With one of the longest scenic gondolas in the country, there's no need to traverse icy, winding roads to embark on your winter sporting excursions at Silver Mountain.
"Look forward to making lifelong memories with your family," says Gus Colburn, Silver Mountain's marketing coordinator. "There's no place better to do that, and it starts from right when you get to the parking lot that's right next to the gondola."
Silver Mountain has 83 runs of varying difficulty levels, and they have a number of programs for new skiers and snowboarders that introduce them to the basics so they can start with confidence. (Opening day is expected to be Nov. 23.)
"We have the Flex Five pack, which is five lessons, five rentals and five tickets, and once you complete that you get a free season pass for the rest of the year and then half off a season pass for next year," Colburn says. "That's a really great program for people who are looking to get into the sports."
In addition to winter sports, Silver Mountain Resort also has a waterpark at the base of the mountain that remains open during the winter. Plus, there's a bunch of restaurants, bars and activities to check out during a midday break or at the end of your day on the mountain in the Gondola and Mountain Villages.
For example, the Jackass Snack Shack — which Colburn considers one of Silver Mountain's hidden gems — recently added a square sundeck to the building, allowing for an additional resting or hangout spot for skiers and snowboarders.
This season, Silver Mountain will also open a new arcade in the Gondola Village with a variety of games, like mini bowling and video games, along with food and drinks. It's set to open in December, and visitors can stay up to date on progress by checking Silver Mountain's social media.
Colburn adds that Silver's team has been working hard to prepare the mountain for this winter season, and there's a stand of trees between the runs Saddleback and Rendezvous that's been thinned out that he says will unveil some great tree skiing spots and some nice powder stashes.
This winter, Silver Mountain will hold two night skiing events, one on New Year's Eve and their Ski Bum Prom event on March 1. Additionally, their annual Jackass Day is on Jan. 9, which provides visitors discounted tickets for the day.
"I just think that the family atmosphere [at Silver Mountain] is so cool," Colburn says. "It's fun to go through the Mountain House and see all the different generations of people hanging out with each other. And then working here, there's so many different jobs but everyone is working together as a team, and it really does feel like one big family." ♦
Q&A WITH REID ALLEN
What are some of your favorite things about Silver Mountain?My favorite part of it is probably the small mountain feel that still has some great terrain, and the public and the regulars that we get up there are fantastic. Our patrol in particular has a very good family kind of team feel through the winter — you're with each other for eight or 10 or 12 hours a day throughout the whole winter, so everybody gets pretty close.
What are some of the biggest pieces of advice that you would have for someone new to skiing or someone looking to avoid injuries?
If you wait for the powder days, then the snow is a lot softer when you fall on it. Aside from that, helmets are huge.
The obvious advice is ski or snowboard within your skill limit and start pushing those skills slowly and in a progressive manner without trying to huck off a 20-foot cliff on your third day out on the skis.
Do you have a favorite run at Silver Mountain?
On a good powder day, it would probably be the North Face Glades. The favorite groomer would be Sunrise, which is just this gorgeous, wide-open blue that runs down a ridge, and you kinda get a vista of the Bitterroots that we're in, and then you're looking out over the Selkirk Mountains.
What are your personal favorite conditions for skiing or snowboarding?
I really like bulletproof moguls. I'm from Michigan originally, so I have a soft spot in my heart for steep, icy slopes.
What's something people might not know about Silver Mountain's patrol?
Silver Mountain is kind of unique in its patrol compared to the other patrols that we have around the region in that we actually offer education and classes to the public, as well as just for our patrollers. Silver is an American Avalanche Association Recreational Avalanche course provider.
We combine the patrollers with the public with our search-and-rescue partners that are around the region to form classes where the general public gets an awesome understanding of how the resorts are managed and mitigated for their safety, as well as what they can do for backcountry travel and their safety there.
Reid Allen has been a ski patroller at Silver Mountain for seven years.
