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Tamarack is very much a project in motion, and it’s moving right along on schedule. Workers are busy all around this place. When completely built in 15 years, the mountain, meadow and lake resort will rank among the most exclusive resorts in the country. The super luxury Fairmont Tamarack project will break ground in spring of 2008. Backed by tennis legends Andre Agassi and Steffie Graf, the hotel is sure to draw the celebrity crowd and monied investors. President and Mrs. Bush already have visited.
The summit of the 7,700-foot-high West Mountain is above treeline, but not by much. The top third is sparsely treed, but farther down the mountain, trails lace their way through the forest. Eventually the resort plans to have 11 lifts—seven of them high-speed—and 2,100 skiable acres. Right now seven lifts are running—three high-speed quads—accessing 39 runs and several pockets of glades, one that is a grove of Tamarack trees (hence the name), where the composition of that tree species provides excellent tree skiing and riding (google it). Grooming on the cruisers is impeccable, and improvements to snowmaking focus on high-traffic areas. The resort limits Alpine tickets to 2,000 people per day.
Tamarack Resort was granted a 49-year lease of about 2,100 acres of Idaho State Endowment Land, where the skiing and riding takes place. The resort owns 1,500 adjacent acres, where homes, chalets, condos and the golf course were built. The last U.S. resorts of comparable size to be constructed were Beaver Creek, Colo., and Deer Valley, Utah. Developers tried to build this resort in west-central Idaho for 20 years, but the sale of real estate finally made it possible. This season, Tamarack hosts the final stop of the Chevrolet U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix in late February in its 22-foot-high SuperPipe. You might want to add on a day or two at nearby Brundage Mountain. Lift tickets (2006/07 prices): Adults,
$58; juniors (7–17), $29; seniors (65+), $40; ages 6 and younger,
free. Distance from Boise: 100 miles from Boise
Airport on Hwy. 55. A shuttle
between the airport and resort can be reserved by calling 208-325-1005 48 hours before pickup. Lodging information: (877) 826-7376 for Tamarack
Resort Central Reservations. Photos by Sherri Harkin courtesy
of Tamarack Resort
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Winter 2004/05 was the first lift-served ski season at Tamarack—the first four-season resort to be built in the U.S. in 22 years. Tamarack, which averages 300 inches of snow each year, is 90 miles north of Boise, west of the village of Donnelly and beside Cascade Lake in Idaho’s gorgeous and largely untouched Payette River Mountains region. The first two seasons, Tamarack offered only snowcat-serviced terrain, enough to familiarize skiers and riders with the mountain’s bounty and make them want to come back for more. Tamarack's original yurts that saw the resort through its first season have given way to Discovery Square, a group of temporary dome buildings that house necessary rental, retail and repair shops, eateries, skier services, children's center, food market and clinic. Its first hotel, The Lodge at Osprey Meadows, sits nearby with luxury rooms and condos, gourmet dining (Morels), hot tub and pools, fitness center and the full-service Sante Spa. Other lodging options include a neighborhood of Hansel & Gretel cottages, each with a private hot tub, and estate homes and chalets. All are within walking distance of the village, but a free Dial-A-Ride shuttle is available with a phone call. 
The
resort base sits at 4,900 feet where 25 km. of groomed trails
for Nordic skiing and 15 km. of snowshoe trails are right outside the door of the lodge. Lessons and outings are available
for both Nordic skiing and snowshoeing. 
