Silver Mountain is a mix of good and bad, love and hate, new and old, wannabe and is.
To qualify this review, I begin by stating that Silver Mountain was my home area for 6 years and every year I logged over 80 days/season. The easiest way to go about this is an enjoyable list.
Pros:
Uncrowded
Phenomenal tree riding-don't tell anyone
Lots of room to move and explore
Very down-home feel, great locals
Great steeps
Long runs when bottom of 4 is open
Cons:
Poor beginners area (not a concern until I revisited last year w/my 5 year old)
Runs are not cut on the fall-line of the hill except on Chair 4 and 3
Silver Mountain tries too hard to be something it isn't, the Vail of N. Idaho
Lifts are somewhat unpredictable in terms of running; you can get stuck on them more often than you would like, especially when it is dumping out
Very few cliffs
Bottom of 4 isn't always open due to lower elevation and resultant rain/snowpack

I love Silver Mountain because I know where to go when, I know the people and area, and because when it is dumping that place goes off for days after the storm due to lack of crowds, it's breadth, and the trees. I shake my head at Silver Mountain when I see their latest attempt at being something they aren't, when I have to traverse or constantly adjust my line on chair 2, or the lift stops for 5 minutes while they reset it.