Don’t look for the intermediate slopes at Silverton—there aren’t any!
SILVERTON MOUNTAIN
RECOMMENDED BY Cory Smith
Silverton Mountain was established in 2002 with an unofficial motto: “More Powder to the People!” Professional snowboarder and videographer Cory Smith spent his formative years in Silverton, though it would be later in life before he’d experience the mountain in all its glory.
“When I was growing up, there was no chair,” Cory began. “I started skiing and then snowboarding at Purgatory, down the road from Silverton toward Durango. Sometimes we’d hike up on the lower sections of the hill that would become Silverton Mountain and play around. Even then, you could see the potential of the terrain. I remember wishing that there was a lift.”
Like many Colorado mountain towns, Silverton started life as a mining center in the San Juan Mountains near the southwestern corner of the state. It sits at 9,305 feet, and rests in the shadow of several 14ers. Silverton’s mining days are in its past; it may be best known as the terminus of the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, a National Historic Landmark and tourist favorite. In 1999, Aaron Brill set out to change that. After visiting the club fields of New Zealand’s South Island, he was inspired to develop a similar sort of low amenities/high thrills kind of ski/snowboard area. A narrow valley outside of town with a cirque dropping into a series of gullies fit the bill. Brill and his then girlfriend (now wife), Jenny Ader, began buying up land and raising money. With a bit of land secured, they felled a few hundred trees with chainsaws and erected towers for a used chairlift (acquired from Mammoth Mountain) and began the arduous process of securing recreational access to adjacent Bureau of Land Management land. With the addition of a Quonset hut (for the lodge), a modest bar that Aaron built, and a few buses and an old panel van to shuttle skiers around, Silverton was ready to open.
There are some ski and snowboard experiences that are billed as expert oriented—the Chugach (this page), Chamonix (this page), and Jackson Hole (this page) come to mind. Silverton Mountain has taken the notion of “experts only” quite literally; here, there is only advanced and expert terrain, with no cut trails or groomed runs. And Silverton only sells a limited amount of lift tickets (on an average day, about eighty). Most of the season, you have to ski with a guide. Except for the Christmas holiday, it’s only open Thursday through Sunday. To get the full experience, you’ll probably end up hiking another two thousand vertical feet to an elevation of more than thirteen thousand feet.
It’s been described as “lift-accessed backcountry adventure skiing.”
Put another way: At Silverton you don’t have to participate in a stampede to find deep powder before the hill is all tracked out. And you don’t have to step into a snowcat or helicopter (though if you’d like to, the latter can be arranged).
The secondhand lift will not speed you up the hill. You will not run thirty laps in the course of the day. You will not eat a heaping bowl of hot chili by a fireplace that you could park a Hummer in. But you will have access to a wonderful variety of bowls, cliffs, and chutes over 1,800 acres of double diamond terrain in a place where the snowfall averages more than four hundred inches a year. If you hike to Storm Peak, you can enjoy nearly three thousand feet of vertical drop; up there you’re at 13,487 feet, which makes Silverton the highest ski area in North America … and, many would say, the toughest. (Vertical drop from the top of the chair, incidentally, is 1,900 feet.)
Bag lunches, by the way, are available for $10.
“Coming back to Silverton as a professional snowboarder with the lift in place really opened my eyes to what was available in the San Juans,” Cory continued. “I got to visit the first time shortly after they opened to do a photo shoot. We were all blown away by the bare-bones approach Aaron and Jenny had taken. Some people in town were worried that it was going to become a big resort, and they were very relieved to see the end product. As for the mountain, the terrain you’re exposed to from one lift is remarkable. After you drop over the first roller, it’s very apparent that you’re fully exposed. The fact that it’s mostly guided skiing speaks to Silverton’s extreme nature. Even professional athletes needed someone to show them the ins and outs. Most places, we can show up and do what we want, but not at Silverton. After all, many of the lines end in sheer cliffs. The guides do a great job with the avalanche safety protocol, and they’re always searching out fresh powder opportunities.” Avalanche safety gear is required for all guests.
“I like the fact that you don’t just ride under the chair at Silverton,” Cory added. “You do have to hike a bit, and for some people, doing so at thirteen thousand feet is tough. A lot of folks might sit out a lap after a run or two to get their wind back. For me, the hike along the exposed ridgeline is a great experience.” On an average day, visitors will get in three to six runs—or ten thousand to twenty thousand exhilarating vertical feet.
In most Colorado ski towns, it’s not too hard to find a rustic bar with a mining theme where you might enjoy a cold longneck or other simple libation. Silverton offers such an establishment, fittingly named the Miners Tavern. But many locals have begun frequenting a watering hole you might not expect to find in a mountains town—a rum distillery called Montanya. A host of rum cocktails are served, as well as appetizers. Sip slowly—Montanya’s Platino Light Rum earned a gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
CORY SMITH is senior promotions manager at Smith Optics.
If You Go
Getting There: The closest commercial airport to Silverton is in Durango, which is served by several carriers, including United Airlines (800-864-8331; www.united.com) and U.S. Airways (800-433-7300; www.usairways.com).
Season: Silverton operates from mid-December to early April.
Lift Tickets: Full-day tickets, which include a guide for every eight skiers/riders, run $139. Unguided skiing is offered at the beginning and end of the season for $49. Reservations are required (970-387-5706; www.silvertonmountain.com).
Level of Difficulty: Advanced/expert terrain only—you need to know what you’re doing to ski Silverton.
Accommodations: You’ll find a host of lodging options at www.silvertonmountain.com/page/town/lodging.
