SW Colorado Anti-Resort

Having a craving to stretch my legs a bit and set out on a winter adventure, I recently left home and traveled to southwestern Colorado under the disguise of “greatly underspoken skiing/snowboarding consultant for UpaDowna”. We originally planned for 3 days at Wolf Creek, but when my traveling partner suggested we try to get in some time at Silverton Mountain how could I refuse?

In all likelihood, I could overflow this page with tales of adventure and lessons learned from my single day at Silverton (I definitely got my money’s worth), but I don’t want to brag about this place to the world. I don’t want anyone else to know about it. I don’t want it to change, ever. I’ll just give my UpaDowna friends the raw goodies….

Silverton Mountain (located just outside of Silverton, CO, and about an hour north of Durango) is anything but a ski resort. This single-lift operation offers an advanced, back- or side-country skiing/snowboarding experience to a very limited number of people on a weekly basis. From January through March all skiing is guided only, all skiers/riders are clustered into teams of 8 and assigned a guide, and all are required to carry avalanche gear. This is a very no-frills operation; there is no gigantic lodge with a roaring fire, no onsite Starbucks, not even any running water. There are no groomers, no lift lines, and no bunny hill, but also no attitude. In other words, Silverton Mountain is missing everything that makes resort skiing in Colorado suck so badly for those that just want a bunch of turns in the powder.

Brent and I arrived right at 8am for check-in. We arranged in advance for him to rent avy gear (beacon, shovel, probe, and a pack for $40/day) so after signing wavers he was off to the rental van. Once fully geared up, we both proceeded to the parking lot where all of the skiers meet and group up with guides. We spoke with several groups of skiers and riders to get an idea of the range of abilities and the intentions of each of the groups, but ultimately since neither of us had been to Silverton before we stood alone so that we could be pulled into a group according to what the guides though would be appropriate. The two of us were set up with a group of 5 celebrating a bachelor party, and a slightly mysterious lone skier from Atlanta, making us all a group of 8. We all had several minutes to get to know each other before our guide, Chris, came for our orientation. Once we all covered some avalanche essentials we were all onto the lift by 9am, heading to the top of the mountain.

Over the next 7 hours we got in 5 runs. Some may try to say that 5 runs doesn’t constitute a full day of riding, but had such a doubter been in our group he would have eaten his words. During our 5 runs we covered around 10,000 vertical feet consisting of alpine powder fields, glades, forested tree runs, chutes, gullies, sketchy traverses, and wind features…..a fairly typical day at Silverton. We hiked 4 times; twice for only 10 minutes, once for about 30 minutes, and the longest being to the summit at around 45 minutes. We never hiked out of anything, transportation was there to pick us up within 10 minutes of completing each run. Most of each run was on untouched powder.

Perhaps we started out the day with a bunch of strangers, but by 4pm we were ending the day with a group of new friends. We were each motivating the other to press on during each ascent, and cheering each other on for each descent. Formal introductions and handshakes at the beginning of the day became high-5s, toasts, and the exchange of email addresses at the end of the day.

Here are some suggestions for having the best possible day (or days) at Silverton Mountain:

• Book it in advance. Actually, this isn’t a suggestion, it’s pretty much mandatory. There are only about 80 people per day allowed on the mountain. If you don’t have a reservation and you just show up it is unlikely you will be able to ski. If you will need avy gear, or if you want to rent powder skis or a powder board at the mountain, then you can reserve these items and pay in advance through their online reservation system.
• Be honest about your fitness level and abilities to be sure that you fall in with the right group. Everyone hikes together and skis one-at-a-time so any exaggerations about your pro-quality skiing or “eating 14ers for breakfast” will quickly become apparent. You don’t want people waiting on you anymore than you want to wait on others, so an honest self-assessment of skills is crucial when being grouped.
• LISTEN TO YOUR GUIDE. This is so important, and not just for your safety. Everyone in your group needs to demonstrate to your guide that they are paying close attention and can follow instructions at all times. Once your guide sees this he/she will feel comfortable taking your group to more exciting or challenging terrain, if that is your ultimate goal. If your guide doesn’t feel like the group is competent, capible, or focused, then it is unlikely that you’ll be offered runs on some parts of the mountain.
• Leave your inhibitions. When grouping, I initially thought we should try to fall in with some other snowboarders, thinking we’d all want similar hikes and terrain. However, in the end I stuck with the people I was sure I wanted to ride with (the one guy I came with), and let the guides do the grouping. This turned out to be best for a number of reasons that I touched on. Additionally, I heard one fellow that refused to ride a lift with (or possibly even ski with) snowboarders. That person’s group was left far behind our mixed group (we had alpine skiers, telemarkers, and snowboarders in our crew).
• Stay in Silverton. We made Silverton a side-trip from Wolf Creek, so it took us 3 hours to get there that morning, and another 2.5 to get home that evening. Silverton is an hour north of Durango, and that is when US550 is perfectly clear. Unless 550 is completely closed down, making Silverton totally inaccessible, then you are required to show up for your non-refundable reservation. Don’t chance snow delays, just stay in Silverton. You won’t be rushed to get to the hill in the morning (unless you can’t get out of bed by 7am), and you’ll be staying in a tiny, remote mountain town with a bunch of mountain folk and other like-minded people out to ride Silverton. It’s such a cool scene.

I should add a few side-notes to all of this. Silverton offers early- and late-season unguided skiing as well, and at a very reasonable price, but if you really want to get the mountain for everything it’s worth then go with a guide. They are also offering one of the only heli-skiing operations in Colorado. At $150/drop, UpaDowna couldn’t afford to send me out in the heli, but anyone else can arrange to make some heli-riding a part of their day at Silverton. (Truthfully, UpaDowna can’t afford to get me out my front door, much less sponsor me to go to SW CO. We just do this stuff for the love of the game.)

Additionally, since you pay for your ticket and any rentals needed when you make your reservation, you shouldn’t need any money while at the mountain. You’ll definitely want to bring a little cash though because there is no ATM on site. Once the ski day ends the kegs are tapped and you’ll want to stick around and have a brew or two with your new friends. You’ll also want to tip your guide. I was told that $10-20 is appropriate. I tried to be generous since Chris left us grinning from ear to ear.

There simply is not another skiing experience in Colorado that matches what Silverton Mountain has to offer. We get the excitement and powder of backcountry riding blended with the efficiency of resort riding. For me and others like me, this is absolutely the best skiing bang for the buck in the Colorado Rockies. I’m already planning on returning next winter.