Give Where You Play | Support Your Local Mountain
For many of us, Bogus Basin is a second home – a place where we recreate, connect with nature, and spend time with our community. Though the season hasn’t started the way we’d hoped, we’re excited to see you all back in the lodge, riding the chair, and on the snow.
Many resorts in the area are experiencing similar weather and record low snow pack, opening on limited terrain, or not at all. The team at #YourLocalPlayground is doing everything we can to bring winter to the Treasure Valley community, despite winter’s late arrival. From experimenting with Snow Secure to making snow from over 6 million gallons of water so far this season, we made a Thanksgiving weekend opening happen, and have operated every weekend since, including opening the Coach Chairlift and Coach’s Corner run. None of this would be possible without the support of our community.
When you purchase your season pass, buy lunch at the lodge, and donate to Bogus Basin, you are directly supporting mountain improvements, and innovation. Keep reading to learn about how recent investments have changed the mountain we call home for the better.
Mountain Investments
As a 501(c)(3) non-profit recreation area, every dollar spent at Bogus Basin is reinvested into mountain operations and improvements — from the recent Pioneer Lodge renovation to the installation of two brand-new chairlifts in 2024, along with advanced snowmaking and snow-preservation technologies. Your support also sustains year-round programs — youth and family winter sports, adaptive recreation, and guided snowshoe and nature tours —that connect people of all ages and abilities to the mountain.
Snow Secure
The pilot program with Snow Secure’s snow storage technology over the summer was a huge success, and made a Coach Chairlift opening possible on our second operating weekend. Your mountain operations team understood the threat a low snowpack posed on winter operations, and sought out innovative ways to open consistently in the early season, with or without natural snow.
Snow Secure was a $125,000 investment in the mountain’s infrastructure.
Snow Secure proved to be worth every penny this season, and we’re looking forward to expanding the operation in the future. We’re always finding ways to make Bogus Basin better for everyone – are you coming along for the ride? ;)
Snowmaking
We installed the initial phase of our snowmaking infrastructure in 2018, funded through a community-supported capital campaign. This investment included 24 fan guns, construction of a 13-million-gallon snowmaking pond, and the infrastructure needed to transport water from the pond to the snowmaking equipment. Since 2018, the fleet has expanded to become the second-largest snowmaking system in Idaho, now totaling 53 snowmaking machines. This includes five fixed fan guns and four fixed-position Grizzly Sticks on the Silver Queen and Morning Star Runs.
So far this season, the ‘Snow Sorcerers’ have converted 6,664,426 gallons of water into snow while temperatures allowed. When the snow melts, the runoff returns to our snowmaking pond, where it’s recaptured and reused to make snow on the slopes again!
Did you know? It takes roughly 7.1 million gallons of water to open the Showcase run off of the Deer Point Express Chairlift? That’s approximately two thirds of what our snowmaking pond holds!
Giving to Your Community Mountain
We are able to make season-changing improvements to the mountain we call home thanks to the investment that you make in this community resource. Your contribution to Bogus Basin comes in all forms, including choosing to save a parking spot by carpooling, attending on-mountain events, and making a donation.
Give Where You Play with a tax-deductible donation this December, and support the future of #YourLocalPlayground.
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
