Editor Alert — Wednesday, February 10, 2009
For Information Call Anne Peterson at 208-373-7368
           or Bob Evancho at 373-7369

New OUTDOOR IDAHO Features “Hometown Ski Hills”

— Airs Thursday, February 18, at 8:00/7:00 p.m. MT/PT
— Repeats Sunday, February 21, at 7:00 p.m. MT/PT
— See it in HD Thursday, February 18, at 9:00/8:00 p.m. MT/PT

Cozy, comfortable community ski areas are scattered throughout Idaho, each with its own story and predominately local clientele. Independent producer Jeff Beaman tells the story of three of these ski hills for OUTDOOR IDAHO — Bogus Basin, just north of Boise, Little Ski Hill by McCall and Pomerelle near Albion.

“The three areas profiled each present a variation on the community ski area theme,” says Beaman, a former Idaho Public Television staff member. “We talked to former Olympians, skiers and boarders, operators and historians to learn what makes each of these ski areas unique and why it is one of the greatest assets a community can have in the north country.”

The show premieres Thursday, February 18, at 8:00/7:00 p.m. MT/PT, and repeats Sunday, February 21, at 7:00 p.m. MT/PT on the traditional analog channel and IdahoPTV’s digital sub-channel 1. See it in high definition Thursday, February 18, at 9:00/8:00 p.m. MT/PT. Check the IdahoPTV online schedule at idahoptv.org for additional times it airs in high definition.

This new OUTDOOR IDAHO episode turns a lens toward one of the older community areas. Bogus Basin has its beginnings in the 1940s when city fathers get behind an effort by winter sports enthusiasts to establish a nearby ski area. With Bogus Basin accommodating downhill skiing, boarding, tubing, snowshoeing and Nordic skiing, the Treasure Valley has one of the highest percentages of people who call themselves skiers/boarders in the nation.

Born of the need to have something to alleviate cabin fever, the Little Ski Hill has been the cradle for the Olympic careers of several natives of the mountain town. Volunteers from the area help keep costs down and things running smoothly with minimal staff. The town’s children are able to jump on a bus after school to head for the hill, get outdoors and learn to ski.

Pomerelle’s community extends from Idaho Falls to the east, Glenns Ferry to the west, small towns in Utah and Nevada to the south, and the agricultural towns of the magic Valley to the north. The family-run regional ski area focuses on partnering with school systems to teach people to ski who otherwise would not have the opportunity — all the while offering some of the greatest snow on earth.

“Idaho will always hold a special place in the history of downhill skiing. Sun Valley, the country’s first destination ski resort, guarantees that. But it’s the community ski hills where people first learn to have fun in the snow,” says Bruce Reichert, executive producer and host. “Sometimes these fields of dreams can involve entire communities.”