Soldier Mountain Calls It a Season, Ending Lift Operations for 2025-26

Soldier Mountain has officially pulled the plug on lift-served skiing for the 2025-26 winter season, the small community ski area announced Saturday, bringing a curtain down on one of the shortest and most challenging seasons in recent memory.

The announcement came after a storm that brought heavy snow to other Idaho ski resorts this week delivered only rain to Soldier Mountain.

The resort cited persistent weather issues and unsafe mountain conditions as the reason for the early closure. "Due to ongoing weather conditions and the resulting safety concerns on the mountain, we've made the difficult decision to discontinue all winter activities for the remainder of the season," the resort said in a statement.

The season was a brief one by any measure. Soldier Mountain only began lift operations on January 10th — and for comparison, the resort ended last ski season on March 29th.

The closure follows a winter that was unusually dry across parts of Idaho and the Intermountain West. Even after opening, coverage remained thin, with seasonal snowfall totals reaching only about 26 inches at times and base depths hovering around 10 to 20 inches. Snowpack monitoring stations in the region showed extremely low totals — around 7% of normal at one nearby site earlier in the season.

The timing adds a particular sting. Ironically, weather forecasts for the mountain in the coming days show a shift toward colder conditions with several chances for snow — but by the time those storms arrive, the resort says it will already have ended operations.

Interestingly, cat-skiing operations at Soldier remain open and available, offering a silver lining for backcountry enthusiasts looking to make the most of what snow remains at elevation.

Those with pass products for the 2025-26 season are advised to contact the resort directly.

For many independent ski hills, winters like this are especially challenging. Unlike major destination resorts, smaller mountains often rely almost entirely on natural snowfall and local visitation. When storms fail to materialize — or arrive too late — the economics of keeping lifts spinning become difficult. Soldier Mountain has not operated snowmaking since 1996, leaving it particularly vulnerable to low-snow winters.

The resort acknowledged the disappointment but said the focus has already shifted toward the future — and like many ski areas facing difficult winters, the community is already hoping next year brings the kind of storms this season never quite delivered.