Published on March 10, 2019
During the winter, the team at Midas Gold works hard to help keep Stibnite Road clear of snow and safe for everyone. Five years ago, the team had to work harder than usual when a series of avalanches hit.
We thought it was worth going back into our archives and reposting our blog from five years ago. We hope you enjoy this walk down memory lane with us!
At Midas Gold, our employees wear many hats and jump in to fill a variety of roles for our company. But recently, a few members of our team took on jobs they probably never anticipated when they quickly worked to help clear the Stibnite Road after a series of avalanches.
On March 6, the team woke up the learn there had been 10 snow slides on a three mile stretch of the road, which is east of Yellow Pine. The slides had covered the East Fork of the South Fork of the Salmon River (EFSFSR) and completely blocked the road in two different spots. It didn’t take long before the slides caused the river to divert onto Stibnite Road.
Midas Gold employees quickly got to work and by using equipment that was on site, they were able to get folks from Stibnite to Yellow Pine by the end of the day. In all, it took three days to remove debris and snow and get the river to start flowing in its normal channel again. The largest slide extended over the road for more than 50 feet and was at least 14 feet deep. The tallest slide was 60 feet from the base of the EFSFSR.
Throughout the process, Midas Gold worked closely with the Valley County Road Department and the Payette National Forest. We are very proud of our team and all their hard work responding to this incident.
This is a beautiful time of the year to explore Idaho’s backcountry but our team wants to remind you to stay safe. As temperatures start to heat up during the day and dip back down to freezing at night, it can increase the chances of avalanches.
We are monitoring the conditions around our site and, right now, the chances of an avalanche are moderate. We will keep our eye on the snow, temperature and mountains to see if conditions change.
