Silver Mountain (Idaho) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Silver Mountain |
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 Silver Mountain
Location in Idaho
Silver Mountain
Location in the United States
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| Location | Kellogg, Idaho, U.S. |
| Nearest city | Coeur d'Alene: 35 mi (56 km) Spokane: 68 mi (110 km) |
| Coordinates | 47°29′42″N 116°08′06″W / 47.495°N 116.135°W |
| Vertical | 2,197 ft (670 m) |
| Top elevation | 6,297 ft (1,919 m) Kellogg Peak |
| Base elevation | 4,100 ft (1,250 m) lowest chairlift - (#4) 5,650 ft (1,722 m) Mountain Haus (gondola summit & lodge) 2,300 ft (701 m) (gondola base & village) |
| Skiable area | 1,600 acres (6.5 km2) |
| Runs | 67 - 20% beginner - 40% intermediate - 30% advanced - 10% expert |
| Longest run | Centennial Trail 2.5 miles (4.0 km) |
| Lift system | 1 gondola 1 quad chairlift 2 triples 2 doubles 1 surface tows |
| Snowfall | 300 in (760 cm) |
| Snowmaking | planned |
| Night skiing | 8 runs - (chair #2) 50 acres (0.20 km2) |
| Website | silvermt.com |
Silver Mountain Resort is a fun ski resort in the northwest United States. It is located in the Silver Valley area of northern Idaho. You can find it just south of Kellogg and Interstate 90. The resort first opened in January 1968 as "Jackass Ski Bowl." It was on Wardner Peak. Later, in 1973, it was renamed "Silverhorn" after new owners took over. In the summer of 1989, the name changed to "Silver Mountain." This happened because of big plans for improvements, like adding a gondola from the city of Kellogg and expanding onto Kellogg Peak.
Contents
The Story of Silver Mountain
Jackass Ski Bowl's Beginning
The ski area called Jackass Ski Bowl was built in the summer of 1967. It was near Wardner. The land was rented from the Bunker Hill Mining Company. The name "Jackass" came from Noah Kellogg's donkey, Jenny. This donkey helped find ore in 1885.
The ski area started operating in January 1968. The first few years looked promising. There were plans to add more lifts. The 1971 ski season even lasted until mid-May! However, the next two years had bad skiing weather. This caused the resort to have money problems. After its sixth season, the resort's things were sold. This happened in August 1973 in Wallace. The Bunker Hill Co. bought them for $100,100.
Silverhorn: A New Name
In 1973, the ski area was reorganized and renamed Silverhorn. It was owned by Shoshone Recreation, Inc. This company was part of Bunker Hill. The name "Silverhorn" came from Silberhorn, a mountain in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland.
In 1982, Silverhorn was put up for sale. The City of Kellogg bought it in 1984. For the 1986–87 season, it only opened on weekends and holidays.
Around 1980, metal prices dropped. Also, there were environmental problems. This caused many mines in the area to close. The Bunker Hill mine and smelter, which had been open for a century, closed in 1981. Other big companies like ASARCO, Hecla, and Sunshine also closed soon after. This meant thousands of good jobs were lost. It caused serious economic problems for the Silver Valley area.
Kellogg and the Silver Valley became a big EPA Superfund site. This means the area needed a lot of cleaning up due to past pollution. Huge efforts have been made to restore the area. Restoration means making a natural place healthy again.
To help the local economy grow, people started focusing more on fun activities and tourism. The ski area was a big part of this plan. Silverhorn had one main lift, a double chairlift. It was later called #4, then Jackass. This lift had a vertical drop of 1,875 feet (572 m). It had a place to get on and off at the parking lot and day lodge.
Getting to Silverhorn by car was hard. The road was twisting and dangerous. It climbed over 2,700 feet (820 m) in just seven miles (11 km). This was a very steep climb! The road ended at the parking lot, which was at 5,040 ft (1,540 m). This was the middle of Wardner Peak. If the ski area wanted more visitors, it definitely needed a better way for people to get there.
In December 1987, the U.S. Congress approved a bill. It included $6.4 million to help build a new gondola. This gondola would go from the city of Kellogg to Silverhorn. Idaho's members of Congress helped a lot to get this bill passed.
In September 1988, Kellogg, a small town that was struggling financially, voted to tax itself $2 million. This was $100,000 per year for 20 years. Over 82% of people approved it! A Swiss company called Von Roll Tramways was very impressed. They agreed to help pay for much of the rest of the money needed to build the improved resort. The state government of Idaho and the local electric company (Washington Water Power, now Avista Corp.) also helped.
Silver Mountain: The Modern Resort
On April 25, 1989, construction began for the gondola and the base village. They also started building more chairlifts and other resort improvements. The resort was renamed Silver Mountain in July. It opened for summer activities in June 1990 and for skiing that November.
The bottom of the gondola is just under 2,300 feet (700 m) high. It unloads at about 5,650 feet (1,720 m). The 3.1-mile (5.0 km) trip takes seventeen minutes. It travels south-southeast over Wardner.
In the summer, you can enjoy gondola and chairlift rides, mountain biking, hiking, and concerts. There's a big outdoor amphitheater that can hold 2500 people. These are the main summer activities at Silver Mountain. The base village and gondola base are very close to exit #49 of Interstate 90.
In 1996, Eagle Crest Partners bought Silver Mountain. This company was part of Jeld-Wen Corporation.
A snow tubing park was built in the fall of 2006. It was at the old mountain amphitheater site. The amphitheater was moved and made bigger. An indoor water park called Silver Rapids opened in May 2008.
The great snow conditions and fun summer activities helped the local economy grow. These activities include biking, ATV riding, hiking, fishing, swimming, hunting, golf, and bird watching.
In 2016, Jeld-Wen sold the resort to Tryg Fortun, a businessman from Seattle. He paid $5 million. His company, CMR Lands LLC, bought another ski area in 2019. It was 49 Degrees North in northeastern Washington.
In 2020, an avalanche happened on Wardner Peak. It killed three people and injured four. This happened on Tuesday, January 7, on a run called "16 to 1."
Mountain Details
Silver Mountain is actually made up of two mountains. Kellogg Peak is to the east and is 6,297 feet (1,919 m) tall. The original Wardner Peak is 6,205 ft (1,891 m) tall. The ski area has a vertical drop of 2,197 ft (670 m) on its north-facing slopes.
There are 72 named trails on its 1,590 acres (6.4 km2) of skiable land. There are also many areas for skiing off-piste (off the marked trails). The terrain is rated as:
- 20% for beginners
- 40% for intermediate skiers
- 30% for advanced skiers
- 10% for expert skiers
The ski area has seven lifts:
- One gondola (which goes to the base village and parking lot in Kellogg)
- Five chairlifts (1 quad, 2 triples, 2 doubles)
- One magic carpet (a moving conveyor belt for beginners)
The resort gets about 300 inches (760 cm) of snow each year. They also have some snowmaking on 35 acres (0.14 km2) of land.
The Future of Silver Mountain
The plans for Silver Mountain's future include:
- A bigger Gondola Village with new shops, meeting rooms, restaurants, and an entertainment area.
- New, faster chairlifts and a better snowmaking system.
- New trails with a greater vertical drop (by making the base lower).
