Your Bogus Basin team does anything and everything to extend your time on snow, even if it means storing it over the summer season! You read that right – last summer, we experimented with Snow Secure – a snow storage technology invented in Finland – and it worked! Keep reading to learn about this pilot program and our big plans for the future.
What is Snow Secure?
Summertime snow preservation is an innovative way for mountains to maintain relatively consistent opening dates in the early season, even amid variable weather. In 2014, Snow Secure, a Finnish snow storage company, began manufacturing polystyrene panels that preserve large snow piles and reflect the summer sun.
Snow Secure reduces the energy and water required to launch into early season operations. By preserving snow from the previous season, our team gets a significant jump-start on building a base, reducing the amount of snowmaking required to open the first ski and snowboard runs of the season.
Dubbed a ‘Ski Season Saver’, Snow Secure made the TIME Magazine best inventions of 2025 list.
Stockpiling snow for a Great Experiment
Bogus Basin is home to the second largest snowmaking system in the state, and by January 29th of the 2024/25 season, we had already transformed over 23 million gallons of water into snow on 17 of your favorite runs, as well as the tubing hill.
In February, Mother Nature took the reins, giving us enough natural snowfall to produce amazing riding conditions. And, we still had a whole pond of water available for future use.
Prior to discovering Snow Secure, we had planned to experiment with some rudimentary techniques for storing snow in summer 2025. We positioned several snowmaking machines near the unload of the original Coach chairlift, where we planned to blow snow around the clock for a preliminary summer snow storage project, dubbed “Project X”. There, the Bogus Basin Snow Sorcerers Snowmaking Team made an over 30-foot-tall ‘whale’ of snow that we intended to use later for an experimental snow storage project.
At the Forefront – How we Found Snow Secure
Later in February, as the team continued brainstorming how and where we would store snow for the following season, Director of Mountain Operations Nate Shake came across several Instagram posts featuring Snow Secure on slopes in Finland. Based on their website, Snow Secure appeared to be an all-in-one snow storage solution with over 20 years of development in Finland. The system promised 70% or more retention of your original snow pile at any elevation, on any aspect, and at any temperature—A bold claim.
By mid-March, our team had held a virtual meeting with the Snow Secure team to game plan a partnership for the summer of 2025. For the first phase, Snow Secure would offer their pilot program for mountains to learn how the process works. After that, they would expand to a system that would allow for an on-demand opening.
After experiencing a tough season down south, a ski area that had pre-purchased a Snow Secure pilot system ended up being unable to use it. With approval from our volunteer Board of Directors, we purchased their pilot Snow Secure system, bringing this innovative technology to Boise, Idaho.
Thanks to a solid snow year, that resulted in a May 3rd closing date, we were able to run a pilot program with Snow Secure during the summer of 2025.
“Snow storage is nothing new, but when I stumbled across Snow Secure’s product and marketing, it almost seemed to good to be true…”
Nate Shake, Director of Operations
Snow Secure is making the Jump to North America
After many years in development, Snow Secure is making the jump to North American ski areas! Bogus Basin is one of the first two areas in the United States to debut this industry-leading technology. As a non-profit, Bogus Basin is fortunate not to answer to private owners, equity groups, or shareholders, who may not see the obvious ROI of saving snow season to season. Our mission, which focuses on providing recreation to the local community, is the cornerstone that enables innovations like this to reach the Treasure Valley.
“We know our guests want to get on snow as soon as possible, and we are committed to optimizing and innovating for the best on-mountain experience”
Austin Smith, Director of Innovation & Marketing
Putting a Plan in Motion – Preparing to Store Snow
The Snow Secure technology requires a large pile of snow to be stacked on a gentle slope. At just 12%, the lower section of Coach’s Corner had the best grade for our pilot system from Snow Secure. Although this section of the run is on an exposed, low-elevation part of the mountain, the Snow Secure team assured us that their innovative technology keeps the underlying snow insulated even on the warmest days of summer.
- Avg. InternalTemp.
- 37.2º
- Peak SurfaceTemp.
- 119º
- Cubic MetersStored
- 13.5K
The Snow Secure team was right – their product protected our snow pile from summer elements, including hot days and extreme thunderstorms.
A solar-powered thermometer at the top of the pile measured the surface temperature throughout the summer season, and an internal probe measured the temperature of the snow pile beneath the insulated panels. On average, temperatures under the Snow Secure panels remained 37.2º, with the highest surface temperature recorded on July 1st, 2025, at 119º Fahrenheit.
Summer temperatures (night and day) on the mountain averaged 77º — remarkably similar to Finnish summer temperatures, considering their roughly 20 hours of daylight each day.
April 2025 – JUST KEEP PUSHING…
Come late April, we spent several days pushing the snow from all over Coach and the Project X snowmaking site to create a massive pile on lower Coach’s Corner.
A few days later, the two shipping containers that held the Snow Secure pilot system arrived, and it was go time.
On April 18th, Antti Lauslahti, CEO of Snow Secure, arrived on site to review our pile and help our team deploy the Snow Secure pilot system. His first thought was that our team needed to pile the snow a bit higher before covering, but that we were close to being ready to cover. A few days later, he returned and the Bogus Basin team was able to cover the entire pile in less than a day – a testament to how easy the Snow Secure system is to deploy.
July 2025 – WHAT IS IT?
In the midst of summer, we quizzed curious summer guests about what they thought was going up on Lower Coach’s Corner – and their guesses were… creative!
October 2025 – The Reveal
With temperatures cooling down and snow in the forecast, it was time to uncover the preserved snow pile. Snow Secure recommends removing the panels before any significant snowfall to simplify handling and prevent product damage or employee injury.
Based on the forecast and following this advice, we carefully removed the panels on October 9th. A day later, the mountain received 4″ of pre-season snow, sparking excitement across the Treasure Valley and making us thankful we acted when we did.
What we Learned
Snow storage at Bogus Basin is 100% possible, especially with an innovative solution like Snow Secure. The project was deemed a total success, and our team learned plenty about how to execute at scale in the future.
The biggest takeaway from the pilot program was that we could not store too much snow under the insulated panels. We could have started with a flat surface 10-15 feet deep, then built our 30-foot-tall pile on top of that base to maximize the snow kept over the summer months.
Idaho weather often fluctuates in the fall and spring — not unusual for locals. Unfortunately, this year’s November temperatures were warmer than usual, and with above-average rainfall on the mountain, the pilot snow storage pile experienced its largest melt after it was uncovered.
Finding ways to maximize the amount of snow initially stored allows us to hedge against weather events that may occur after the pile is uncovered.
“You can’t have enough snow. There’s no such thing as too much snow under the pile. Next year maybe it’s 10, 20 or 30 acre feet of snow that we keep perpetually – storing more water, saving more water, and saving more power.”
– Nate Shake, Director of Mountain Operations
Plans for Next Year
We are in conversation with Snow Secure to order 3-5 more systems to complete a snow storage system next year. The goal for this project is to store enough snow to open the entire Coach’s Corner run and a pre-season park without natural or machine-made snow.
Stay tuned for more innovation from your backyard mountain – coming soon!
About Bogus Basin Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area is a 501(C)(3) organization dedicated to engaging the community to provide accessible, affordable, and fun year-round mountain recreation and education. Opened in 1942, Bogus Basin offers 2,600 acres of daytime skiable terrain and 200 acres for night skiing, seven chairlifts and three people-mover carpets, and an 800-foot tubing hill. The Nordic Center offers 37 kilometers of groomed trails for skiing and snowshoeing. Environmental education and community outreach programs, primarily youth, serve over 20,000 individuals annually. Summer activities include The Glade Runner Mountain Coaster, The Mine Shaft Challenge Course, mountain biking, events, hiking and chairlift service for hike and bike transport. Bogus Basin is located 16.5 miles north of Boise, Idaho, and operates under a special use permit with the Boise National Forest. www.bogusbasin.org
