doubles, 1 triple and a magic carpet
Other activities: Tubing, Groomed XC trails, Snowshoeing, and sleigh rides
Faves:
Powder Run: Inspiration
Sustained vertical: Shaffer gully
Cruiser: Paradise
Steeps: chair 6 lift line, (Rock garden & hairy beast)
Steeps, Honorable mention: The Waterfall – kinda short, but is fun and technical.
Best launching zone: Castle Grey Skull, (also known as Cathedral Rock), the Rock Garden is a close 2nd.
