Bogus Basin Saves Snow Through Summer

Insulated panels helped preserve about 60% of a snow pile stored on the mountain from late March through the summer.

Updated on Nov. 11, 2026 in Skiing

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Bogus Basin preserved roughly 60% of a snow pile stored on the mountain from late March through the summer, using insulated panels as part of the Snow Secure project. The ski area successfully tested the technology during the 2025 season.

Why it matters

Stored snow gives the resort a head start on preparing ski runs before natural snowfall arrives, and preserved snow can reduce the water and electricity needed to make new snow. The approach could matter for Boise-area skiers who depend on Bogus Basin for early-season conditions.

Approximately 60% of the stored snow survived about seven months of outdoor exposure, according to Bogus Basin's reported results. The source does not specify the original pile's volume, so the preserved amount cannot be measured in absolute terms.

The players

Bogus Basin

Bogus Basin is a ski area located northeast of Boise, Idaho, operating as a nonprofit ski resort in the Treasure Valley region.

The details

Bogus Basin's Mountain Operations team uncovered the snow pile that had been sitting on the mountain since late March, covered with specially designed insulated panels. Snow Secure technology was developed in Finland, and temperatures on the outside surface of the panels reportedly reached 118 degrees during the summer.

Late March 2026: Snow pile placed on the mountain under insulated panels.
Summer 2026: About 60% of the snow pile survived outdoor exposure.
November 2026: Bogus Basin discovered most of the stored snow still present.

Season Trajectory

Bogus Basin's snow storage offers an early-season path for the resort, with the stated goal of eventually opening its Coach's Corner run and an early-season terrain park without relying entirely on fresh snowfall or snowmaking. The 2025 Thanksgiving opening, made possible by preserved snow despite unusually warm conditions, shows how the method has already shaped the resort's season.

Early-season runs and a terrain park would give skiers more opening-day options if Bogus Basin can store enough snow to open them. The source does not specify a date, so the timing for those openings remains unconfirmed.

The takeaway

Stored snow can give a ski area a head start when warm weather threatens an early opening, and this test shows the approach can work in practice. Skiers planning early-season trips should watch for Bogus Basin's announcements on Coach's Corner and its terrain park.

What happens next

Bogus Basin plans to store enough preserved snow to open Coach's Corner run and an early-season terrain park, though no specific date for that opening is given.