SHOSHONE, Idaho — One year after a suspended walkway deep inside the Shoshone Ice Caves partially collapsed and injured three people, the owner has a plan to rebuild — and a way for the public to help.
WATCH: One year after a walkway collapse, the Shoshone Ice Caves owner unveils a $900K rebuild plan and a public fundraiser.
Shane Wallace, who has owned the Shoshone Ice Caves since 2019, said the past year has been difficult as underground tours remain on pause.
"It's been really tough... we just want to get back to people being able to come and see our establishment with their families and the stories be told again," Wallace said.
The Shoshone Ice Caves have drawn visitors for generations. Settlers first discovered the icy underground lava tube in the 1880s, and it has been a popular roadside attraction since the 1960s.
"It's an amazing part of history – it's a natural ice cave inside of a lava tube – you go 100 feet underground – you do a 45 minuet long tour with a guide - you get to know a little about the history, about how Idaho utilized this ice cave back in the 1930's for people harvesting ice for their own freezer boxes and even shipping it as far as Oregon," Wallace said.
Following the collapse, Wallace decided to upgrade the entire experience rather than simply repair the existing structure.
"We are getting rid of the suspension-style design - we found with the geotechnical engineers that we are able to do a side-wall-mounted system – it's going to be a lot better structure," Wallace said.
A $900,000 loan has been approved to fund the renovation, and construction is expected to start soon.
To help offset costs, the Shoshone Ice Caves launched the Save the Cave brick fundraiser, giving the public a chance to be part of the rebuild. Wallace said the engraved bricks will be installed around the attraction's most iconic mascot.
"It's going to go right along the front there and along the side of that dinosaur – out towards the little dinosaurs there," Wallace said.
The Save the Cave fundraiser has raised roughly $10,000 so far.
LEARN MORE: SHOSHONE ICE CAVES
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