We're 2 Aussies that skied Silver early Feb 2008, stayed at the gondola base, simply the skiing was very good, hi to ski patroller Mike, the bar at the resort was great, how's it going Guss, the accomodation excellent.
Simply a really good spot with really great people, don't know why all the bad press, we skied Big Sky, Jackson Hole, Sun Valley and Schweitzer on this trip and Silver was up there with them all.
I will return and would have no hesitation in recommending Silver to anyone who wants a good ski, good bed and good food/drink all at the right price.

Hey this is some negative press for a ski hill that myself and family have enjoyed for the last seven years. OK a couple of reasons why I like Silver Mountain

1)its close to home, ten minutes from my house
2)It costs me 750 bucks a year for the entire family for a season pass, thanks to the Military/ EMS/Fire/ Police discount that Silver offers (by the way the only ski hill in the area to offer a military discount, thanks for supporting the troops guys! )
3)No lift lines, skied this entire week during the Christmas Rush, yes lots of folks I have not seen on the mountain before, holy smokes those people are speaking Japanese! But still, no lift lines, made 15 runs before lunch and skied to the chair every run. I have skied all over the world folks, and worked the ski industry and never seen a hill during Christmas with no lift lines. Except Silver Mountain.
4)Hey the tube hill rocks! Try it for 5 bucks for season pass holders! Seen enough things at Silver Mountain that have not worked (remember the ice skating rink, the Bonfire and Snow Dance this year, The Dickens Festival in 02? Hey this Tube Hill seems like a good idea. It might work! And cant wait for the Indoor Water Park. Hope that is open to the public!

Ok a couple of complaints and to answer the mail from the sour grapes crowd:

1)Apres Ski? Who cares? A well skied day and you should be in bed by 8:00 PM, if you have energy to go out and hit the town then you did not ski hard enough. Apres Ski for us is Chili at home and a movie to fall asleep too.
2)Broken Lifts: Yep I was hot last year when Chair 4 was down, but things seems to be on the mend at Silver, Chair 4 has been renewed this year. Seems to be working well
3)Hike to ski terrain is getting hard to get to. Yep that hike to Wardner Peak off chair 4 is tough, but worth the trip and it does keep you wimps off my powder.

Around town the talk is that a bunch of these negative comments are from angry employees that left Silver for Lookout. Maybe they are upset at the success of Jeld Wen Company to sell out the condos at the base of the hill in days, or maybe they are mad that they did not buy a couple of houses in Kellogg for 5k a couple of years ago and flip them for 5 times that much later. Either way I hope that they get over it, its about skiing and enjoying the sport with your family at an affordable price. I hope that management at Silver realizes that it is about skiing for most of us I hope Silver can make a dollar, not get overun with lift lines and keep the cost low for us. If that changes I will go down the road. For now however I will enjoy the great tree skiing, low prices and no lift lines. If you want high prices and long lines go somewhere else.

We visited the area and stayed in Kellogg accommodations and found things surprisingly spendy for a small town in Idaho with very little to offer in terms of restaurants, pubs, nightlife, etc. Silver’s small “village” at the gondola base area is limited, and what’s offered there is about all there is to do in Kellogg. Don’t waste your time venturing out. As for the mountain and skiing, we went to catch the gondola on Thursday, 1/10/08 only to find out that the mountain was closed down due to wind. Staff suggested we visit Lookout Pass located about 20 miles away. Things can be tricky in the mountains, but it sure didn’t seem very windy to us. We chose not to go to Lookout Pass, but those we spoke with later said they had a great day there, and we wished in hindsight that went along because there was nothing else to do for the day in Kellogg except visit a nearby Wal Mart. Oh joy! We skied the next two days at Silver and found good snow. Overall, we found that this small, low elevation resort that to have limited vertical and did not measure up to its relatively high costs for lodging, lift tickets, meals, and accommodations. We have found far better values at similar sized resorts in Washington, Utah, Idaho, and BC.

The snow is good. There are hardly any lift lines. lots of trails. Not crowded. Wide variety of difficulties on trails. 4 lifts and the worlds longest gondola. I highly recommend this resort.

The number of reviews indicate the locals are passionate about their mtn.
The rating is misleading with regard to overall terrain and snow conditions. Silver gets the light dry w/out the vertigo. There are no lift lines. On a powder day, the peak and tree skiing is as good as anywhere. Yeah, Sun valley has the vert, but hey, it's a desert there...

The backcountry is unreal. from any aspect off either mtn, Kellogg or Wardner. With knowledge,in a good year like this one,
skiing to town is challenging but doable. (that's 4k vert).
The locals are friendly and helpful, and there exists very little attitude. The disgruntlement comes from poor service in Food/Beverage(never to be resolved), delayed maintenance issues (addressed this year)and a management more keyed toward getting the real estate sold and flying the coop.

The locals are the heart and soul of this mountain. Come up for a week, stay at the new condos, or rent a house in town, bring your lunch and beer, eat in the woods, go home tired 'cause there is no lift lines, bring a down home attitude, expect nothing from anybody, and you will be beyond pleasantly surprised.
And like the last reviewer said, leave the fur and jewelry at home. But bring your beacon....