Silveroxx wraps up resort's summer season

KELLOGG –– To most people, 3,400 feet of vertical descent sounds like a nightmare – but for extreme mountain bikers it might just be heaven on Earth.

Last weekend 74 thrill-seekers made their way to Silver Mountain for the Silveroxx Super D mountain bike race.

Super D is a mix of cross-country and downhill racing styles. Most of the race is downhill, on trails similar to the downhill segment of a cross-country race.

After a four-year hiatus, the Silveroxx Super D is unique in that it runs the entire length of the Silver Mountain Bike Park – from the top of the mountain all the way down to the base.

“I heard from quite a few people that this was their first race ever,” said event organizer Gus Colburn. “We try to keep the cost barrier of Silveroxx down so people can dip their toes into the sport of competitive downhill mountain biking.”

Over the years, the event has been a launch pad for many racers, including Aletha Ostgaard and Ella Erickson, two Silver Mountain Bike Park locals, and past Silveroxx winners who couldn’t compete in Silveroxx because they were in Vermont competing professionally in the Fox US Open.

This year, numerous racers from the Pacific Northwest competed in the event, including several folks local to both Kootenai and Shoshone Counties.

Recent weather made the race course conditions near perfect, as the rooty and rocky terrain had plenty of packed dirt for the racers to navigate as they wove through the tight trees and sharp corners.

The race weekend was kickstarted by a Moon Snuggle Night Ride – where riders navigate their way through the course in silly pajamas with only headlights and handlebar lights to illuminate their paths.

Silveroxx was the unofficial end of Silver Mountain’s summer season of events – after October 1, the bike park will close as the mountain preps for its busy winter season.