BY KAREN BOSSICK

Soldier Mountain ski area is offering free skiing today and Saturday, March 23, to mark its final two days of operation for the 2023-24 season.

Participants must go online to get their free tickets at https://soldiermountain.com. RFID cards are required, which cost $5 for those who don’t have one.

The mountain will host a cardboard box derby at 11 a.m. Saturday; guests are encouraged to bring their homemade cardboard sleds and sculptures. The resort will also stage a pond skim competition at 1 p.m. Saturday.

"Despite the challenges Mother Nature had for us this season, we had a great winter at Soldier Mountain," said general manager David Alden. "We are grateful for the region's support and want to share the stoke with our friends and neighbors."

Established in 1947, Soldier Mountain is a family friendly mountain resort located near Fairfield at 1043 N. Soldier Creek Rd. in the Soldier Mountains of the Sawtooth National Forest, about 80 minutes from Sun Valley.

The resort offers skiing and snowboarding on 35 named trails and a terrain park on the frontside comprising 1,150 lift-served skiable acres and 2,000 acres of snowcat-accessible backcountry. Soldier Mountain has two chairlifts reaching an altitude of up to 7,177 ft., a magic carpet, and a tubing hill.

In the summer Soldier Mountain offers five mountain biking trails, a skills park, and a nine-hole disc golf course. Camping spots are available at the end of the resort's parking lot at Pioneer Campground and along the road beyond, and motel lodging and vacation rentals are available in Fairfield about 10 miles away.