Instead of one day of live music, there were full two days…with two full stages…and twice the number of music lovers enjoying it all!

This years’ event took its sustainability efforts even further than last year, with more recycling stations and a carbon off-set project that will calculate the event’s carbon footprint, then plant a corresponding number of trees in the local community to make up for it.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Also new this year was a family area with some cool interactive features, including GIANT puppets that were enjoyed by kids of all ages during the show.

Here is what one of our blog-tastic fans had to say about his experience at this year’s festival:

“You guys did a great job , probably the best music fest around . For hours of continuous music and the price its nowhere to be beat.

Laid back vibe and great sound and light show. Sure its not the top name acts but that is what makes it great . If you guys get too big of an act it could ruin it with a bunch of leftovers. But for a guy like me who has been there done that with music festivals , this is how it should be.” – Joey

We would love to hear your stories, too. We invite you to share your ‘Tales from the Idaho-Down” here and www.brundage.com, and also any thoughts you have about what you’d like to see and hear next year.

THIS JUST IN:

The lineup for this weekend has just been released. Remember, there are two stages so there will be no break between acts…

Friday, August 20, 2010

5:00-6:15 – Soul Serene

6:20 -7:20 – The GoatHeads

7:25-8:25 – Jeff Crosby and the Refugees

8:30-9:30 – Voice of Reason

9:35-11:05 – Joseph Israel

11:10-12:30 – PSP

12-2am – Alpenflow

Saturday, August 21, 2010

12:15- 1:30 – Jupiter Holiday

1:35-2:35 – Gizzard Stone

2:40-3:50 – Candread/Rizing Resistance

3:55-5:05 – Corn Mash

5:10-6:20 – Miller Creek

6:25-7:35 – Shook Twins

7:40-8:50 – Holden Young Trio

8:55-9:55 – JW and the BillyGoats

10ish-midnight – Equaleyes

12-2am – Yamn                               (Lineup is subject to change)

More info on these performers here

The second annual Idaho-Down Jam State Festival is shaping up to be Idaho’s largest sustainable outdoor music festival located at the beautiful Brundage Mountain Resort in McCall, Idaho.

The festival will be a sustainable and interactive experience with continuous live music on two stages centered in a large natural amphitheater, curious vendors, interactive experiences, LED light show, late night shows, and camping on site including a kid’s camp.

The infrastructure for the event will be sustainable and lessen the social, ecological, and economic impacts on our community.

Buy Tickets Now – click here:

$15 per day or $25 for both days.

McCall Lodging packages are available for as low as $45 per person (concert tickets included). Contact Brundage Mountain Vacation Planners to customize your Idaho-Down package.

Come play in the dirt!

Reed Cycle in Eagle, ID is holding their first annual gravity riding extravaganza at Brundage Mountain on Sunday, August 15,

2010.  Lifts will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and you are invited to join the staff from Reed Cycle for a day of riding on some of Idaho’s best lift-served mountain biking trails.

Discounted lift tickets are available only at Reed Cycle.   The day will also include activities such as croquet, badminton, and a BBQ.

All day adult (ages 15-69) lift tickets are priced at $25, a savings of $5.  All day youth/senior (ages 7-14 & 70+) lift tickets are priced at $17, a $3 savings.  In addition to discounted lift tickets, all event ticket holders will receive a 15% discount on most items purchased in the Brundage Mountain Bike Shop.

Brundage Mountain’s high-speed chairlift whisks you to the 7,640 foot summit, and the rest is up to you and gravity. With more than 20 miles of hand-built single-track downhill trails, there’s a route to fit nearly every experience level.

For more information contact Reed Cycle.

www.reed-cycle.com

208-938-7894

Brundage Mountain’s grassy green amphitheater will serve as the venue. Idahoans for Music and the Environment (Idaho ME) is organizing the event. Tickets are just $15 for a single day or $25 for the full weekend. Camping is included in the purchase price.

Music Starts Friday Aug. 20th at 5pm and goes “Late Night” until 2am. Music Starts again on Saturday Aug. 21st at Noon and goes “Late Night” until 2am again.

Musical acts include: Joseph Israel, Yamn,  Equaleyes, Holden Young Trio, The Shook Twins, Voice of Reason, Jonathan Warren and the BillyGoats, Gizzard Stone, AlpenFlow, Candread, Corn Mash, The Prairie Sky Pilots, Miller Creeek, Soul Serene, Jupiter Holiday, Oren B and more. Full details available at www.idaho-me.com/idaho_down.

The focus of the festival is on supporting regional musicians, bringing increased tourism to Adams and Valley Counties and providing a vibrant music festival that lessens the social and ecological impacts on our community.

“We’re really excited about the commitment of Idaho ME to grow this event into an annual tradition, and also to make sure that it continues to have a positive impact on the community,” said resort spokesperson, April Russell. “Music lovers can enjoy great music in a spectacular setting, and feel good about supporting the event.”

The Idaho-Down has been selected as a pilot project for the Council for Responsible Events Certification Program. Much like the US Green Building Council’s LEED Certification program, the event will attain credits for measures taken to reduce waste, lessen the impact on energy and climate, reduce materials used, and reach out to the community.

Based on the credits, The Idaho-Down will be certified, silver, gold, or platinum. A carbon offset project is also underway. The projected carbon output for the event will be calculated, and trees will be planted in McCall and New Meadows to offset the impacts of the Idaho-Down on our community. The Idaho Wildlife Federation will be a beneficiary for the event. In addition, Lake Shore Disposal will be hauling and donating a 20-yard recycling facility for the festival’s recycling program.

• Kids 12 and under are free with a Kids Activities Area
• $5 scenic chair lift rides for ticket-holding concert goers
• Food, Beer & Cocktails available for purchase On-Site
• Camping available and is included in the ticket price
• No outside coolers in the concert area, Coolers allowed in camping areas.
• No dogs in the concert area, but dogs are allowed on leashes in camping areas.

When most people think about mountain weather, snowstorms and blizzards come to mind. But nature goes a little bit wild in the mountains this time of year, too. When it comes to wildflowers and wildlife, the sights of summer at Brundage Mountain may surprise you. Here’s a glimpse of the sights you might expect to see – and some you might not…

By now it should come as no surprise that you can take a chairlift ride to the summit in the summer…

It’s a great way to cool off between mountain biking runs…

Take in an amazing view…

Or take advantage of a popular photo op.

This time of year, a lot of visitors are surprised to find nature’s garden in full bloom. Wildflowers are popping up EVERYWHERE. These are right in the Pet Area on the edge of the parking lot.

Brilliant oranges and purples…

without an ounce of fertilizer or a splash of water…

What nature provides is plenty for these flowers…

And the variety of wildLIFE can be surprising, too. We see so many deer I’ve stopped trying to snap photos of them anymore, BUT, when a herd of sheep stops traffic on Goose Lake Road, it’s worth a shot. (Plus, they’re a lot slower than the deer.)

Not everyone would notice the truly ‘wild’ life up in the tree…

These photos were taken about half way up Goose Lake Road.

I wouldn’t recommend petting these furry creatures, but if you’re looking for a good way to enjoy the ‘Dog Days’ of summer, checking out the milder side of the wilder side of nature can be a lot of fun.

- April

McCALL, ID – Brundage Mountain Resort is warning mid-week hikers and bikers that ALL trails within the ski area boundary will be closed Mondays through Thursdays through the end of October. Extensive construction and logging projects will be underway all across the slopes which will make it hazardous for riders and walkers.

The mid-week closure area reaches from the Brundage Mountain parking lot all the way to the summit. Brundage Mountain is asking the local media and the Forest Service to help spread the word of the closure, as it will also affect recreationalists who might access the area from FS Road 488 or the Brundage Lookout Road on the backside.

Downhill mountain bike trails will be cleared each week by Friday morning so that Brundage can continue its normally scheduled lift service, which runs weekly from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Lifts will also operate Monday, September 6 for the Labor Day holiday.

“We’ll have a lot of work going on across the mountain Mondays through Thursdays all summer and into the fall,” said resort spokesperson April Russell. “The good news is that the mid-week work schedule will allow us to operate both Downhill Mountain Biking and our popular Scenic Chairlift Rides as we traditionally have on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.”

More information is available at: http://www.brundage.com/the-mountain/summer-activities/mountain-biking/

Brundage Mountain Resort is offering free chairlift rides on Thursday, July 1 as the resort stages a special celebration to kick off the summer chairlift season.

The Grand Opening Celebration takes place Thursday, July 1 from 12:00 noon to 5:00 pm. Mountain bikes will be available for rent. There will be a special barbeque for the event and visitors will enjoy live music from Equaleyes from 3:00 pm – 5:00.

“We want to build excitement for the summer season by giving everyone a chance to experience the summer beauty of Brundage Mountain,” said resort spokesperson April Russell. “We’re kicking the weekend off with free chairlift rides and extending from three to five days so everyone will have a chance to join the fun. We’ll also have live music on the mountain both Thursday and Saturday.”

Regular summer lift hours are Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm, but Brundage is adding extra days Thursday, July 1 and Monday, July 5th for the holiday weekend.

Saturday, July 3rd will also be action-packed. The Brundage Mountain Bike Festival will be underway, with more live music 6:00 pm Saturday evening from Voice of Reason.

Some other highlights of the 2010 Brundage Mountain Summer season include:

July 3 & 4 – Brundage Mountain Bike Festival

July 17 – Kentucky Headhunters live in the Brundage Mountain Amphitheater

August 20 – 21 – 2nd Annual Idaho-Down Music Festival – two days of continuous live music on two stages in the Brundage Mountain Amphitheater

More details on all these events is available at www.brundage.com/event-calendar/

We’re just a week away from our Summer Chairlift Grand Opening…and things are bustling behind the scenes here at Brundage Mountain.

Our lift maintenance and bike trail crews are working especially hard.

Here’s a glimpse of the projects on the top of our collective ‘To Do’ list…

Adjusting the alignment on the Blue Bird Quad is a complicated process…

The crew sets up…

so the sheave train can be GENTLY hoisted…

a little bit more…

and it’s securely balanced on the axle!

The “Trubaru” is Trail Crew transport with a fancy new pink rack.

Crews are smoothing out the rough spots…

Improving the ‘flow’…

Working hard to give you a ’smooth ride’…on the chairlift AND on the trails.

See you Thursday!

- April

The Grand Opening Celebration takes place Thursday, July 1 from 12:00 noon to 5:00 pm. Visitors can stop by the Bike Shop to get their free scenic lift ride or mountain bike tickets for a ride up the Blue Bird High Speed Quad to Brundage Mountain’s 7,640 foot summit.  Mountain bikes will be available for rent. There will be a special barbeque for the event and visitors will enjoy live music from Equaleyes from 3:00 pm – 5:00. Equaleyes is the headliner for the Idaho-Down Music Festival at Brundage in August.

Trails crews are already hard at work getting the 20+ miles of expertly-built single track whipped into shape for great summer riding. Those who don’t bike can enjoy the mountain greenery on the way up, and enjoy spectacular 360-degree views from the summit that include the Payette Lakes, Long Valley, Meadows Valley, the Seven Devils, and even Oregon’s Eagle Cap mountains.

“We want to build excitement for the summer season by giving everyone a chance to experience the summer beauty of Brundage Mountain,” said resort spokesperson April Russell. “Last year, we gave away 1,200 free lift rides during our Grand Opening event. That was the start of our one our most robust summer seasons ever.”

Regular summer lift hours are Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm, with a bonus day to close the season on Monday, September 6th.

Some other highlights of the 2010 Brundage Mountain Summer season include:

July 3 & 4 – Brundage Mountain Bike Festival

July 17 – Kentucky Headhunters live in the Brundage Mountain Amphitheater

August 20 – 21 – 2nd Annual Idaho-Down Music Festival – two days of continuous live music on two stages in the Brundage Mountain Amphitheater

More details on all these events is available at www.brundage.com/event-calendar/

Brundage Mountain also offers guided whitewater rafting trips on the Main Salmon River. Visit Brundage Whitewater Adventures in Riggins or www.raftbrundage.com.

While we do miss the hustle and bustle of our winter visitors and extra seasonal staff, there is always plenty to do at Brundage Mountain. That’s especially true for the die hards in our lift maintenance department. No matter the weather or amount of snow on the slopes, they are hard at work prepping our five chairlifts for another winter of service. (And, don’t forget, the Blue Bird Quad runs all summer, too).

So while trail crews wait for snow to clear and our friendly mountain bike program staff waits for the visitors to return, the lift maintenance crew is happily going about their work. To borrow a motto: neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night, nor the winds of change, will stay us from the swift completion of our appointed rounds….

Blue Bird lower terminal is prepped for inspection (above and below)

Lance rebuilds a sheave for the lower terminal of the Blue Bird (below).

Nate removes the electric motor from Easy Street. (Below)

I couldn’t even begin to understand all the work that goes into maintaining the chairlifts, but luckily, we have hard-working and talented experts for that. And I’m sure I’m not alone in my appreciation for having safe, reliable transport to my favorite winter playground!

- April