Silverton 2005

[eatskisleep]

I guess you could say I am jelous of that skiing:

http://www.silvertonmountain.com/gallery/album50

 

[RIDEr]

I was a kid at a candy store when my girlfriend and I passed over the Southwestern portion of the Colorado mountains. Anybody that skis \ boards that mountain gets my total respect.

 

[Treeliner]

I think this picture speaks for itself...

 

[andyzee]

Some developments at Silverton this year:

Associated Press

SILVERTON, Colo. - The state is getting its 25th full-scale ski area high in the San Juan Mountains.

Silverton Mountain has received a permit from the Bureau of Land Management to operate over 1,300 acres - all expert-level terrain - with up to 475 skiers a day. The area has been open for four winters but only for guided skiing.

"It's still going to feel, even with unguided skiers, uncrowded and vast," said owner Aaron Brill. "Five hundred skiers a day is smaller than the smallest days at other ski areas."


Powder hounds will outnumber Silverton's year-round population of around 400, San Juan County Administrator Willy Tookey said. The expansion could jump-start the town's dormant winter economy, he said.

Brill hopes to attract niche skiers from across the nation, and looks forward to turning a profit. "I'm really hoping to start to take home a paycheck in the next couple of years," he said.

The BLM, after three years of review, granted Brill a permit for 40 years. The public has 30 days to appeal the decision.

Even with the addition of unguided skiing and snowboarding, Silverton will stand out. Its easiest run is a match for the most difficult double black diamonds at many other resorts.

It has one lift, but almost nothing in the way of amenities. There's no grooming or snowmaking. The area receives an average of 400 inches of snow a year.

"Silverton matches or surpasses pretty much every other ski area as far as extreme terrain goes," said Greg Ditrinco, executive editor at Ski Magazine. "They're trying to serve only the hard-core audience. They're definitely swimming upstream."

Brill admits his area is "not for everybody." With its steepest runs approaching 55 degrees, there's typically no turning back.

The first unguided skiing will have to wait until April because the mountain's terrain crosses snowpacks particularly vulnerable to slides.

Brill wants to make sure his avalanche-clearing work is satisfactory before allowing snowriders out on their own.

 

[mergs]

I think this picture speaks for itself...

that chute above the skiier lookes like a run called Rope de Dope #3 (or maybe #4?). anyway, total fun. terrain is amazing... this guy had much better pow than i did however.

here's a few more pics from mar 05.

the drop in for the pic treeliner posted can be seen in pic #2 above. (its right above the 3 hikers)

i cannot believe they have this much pow already... amazing.

 

[RIDEr]

Mergs -
I doubt you'll be dry without pow two years in a row.... you'll have a blast with a great crew.

 

[Vano]

Man. Memories, memories. I remember the painful hikes up that ridge last year. I flew in Saturday morning from New Jersey and 24 hours later I was hiking up from 12,000 feet to 13,000 feet. I could barely breathe - it was one painful experience.

Once at the top though, the snow was great, the terrain was amazing and it was some of the best skiing I have ever done. We did 5 runs, which according to our guide, is above average - i was dead by the end.

One negative comment I have about Silverton is that it is very 'controlled' - they tell you the exact line they want you to ski because of safety, snow pack preservation, etc... I completely understand why they do this, but don't think that just because you see a huge empty bowl of snow, the guide will just let you go down any which way you like - there is a system and that system usually results in less fun. That said, still an amazing place.

 

[mergs]

Man. Memories, memories. I remember the painful hikes up that ridge last year. I flew in Saturday morning from New Jersey and 24 hours later I was hiking up from 12,000 feet to 13,000 feet. I could barely breathe - it was one painful experience.

Once at the top though, the snow was great, the terrain was amazing and it was some of the best skiing I have ever done. We did 5 runs, which according to our guide, is above average - i was dead by the end.

One negative comment I have about Silverton is that it is very 'controlled' - they tell you the exact line they want you to ski because of safety, snow pack preservation, etc... I completely understand why they do this, but don't think that just because you see a huge empty bowl of snow, the guide will just let you go down any which way you like - there is a system and that system usually results in less fun. That said, still an amazing place.

this is very true... it actually makes filming a real challenge bc you can't really just stand there like a statue in the middle of the run filming folks zipping by... you have to be way off to the side or above or below. but as you say, theres a reason for it and the san juans are especially avy prone.

i enjoyed that hike to the billboard tremendously. i'd never been that high before and i was glad to be at sea level one day and coping at 13K feet the next. felt good and the views rock.

what time of year did you go?