Soldier Mountain opened its new mountain bike park this past Friday, after a raging wildfire last summer prevented the park’s 2020 grand opening. 

With two Idaho resorts just added to Indy Pass -- Soldier Mountain and Pomerelle -- it makes sense to hit the road for a circumnavigation of the Gem State's off-the-beaten-track, unpretentious mountains that honor the Indy Pass.

Soldier Mountain Ski Area in Fairfield, Idaho, and Pomerelle Mountain Resort in Albion, Idaho, have joined the Indy Pass, and each resort will provide Indy Pass holders with two days of skiing or riding through the end of the 2020-21 season. 

Wildfires raging around the Magic Valley were a common event this summer and Camas County’s Soldier Mountain Resort felt the burn firsthand.

The Phillips Fire has now burned 2,121 acres north of Fairfield and passed through the heart of Soldier Mountain Ski Area in the process.

Diane and Matt McFerran co-own Soldier Mountain in Fairfield. After purchasing the resort in 2015, they put it up for sale late last year for $800,000 dollars, and they’ve had some interest, but no offers.

Ever dream about waking up seeing sunlight cresting over a mountain ridge? Or skiing whenever you feel like it? Or helping people live their own adventures out in the forest and powder?

Owning a ski resort would be a fantasy, right? Well, now there’s a place in Idaho where that dream could become reality.

The new owners of Soldier Mountain have had a nice first year at the central Idaho day-trip mountain – and now local charities will join in the good fortune.

Idaho is known for its wild and powdery backcountry that can be reached slowly on foot, or for those less patient, by snowcat at seven locations and helicopter at one.