Ski Resort GM Pens Candid Apology Following In-Bound Avalanches
As Idaho's Silver Mountain wraps up its ski season, General Manager Jeff Colburn has taken steps to address a particularly tough day at the ski area this winter.
According to a letter that Colburn published to the resort's social media, March 13, 2026, brought significant challenges to ski area operations. A storm that came in the day before delivered high wind, warm temperatures, and power outages throughout the day that forced Silver Mountain to close.
The ski area had every intention of reopening the following morning on March 13, albeit with a delayed start, and informed their guests of a predicted 11 a.m. load time for the gondola. At 5:30 a.m. on the 13th, Silver Mountain ski patrollers began avalanche mitigation work on the mountain, accessing it by road and were soon joined on hill by lift ops and maintenance. A public gondola load time of between 11 a.m. and noon was communicated to the public, pending local power in Kellogg being restored.
Around noon, power was finally resorted, and Silver Mountain sent line riders up the gondola to identify any problems, as they do every day. A line rider discovered a broken tree top on Tower 26, which was not impacting lift operation, but needed to be addressed before the gondola opened to the public.
Meanwhile, ski patrol worked to perform avalanche mitigation on mountain, utilizing explosives and ski cuts on their standard avalanche routes. It was decided that Wardner Peak, North Face Glades, Sunset, and Kellogg Peak would remain closed given their potential to be large slide paths.
The gondola finally opened around 3 p.m., with guests arriving on the mountain at around 3:20. Silver Mountain opted to keep operations running until 6 p.m. due to the day's initial delays. Around 3:50 p.m., ski patrol was notified of snow movement on Shady Lady, a black diamond run, and a cut bank behind Chairs 1 and 2.
Patrollers responded to find the cut bank sloughing and movement on Shady Lady to likely be a result of ski cutting that had been done by patrollers before the report.
At 4:30 p.m., a skier-triggered slide was reported on Moonshine, which is a double-black run off Chair 4. Avalanche mitigation had been performed on Moonshine twice prior that day already. It was at this point that management made the decision to close the mountain.
Two skiers were caught in the Moonshine slide and luckily, neither were injured and were dug out quickly by three nearby skiers and a patroller. While responding to the Moonshine slide, a second skier-triggered avalanche was discovered on the Terrible Edith run. The skier was not caught in the slide and was uninjured.
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The full letter with all the details can be read below:
In the letter, Colburn addressed places where they could have done better to communicate with guests regarding mountain opening and operations status.
Silver Mountain often uses Facebook and Instagram to update guests on mountain ops quickly, but Colburn acknowledged that sometimes those channels aren't easily accessible by skiers on the mountain. He noted that Silver Mountain is actively looking into alternative communication outlets to provide real-time updates to guests on mountain.
Colburn also addressed the increase in power outages at Silver Mountain, citing more extreme weather occurrences and more tall, mature trees as contributing factors. Additionally, the current power line are difficult to access and the local power company, Avista, prioritizes homeowners in Kellogg when addressing power outages. Silver Mountain is reportedly now working with Avista to move the power line underground via a four-year process that should reduce power outages.
Colburn expressed his gratitude that no one was injured in either slide, and for those who assisted patrol, and to all guests for their patiences in operations updates and understanding when the mountain shut down.
Colburn noted that in light of a rapidly evolving snowpack due to the changing climate, Silver Mountain has invested in improved avalanche forecasting, mitigation, guest education and rescue protocols, as well as other additional tools and programs to increase mountain safety.
Most skiers can likely think of a day where they've experienced significant impacts to a ski area's operations due to weather, power outages, avalanche conditions, or otherwise. It's easy to be frustrated when the powder panic takes over, however, (hopefully) the knowledge that ski patrol, lift ops, and mountain management are doing everything they can do communicate and open the mountain safely allows for some grace. Rarely though, does a resort's General Manager put so much thought into communicating about such a day in hindsight.
It's clear that Colburn's efforts to address Silver Mountain's skiers were appreciated. The comments on the resort's post noted how much guests appreciated Colburn taking the time to fully asses all the details of the situation and potential solutions, as well as the mountain's efforts in the moment.
One comment noted that a staff member walked through the gondola line on March 13 and showed guests a photo of the fallen tree on the lift tower, which helped communicate and explain the delays.
Running a ski area is no easy feat, and it's clear that Silver Mountain is in good hands.
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This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 1:39 PM.