TL;DR
Two skiers were caught in an inbounds avalanche on a double black diamond run at Silver Mountain Resort in Idaho, despite patrol conducting avalanche mitigation earlier that day. Both escaped without serious injury, but the incident raises questions about a resort that permanently closed terrain following a fatal 2020 slide.
Two skiers caught in inbounds avalanche at Idaho resort despite morning control work
Two skiers were swept up in an inbounds avalanche at Silver Mountain Resort in Idaho on Friday afternoon, escaping without serious injuries in what marks the second significant slide at the resort in five years. The incident occurred around 4:30pm on Moonshine, a double black diamond run in the Chair 4 terrain pod - the same day ski patrol had conducted avalanche mitigation work on the slope.
Three bystanders and a patroller responded immediately to the scene. Following the rescue, patrol conducted an extensive search of the debris field but found no additional victims. The resort then closed terrain across the mountain for further avalanche control work before gradually reopening runs throughout the weekend.
What makes this incident noteworthy isn't just that inbounds avalanches are relatively rare at North American resorts - it's that Silver Mountain has form. In 2020, an inbounds slide on Wardner Peak killed three people. The resort's response was to permanently close a portion of that terrain.
The fact that patrol had already performed avalanche mitigation on Moonshine earlier on Friday raises questions about snowpack assessment. After a mostly dry winter, recent snowfall created unstable conditions that apparently weren't fully addressed by morning control work. It's worth noting that even the best avalanche forecasting isn't foolproof, but two significant slides in five years at the same resort warrants scrutiny.
