Idaho resort adds more acres and Andre Agassi to the mix

Idaho resort adds more acres and Andre Agassi to the mix{mosimage}In terms of ski area years, Idaho’s Tamarack Resort is barely out of diapers.

But now on the verge of its third winter of operations, the Idaho toddler has certainly survived the terrible two’s and is growing up in a hurry.

Tamarack grabbed headlines twice in the past week with two major announcements — the finalization of deal with tennis legends Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf to build a luxury hotel and mid-mountain residences; and the planned opening of 5,000 acres of backcountry terrain that will virtually quintuple the size of the resort in one summer.

Tamarack opened in December 2004 to a mixture of cheers and jeers from locals in and around the nearby small town of Donnelly, which would feel the weight of the first all-season destination resort to open in the United States in more than 23 years. The cheers came from those who felt the area needed an economic shot in the arm from resort construction workers and tourists. The jeers came from those who thought the resort would spoil the small-town charm of Donnelly and nearby Lake Cascade while increasing traffic on the two-lane highway running north from Boise to the resort.

Those proponents and opponents certainly haven’t disappeared, but Tamarack Resort communications manager Jessica Flynn said their voices haven’t been heard quite as loudly in the wake of the recent expansion plans and she thinks she knows why.

“… Some of the folks who were weary of Tamarack in the beginning — and I think this kind of speaks to it — have said, ‘We may not agree with the pace of development, but we have to say that when Tamarack does something they do it right, they do it well,’” Flynn said. “I think that’s kind of the mind-set change that some people who may have been in opposition to the project at one point are realizing that the leaders of the project, the CEO and the VPs that are on-board are going to do their best that with growth we are doing it responsibly.

“In this case, with such a large hotel coming in, there will be some people with questions, saying, ‘Wow, we’re growing so quickly and it’s going to be such a massive project.’ There are going to be over 200 rooms in this hotel with a conference center and a big spa, and I think the recognition that the people behind the project are well-respected is easing some concerns. We haven’t had too much reaction to it yet, at least reaction that’s gotten to me.”

Flynn said that the just-retired Agassi last toured the resort late last year after flying up from Boise following a charity tennis event with Graf, his wife. The couple’s company, Agassi Graf Development LLC, is teaming with Bayview Financial and Fairmont Hotels to develop the hotel at the base and the cottages mid-mountain at Whitewater. The properties are scheduled to open in 2009.

What will be open in time for the coming season are 250 acres of new, lift-accessed gladed tree-skiing terrain, three new runs to push the total to 38, and the 5,000 acres of backcountry terrain adjacent to the resort’s northern and southern boundaries.

“I kind of think that, just from talking to people, this is the terrain that they have been salivating over,” Flynn said. “There are great chutes and bowls you can see from across the valley that are going to up the advanced and expert terrain available to folks visiting the resort. We’re going to be running guided trips from snowcats, and also hiking-for-your-turn trips to the backcountry there. … You’ll be able to take the lifts to the top, and the backcountry gates will be right off our lifts just a couple of kick-glides away.”

Also on the resort’s calendar this season is a stop on the U.S. Snowboard Grand Prix tour, scheduled for Feb. 24-25. A number of Olympic medalists are scheduled to compete in the resort’s highest-profile event to date.

“Entering our third winter, to have the deal finalized on the Agassi project, to have a big national snowboarding event putting more national attention on us with a televised event, thousands of people coming and Olympic athletes coming, that’s huge,” Flynn said. “Then we keep expanding the amenities and terrain that’s available to folks. … so there’s kind of a great trifecta of things coming together to keep the spotlight on us but also to show that we are a destination resort nationally and internationally.”