Vertical 398 ft (121 m) Skiable area 11 ha | Base elevation 3,390 ft (1,033 m) | |
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Location St. Joe National Forest
(Idaho Panhandle N.F.)
Benewah County, Idaho, U.S. Nearest city Emida – 10 mi (16 km)
Moscow – 40 mi (64 km) Top elevation 3,788 ft (1,155 m) AMSL Lift system 1 chairlift,
1 surface tow | ||
North–South Ski Bowl was a modest ski area in the western United States, located in northern Idaho in the Hoodoo Mountains of southern Benewah County.
Map of North South Ski Bowl, ID 83861, USA
Its bowl-shaped slope in the Idaho Panhandle National Forest faced northeast and the vertical drop was just under 400 feet (120 m) on Dennis Mountain, accessed from State Highway 6 south of Emida. An "upside-down" ski area, the parking lot and lodge were at the top, less than a mile from the highway, formerly designated as 95A (U.S. 95 Alternate).
With a day lodge built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps through the WPA, the ski area was originally owned and operated by Washington State College (Pullman is approximately 50 miles (80 km) southwest, about an hour by vehicle). In the early 1950s, it was known as the "St. Joe Ski Bowl," and prior to that as the "Emida Ski Bowl." After a poor snow year in 1958, it was sold to a private owner, Fred Craner and his brother, Merle, and a platter lift was added in 1959.
It was the primary training area for the WSU and UI intercollegiate ski teams and included a ski jump. The Ramskull Ski club formed in 1960, named for the creek of the ski area. The road from the highway was improved and parking areas expanded in 1962.
Closed for the 1969-70 season, the students of WSU (ASWSU) regained ownership and operated North-South until 1980. A chairlift in 1970 and a new lodge in 1976 were added, and the area was lit for night skiing. The area got into financial difficulty in 1979, and the students searched for a buyer. After leasing it to a private operator in 1980 for four seasons, ASWSU sold the area outright in 1984.
With an aging chairlift and inconsistent snowfall at a low elevation, alpine skiing was discontinued in the 1990s. The entrance area near the highway is now a "Park 'n Ski" area for cross-country skiing and the top of the former ski area is home to Palouse Divide Lodge, a private conference and retreat facility.