Silver Mountain, Idaho, is an incredible place to ski in Idaho’s Panhandle. | Photo: Zach Armstrong
On March 13, 2026, Silver Mountain, Idaho was in the midst of an intense winter storm. A tree had fallen on part of the gondola, which brings skiers from the town of Kellogg, Idaho up to the ski area, delaying opening. After extensive avalanche mitigation work by the Silver Mountain Ski Patrol, two separate skier triggered in-bounds avalanches were observed, one of which buried two guests. Following these slides, the ski area decided to halt operations for the day, after only a few hours. Running a ski area in the best conditions can be challenging, and in the midst of powerful winter storms, it can become nearly impossible.
Silver Mountain General Manager Jeff Colburn recently posted an open letter to Silver Mountain skiers in which he openly and honestly talks through the events of the day. In a rare display of acknowledgement and apology for the ski industry, Colburn admitted several issues could have been communicated to the public more effectively, and offered insight into what the ski area is doing to be better prepared for the inevitable return of another “difficult day.”
Skiers reach Silver Mountain from Kellogg, Idaho, by way of one of the longest gondolas in North America | Photo: Zach Armstrong
In regards to the gondola, Colburn apologized for confusion over when the gondola would open. Kellogg and Silver had lost power the day before, and while Kellogg’s power was restored by that evening, Silver still had no power, preventing operation of the gondola. Colburn said guests were told loading the gondola was expected to begin between 11 and noon, but recognized that some guests understood that to mean loading would start at 11. Power was not restored until shortly after noon, and the first employees up the gondola reported “a broken treetop on the tower head of Tower 26, a section of the gondola line not visible from the places of earlier observation.” Ski patrollers and lift mechanics had started going up the mountain via the service road as early as 5:30 am that morning. Accessing and climbing Tower 26, with the necessary equipment to deal with the broken treetop took some time. “I know it was frustrating for them to not receive more timely updates; we needed to have a better overall understanding so we did not miscommunicate to the public without more complete information. This was another occasion when we could have done a better job of keeping our guests updated,” Colburn’s letter said. The gondola was opened to the public at 3 pm, and the ski area announced it would stay open until 6 pm, instead of the usual chairlift closing time of 3:30 pm.
Meanwhile, new snow and high winds had hammered the ski area, creating a substantial avalanche problem. On March 12 and 13, the Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center issued avalanche warnings for the Silver Valley and the forecast warned that “weird weather breeds weird avalanche problems, and there has been no shortage of weird, quickly changing weather across all zones.” Ski patrollers proceeded up to the mountain as early as 5:30 am and began mitigating the in-bounds avalanche hazard using explosives and ski cutting. Later in the morning, the decision was made to keep Wardner Peak, North Face Glades, Sunset, and Kellogg Peak closed. Colburn’s letter shared that ski patrollers continued ski cutting and ski compacting the remaining avalanche terrain that was open to the public throughout the day.
Silver Mountain has amazing ski terrain, including plenty of avalanche terrain carefully mitigated by the Silver Mountain Ski Patrol. | Photo: Zach Armstrong
The in-bounds avalanche that buried two guests occurred on Moonshine, a double black that had been mitigated twice that day. Colburn went on to describe the response to that avalanche saying “the two skiers who were caught in the slide were not injured, and they were quickly dug out by three nearby skiers and a ski patroller. The debris field was searched and cleared with a Recco detector, avalanche beacons, avalanche dogs, and probe lines.” After the Moonshine avalanche, the entire mountain was closed for the rest of the day. Forecasters from the Idaho Panhandle Avalanche Center observed well over a dozen natural avalanches in the backcountry that likely slid on Friday, March 13. The candor with which Colburn freely discusses the lead up and response to the in-bounds avalanche is remarkable. Ski areas are notoriously tight-lipped about in-bounds avalanches, but the insight into Silver Mountain Ski Patrol’s preparation, mitigation, and response on that day builds trust and credibility with the public.
Colburn closed the letter by sharing a few projects the ski area is working on to improve operations and communications during challenging conditions. In addition to acknowledging ways Silver could have communicated more effectively with the public, Colburn said the ski area is looking into other methods of communicating with guests while they are on the mountain, including expanding avalanche awareness. Colburn also said Silver is looking into burying the power line that supplies the ski area, saying that “a combination of more extreme weather and taller, mature trees has contributed” to an increase in power outages. But, burying the power lines could potentially take four years or longer.
Silver Mountain is treasured by the residents of the I-90 corridor, and Colburn’s letter openly discussing operational challenges is a commendable demonstration of reciprocating respect to Silver’s skiers. Next winter is sure to bring challenges to Silver, along with every other ski area in North America, but with the insights shared in the letter, skiers can be more confident that Silver is ready to face them. Hopefully other managers follow Silver’s example.
The rest of the ski industry would do well to follow Colburn’s example of open, honest communication about operational challenges. | Photo: Zach Armstrong
The Letter
To: Silver Mountain Skiers, Riders and Friends
From: Jeff Colburn, General Manager
April 8, 2026
The season is winding down, and warmer temps are starting to impact our snow coverage. If cooler weather arrives as expected over the next few days, we should still be skiing through Sunday, April 12. It’s possible we won’t be open for skiing on April 18 and 19, but the Leadman Triathlon on April 18 will still happen, even if we have to shorten the ski leg of the race.
I wanted to update you below on a difficult day we all experienced on March 13. It was a challenging day for Silver Mountain in an already tough year. Here is what happened, and what we are doing to improve as we move forward.
Thursday March 12 started with warm weather, higher winds, and power outages throughout the region; we were closed that day as a result. The weather changed late in the day, with temperatures dropping and snowfall beginning. The town of Kellogg had power restored around 5 PM. Although the mountain was still without power, it was expected to be repaired during the morning hours of Friday March 13. We decided to have a delayed start to allow our guests and season passholders late access to some long-awaited fresh snow.
Beginning at 5:30 AM on Friday, ski patrol went up the mountain by road to begin avalanche mitigation work. Lift operations and lift maintenance personnel went up shortly afterwards. Other mountain house personnel and additional patrollers were at the gondola base at 9:30 AM, ready to load when we could start up lift operations. We communicated that loading the public would begin between approximately 11 AM and noon, depending on Avista’s restoration of power to the mountain. Some guests understood that to mean 11 AM would be the start time. The distinction was not clear enough, and we take responsibility for that and will improve our communications with the public.
Power was finally restored to the top of the mountain shortly after noon on Friday. Ski area personnel had already viewed the gondola sections visible from town and from the ski area on down. We then started to send employees up the gondola, with a line rider in front. Line riders are sent up every lift, every day, to identify any issues with the lift.
In this case, the line rider identified a broken treetop on the tower head of Tower 26, a section of the gondola line not visible from the places of earlier observation. The treetop was not impacting the safe operation of the gondola, but it was still something that needed to be addressed before the lift resumed operations. The gondola was immediately stopped, and lift maintenance personnel were dispatched. After the treetop was removed from the tower head, Tower 26 was inspected both while the gondola was stopped, and in operation, to ensure the lift was operating correctly.
It took time to safely position the lift maintenance personnel and deploy the necessary equipment to address the situation. Until lift maintenance personnel were in place on the tower, there was no new information to communicate to guests. Meanwhile, many of our guests were eagerly waiting at the gondola base to start loading, and I know it was frustrating for them to not receive more timely updates; we needed to have a better overall understanding so we did not miscommunicate to the public without more complete information. This was another occasion when we could have done a better job of keeping our guests updated.
Up on the mountain, ski patrol was actively involved in avalanche mitigation, and the lift operations staff were conducting their procedures to open lifts. The normal routes involving avalanche explosives were mitigated, and other trails were regularly ski cut, which is a ski traversing technique used by ski patrol to attempt to trigger slides on a trail. Ski cutting and skier compaction are standard methods for stabilizing snowpack in the industry. Late morning, we decided to keep closed Wardner Peak, North Face Glades, Sunset, and Kellogg Peak, as this was terrain where we can potentially have the largest slide paths.
Through these weather challenges, the gondola was finally opened to the public around 3 PM, with guests arriving up on the mountain at about 3:20 PM. We had planned to open Chair 1 and Chair 2 first, followed by additional lifts as lift operations personnel completed their procedures. We also planned to extend skiing hours until 6 PM due to the late start.
Around 3:50 PM, ski patrol was notified of small snow movements on Shady Lady and the cut bank behind Chairs 1 and 2. Ski patrol responded to both reports, determining that the cut bank was sloughing—dry, loose snow movement—and that Shady Lady was likely the result of ski cutting by patrollers that had been done prior to the report. Ski patrol had continued to ski cut the steeper terrain on open runs throughout the day.
At approximately 4:30 PM, a skier-triggered slide was reported on Moonshine, a double-black diamond run. At that point, we made the decision to close the mountain. Avalanche mitigation had already been performed on Moonshine twice that day, with ski cutting last performed by ski patrol around lunchtime. Thankfully, the two skiers who were caught in the slide were not injured, and they were quickly dug out by three nearby skiers and a ski patroller. The debris field was searched and cleared with a Recco detector, avalanche beacons, avalanche dogs, and probe lines. While responding to the Moonshine avalanche, ski patrol discovered another slide on the Terrible Edith run, which had also been skier-triggered. That skier was not caught in the slide and was uninjured.
We are grateful that everyone involved was uninjured, and thankful for the Silver Mountain guests who assisted ski patrol. We are also grateful for those who waited to access the mountain, and their understanding when we made the call to shut down operations.
Although the weather can’t be controlled, there are two areas in which we think we can do better going forward. The first is in guest communications. Specifically, keeping you all aware of what’s going on. We do try to keep our website updated, and you may be aware that we also use Facebook and Instagram to update guests on mountain conditions. But those channels aren’t always easily accessed by skiers on the mountain. We are researching alternative communication outlets to provide real-time updates on mountain conditions and the status of lifts and trails.
The second area we plan to address is the increased occurrence of power outages. A combination of more extreme weather and taller, mature trees has contributed to this increase. Additionally, the current power line up the mountain is difficult to access, and homeowners in town are the priority for Avista when restoring power in the region. We are working with Avista to move the power line underground. We expect this to be a four-year process that will hopefully start this year, and it should help reduce power outages. We are very excited to work with Avista on this important project.
Over the past several years, and in light of rapidly evolving climate conditions, we have made improvements in avalanche forecasting, mitigation, guest education, and rescue protocols. New weather stations, certified avalanche dogs, on-site Recco receivers, and a dedicated snow safety team are some of the programs we have in place, and next season we will be expanding avalanche awareness information for our guests. Our ski patrol continues to refine these programs through education and inter-mountain partnerships to deepen our understanding of the mountain we call home.
This has been a challenging season, but we greatly appreciate the support we have received from passholders and guests and we’ll keep finding ways to improve the experience for you here at Silver Mountain Resort.
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