Recent snowfall helps Silver Valley ski hills

Mid-March snowstorms have put the Silver Valley’s local ski hills in prime position to finish the winter strong.  

Last weekend, Silver Mountain received more than a foot of new snow and according to Silver’s Marketing Manager Gus Colburn, the extra snow was just what the doctor ordered. 

“The late-season snowstorm was a welcome surprise this weekend,” Colburn said. “We got 15" throughout the weekend at Silver, providing a much-needed refresh and giving all us powder hounds some deep turns.”  

Silver Mountain’s final ski day is scheduled for April 20, but the day before that is one of the mountain’s busiest when the annual Leadman Triathlon takes place. The additional snow should make for good end-of-season runs and ensure that Leadman has enough snow for the race’s ski event.  

“This new snow should give us great coverage through the end of the season,” Colburn said. “We always have backup plans for the Leadman ski course in case of low snow, but we are sitting pretty solid and think we should be able to use the normal course on the Chair 4 side.”  

Registration for Leadman is open and can be found by visiting www.silvermt.com.  

At the Idaho/Montana border, to say the snow has been flying would be a massive understatement.  

Lookout Pass Ski and Recreation Area Director of Marketing Matt Sawyer reported that the hill has received an excess of three feet of snow since last week, 39” to be exact. This fresh layer of powder should help Lookout maintain its reputation as one of the region’s premier late-season ski destinations.  

Much like their neighbors to the west, Lookout scheduled their final day of the season on April 20, but they have plenty of special events taking place between now and then.  

“We plan to finish the season strong. More snow is on the way,” Sawyer said. “We have two of our favorite events at the end of the season each year to keep people thinking of skiing.” 

Those events include the April 6 College Jersey Challenge, followed by the annual Cardboard Boc Derby and Luau on April 13, and then on their final day of skiing, the mountain hosts a mountain-wide Easter egg hunt on April 20.  

“Conditions are incredible,” Sawyer said. “The mountain is being groomed nightly with generally more than 30 trails groomed each night.” 

The weekend after skiing ends, the mountain allows snow enthusiasts of another kind to enjoy the hill. 

“We have an uphill Snowmobile race April 26-27, the weekend after we close for downhill skiing and snowboarding,” Sawyer said. “Those machines will be tearing up the mountain at great speeds. Should be another fun weekend for a different user base.” 

For more information visit www.skilookout.com.  

    Lookout Pass Ski and Recreation Area received more than three feet of snow recently, which made for some excellent runs for skiers and snowboarders.