Silver Mountain

Ski and Recreation Area

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2015/2016 Season
2015/16 Ski Season Commentary

Silver Mountain Ski Resort is a 19 minute gondola ride away from Kellogg, located along I-90 in the middle of northern Idaho's Silver Valley. Silver Mountain covers 1600 acres of terrain ranging from beginner to advanced expert (double black diamond), and is famous for its champagne powder and short lift lines. The longest run is 2.5 miles long and intermediate, with a vertical drop of 2200 feet. The Wardner Peak "Hike and Ski Area" offers a unique experience for the adventurous expert.

Check out Powder Skiing at Silver Mountain video!

A dozen miles east on the Interstate is the historic town of Wallace, and another dozen miles takes you to Lookout Pass Ski Area on the Montana border, and several backcountry areas filled with alpine lakes for the cross-country skiing enthusiast.

 

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See the Snowfall Forecast page for current regional weather, expected snowfall and snow quality maps. This page also now incorporates a Ten Day Weather Forecast for Silver Mountain Ski Area.
 
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 2011/12 Ski Season Current Resort Links about this websuite
2012/2013 Snowfall Log and Commentary for Both Ski Areas
77 vertical miles in 45 days

 GoogleEarth Tour
Snowfall Archives
2001/02 to 2014/15 		This Summer's Activities

 

I skied at big and little resorts throughout New England, Colorado, Utah, and California before moving here twenty years ago. Silver Mountain ranks at the top of my list for its deep champagne powder dumps and uncrowded slopes. However, it is interesting to see how Silver Mountain compares with 251 other Ski Areas across the nation.
 

IF you have the FREE Google Earth program installed, you may open skiing_at_Silver_Mountain.kmz for immediate viewing, or save the file to view later. This tour of two dozen points of interest includes a flight from Pinehurst to the Gondola village in Kellogg and a ride up the gondola, followed by circumnavigation of Kellogg and Wardner Peaks for a detailed look at the Silver Valley and the Silver Mountain resort (... as it was a few summers ago). Attention is paid to three treacherous areas where caution is demanded. While the "Hike to Ski" adventure on Mount Wardner is famous with intrepid powder hounds, a nearby pitch is traditionally "a very bad idea." A third area, South of the Border, is currently "out-of-bounds," but may become part of the resort someday.
       Google Earth Animation
click to enlarge Google Earth screen shot click to enlarge Google Earth screen shot
click to enlarge Google Earth screen shot click to enlarge Google Earth screen shot
This tour was last enhanced on December 20, 2008. Click on a screen shot to see a 1000 pixel wide version in another window.

 
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And of course as an all season resort, Silver Mountain offers its summer guests mountain biking, hiking, golf and water park relaxation.
Summer 2016 gondola schedule for Mountain Biking and Hiking on Silver Mountain
  • Chair 3 will always run when gondola does
  • Opening Memorial Day weekend, May 28-30
  • open June 4-5 weekend
  • open Friday through Sunday from June 10 to June 19
  • open every day from June 24 through September 5
  • open Saturday and Sunday September 10 through October 2
  • plus special event September 23
  • hours of operation
    • Gondola always opens at 9:30 AM
    • Friday (July, Aug & Sept 2): bike park open to 8:00 PM
    • Friday (June & Sept 23): bike park open to 5:00 PM
    • Saturday & Sunday: bike park open to 5:00 PM
    • Monday thru Thursday: bike park open to 4:00 PM
  • new beginner trails: 800 vertical feet to bottom of Chair 3
  • over 30 developed trails with a combined length of over 30 miles
  • gondola serves 3400 foot vertical drop
  • advanced terrain includes super flowy single track, rough, technical fall-line trails and machine built, hand tuned jump lines
2016 Concert at Silver Mountain

August 20, 2016

Forty craft beers from twenty breweries served on top of a mountain with three bands playing makes for a beer connoisseur's dream. Enjoy live performances from

while hanging out with your friends at 5,700 feet. Take in the amazing views, sample forty of the best hand-crafted beers in the Northwest, and hear great music. This Brewsfest will be awesome!

After the main event, the party continues in the Gondola Village with a 6:00 to 9:00 PM performance by the Sara Brown Trio. Sara has been awarded the Best Female Blues Performer three years in a row by the Inland Empire Blues Society. The link goes to a photographic recap of her performance at the Fifth Annual Historic Wallace Blues Festival last month.

Tickets are available at the Silver Mountain Store.

 

48 Years in Operation

First opened as Jackass Ski Bowl in 1968 and renamed Silverhorn Ski Area in 1973, this ski area was managed by the City of Kellogg from 1984 to 1996. In 1986, Kellogg residents approved $8 million in bonds to build the 3.1 mile gondola. Silver Mountain Ski Area received its current name in 1990 when the gondola opened. It was purchased from the City of Kellogg by Eagle Crest Partners, Ltd., in 1996. Eagle Crest, an award-winning builder with a long track record of creating successful resort communities, is crafting the Silver Mountain Resort's development. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of JELD-WEN, a privately held firm headquartered in Klamath Falls, Oregon, and the world's leading manufacturer of reliable windows and doors. Additional information concerning this all season resort may be obtained at Silver Mountain's "official site", or by telephoning them at (208) 783-1111. Eagle Crest does not maintain the website you are now reading and is not responsible for its content.

This Silver Mountain websuite was created as part of wallace-id.com in 1997 as a way to promote this important regional recreational resource as part of a larger mission to bring people, both as tourists and new residents, to the Silver Valley, a full-season outdoor recreation paradise rich in history and natural beauty, but economically challenged due to the decline of the mining industry in recent years. No finanacial gain is realized by the promotion of this resort, or the one 24 Interstate miles to the east on the Montana border. Rather my goal is to provide a level platform from which viewers may directly compare and contrast the TWO COMPLEMENTARY SKI AREAS in the Silver Valley. Together with a huge backcountry, these resorts offer snow sport enthusiasts a reason to vacation in the Silver Valley, where each day presents fresh possibilities for winter adventure.

new item     If you have appreciated my efforts to popularize this ski area and other Silver Valley attractions for the past 14 years, please consider making a contribution to my ongoing effort by using this PayPal button.

Thank you for your time,
Greg Marsh, Ph.D.
Marsh Scientific Services

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The links below are to the official Silver Mountain Ski Area website at silvermt.com. Each will open a separate window to provide current information about the 2015/2016 season.        The phone number for the resort is (208) 783-1111.
2015/2016 Season
2015/16 Ski Season Commentary
The current weather at Lookout Pass
is usually similar to that at the top of
Silver Mountain:
Kellogg Peak, 6300 feet
Wardner Peak, 6200 feet
Mid-Mountain Lodge, 5700 feet

camera facing northwest at I-90, Exit 0
I-90, Exit 0
elevation 4725

As usual, Snowfall statistics for the 2015/2016 season were collected for both Silver Mountain and Lookout Pass.

See Winter Legacies below for a perspective on seasonal variations over the last FIFTEEN years. For a taste of what is possible at Silver Mountain, see the photos taken in March of 1997. Or better still, read my ecstatic commentary on 253 powder runs made during the truly magical 1998/99 season, when the last Silver Saturday was on May 1 with a 108" base at the Lodge and 216" still at the Summit.
 
The 2011/2012 Season
Regular Season ended on April 8, 2012
with 109 inches at Lodge
and 135 inches at Summit
(open 97 days from November 21, 2011) 		2012 Leadman Triathlon
(Silver Saturday #3)
on April 28:
68" at Lodge
90" at Summit

FIRST EVER SILVER SUNDAY
SKI AND RIDE FOR FREE ON MAY 13, 2012, courtesy of Dave Smith Motors.
The gondola will start loading guests at 8:00 AM; Chairs #1 and #2 will turn from 8:30 to 3:00 PM. Music, BBQ and beverages will be served at the Mountain House.

May 13, 2012, was the first 'Silver Sunday' at Silver Mountain Actually, the day was so nice that Chair #3 opened about 11:30 AM... thanks to the owners of Dave Smith Motors who had bought the mountain for the day and wanted to ski on the perfect spring snow on that side of the mountain. I made 21 runs on a sunny day where the temperature rose above 70°. No rocks or non-obvious obstacles on the open runs, just 2-4 feet of soft, easy and sometimes slightly dusty snow to play on. About 2:30 on my last run, I had my first yard sale of the season, when I hit a wet spot at high speed at the bottom of expert Rendezvous and flew many feet... without my skis. On steeper terrain, gravity overrules friction to make descents easy on snow cone slush. I shook off my fall and went to the Lodge to join the outragious dance party in full swing, none the worse for wear. I still bounce well at 64. Click on Sunrise to see more photos.
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Go to another wallace-id.com Lookout Pass or Silver Mountain page:

Please visit silvermt.com for more information about this Silver Valley attraction.
 
Winter Legacies
  • The 2014-2015 Ski Season at both Lookout Pass and Silver Mountain
    • Lookout was open 81 days from November 30 to March 22
      78 inches at summit on January 18
    • Silver was open 71 days from December 6 to March 29
      73 inches at summit on January 18
  • The 2013-2014 Ski Season at both Lookout Pass and Silver Mountain
    • Lookout was open 108 days from November 21 to April 6
      149 inches at summit on March 6
    • Silver was open 96 days from November 29 to April 26
      104 inches at summit on March 31
  • The 2012-2013 Ski Season at both Lookout Pass and Silver Mountain
    • Lookout was open 106 days from November 25 to April 13
      139 inches at summit on March 23
    • Silver was open 94 days from December 7 to April 27
      91 inches at summit on March 23
  • The 2011-2012 Ski Season at both Lookout Pass and Silver Mountain
    • Lookout was open 113 days from November 18 to April 7
      176 inches at summit on March 23
    • Silver was open 101 days from November 21 to May 13
      135 inches at summit on March 30
  • The 2010-2011 Ski Season at both Lookout Pass and Silver Mountain
    • Lookout was open 112 days from November 19 to April 10
      192 inches at summit on March 17 & April 8
    • Silver was open 103 days from November 26 to May 7
      145 inches at summit on April 7
  • The 2009-2010 Ski Season at both Lookout Pass and Silver Mountain
    • Lookout was open 111 days from November 13 to April 4
      90 inches at summit on February 13
    • Silver was open 96 days from November 27 to April 17
      70 inches at summit on April 10
  • The 2008-2009 Ski Season at both Lookout Pass and Silver Mountain
    • Lookout was open 93 days from December 13 to April 11
      144 inches at summit on April 3
    • Silver was open 92 days from December 18 to April 25
      118 inches at summit on April 3
  • The 2007-2008 Ski Season at both Lookout Pass and Silver Mountain
    • Lookout was open 98 days from November 29 to April 6
      197 inches at summit on April 3
    • Silver was open 128 days from December 7 to JUNE 1
      178 inches at summit on March 31 - April 12
  • The 2006-2007 Ski Season at both Lookout Pass and Silver Mountain
    • Lookout was open 106 days from November 16 to April 7
      163 inches at summit on March 1 - 3
    • Silver was open 132 days from November 24 to April 28
      117 inches at summit on March 2 - 4
  • The 2005-2006 Ski Season at both Lookout Pass and Silver Mountain
    • Lookout was open 111 days from November 12 to April 9
      168 inches at summit on March 26 and 27
    • Silver was open 118 days from December 3 to April 29
      139 inches at summit on March 10
  • The 2004-2005 Ski Season at both Lookout Pass and Silver Mountain
    • Lookout was open 83 days from November 27 to April 10
      85 inches at summit on January 16 and 17
    • Silver was open 97 days from December 3 to April 10
      80 inches at summit on April 2 and 3
  • The 2003-2004 Ski Season at both Lookout Pass and Silver Mountain
    • Lookout was open 104 days from Nov 15 to April 4
      119 inches at summit on March 7
    • Silver was open 136 days from Nov 25 to April 11
      85 inches at summit on March 7
  • The 2002-2003 Ski Season at both Lookout Pass and Silver Mountain
    • Lookout was open 69 days from Dec 21 to April 6
      130 inches at summit on March 9
    • Silver was open 101 days from Dec 20 to April 13
      111 inches at summit on April 6
  • The 2001-2002 Ski Season at both Lookout Pass and Silver Mountain
    • Lookout was open 80 days from Nov 30 to March 31
      225 inches at summit from March 21 to 23
    • Silver was open 90 days from Dec 2 to April 7
      209 inches at summit on March 21 and 22
  • 2000 INSA Five Mountain Rider Cross Series
  • The incredible 1998/99 Season at Silver Mountain
Summer Concert Legacies
2006 2005 2004 2003 2001 2000 1999

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Marsh Scientific Services is Greg Marsh ©1998-2016, Marsh Scientific Services, Greg Marsh, Ph.D.
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