Silverton Mountain Ski Area

Tips for Getting the most from your Guided Silverton experience (scroll down for Unguided Tips):

New terrain opens almost every day after additional avalanche control.  Many times the freshest snow may be on Thursdays, but over the weekend more terrain typically opens each day so you will usually find the most terrain options on Sunday.  This means fresh powder is usually available every day of the week regardless of when the last snow fell.

1) Prepare for the high altitude.  Check with your physician first before taking any medications. You can start taking Diamox one day before you arrive for best results (RX.  We are told that the recommended dose is 125mg twice a day, but check with your Dr.) or Ginseng 100 mg twice a day starting 5 days before you get here.  Viagra also works.  If you are coming from sea level, skiing a easy partial day before your Silverton day will help with the altitude.

2) Relax!  There is no mad dash to ski it up as fast as possible like at a regular ski area.  The nice thing about Silverton is the snow will still be there, so relax and enjoy your day.  Guided skiing moves at a different pace than at a hectic ski resort with high speed lifts and agro attitudes.   Most groups ski 4-5 runs a day (8,000-12,000 feet of vert) and are completely worn out.  But if you want to ski as much vert as humanly possible by skipping lunch, snacks, and bathroom breaks and sprinting instead of hiking, let your guide know and they will try to accommodate you.

3) If there has been a big dump or change in winds recently, don't expect to be skiing steeper lines.  It can take a while to get steeper runs open.  Tree skiing is more common after fresh snowfall.  Many times we will try to get a few great runs open further out on the ridge as quickly as possible, so we may hike right past fresh snow in runs(even with big blast holes in them) not yet opened, to get to more distant terrain.  Our snowpack is unlike any other so please have patience, stability assessment takes a bit longer in the San Juan's.  Many times we will start to blast a run, only to learn that it needs more time before we can open it. Skier compaction allows us to keep the mountain open.  Please feel free to ask your guide what that means.

4) If you are of an exceptional fitness level, and want to ski the steepest, most rocky, 6 foot wide chutes all day at a frantic pace, try to bring your own group of 8 skiers.  Eight is the magic number for getting your own guided group.  If you are a returning guest and want to request a guide, feel free to do so when you arrive.  The mornings are hectic so please make your request more than once.  Private guides are also a great option.  Most people enjoy skiing the regular steeps of Silverton with standard groups at a regular pace.  But we know there are some (about 2%) who aren't happy unless they are going as big as possible all day.  To best accommodate the needs of insane skiers follow these tips.

5) Pay attention to your guide all day, exactly.  The guide will only take you where he feels comfortable as their priority is your safety.  The better you listen, the more the guide can open it up for you, (longer pitches, steeper lines etc).  Let your guide know if you want to huck your meat, or ride steeps as much as possible.  If you don't tell them they won't know.  The guide may not be able to accommodate your request based on snow conditions and avalanche hazard, but they will try their best.

Tips For Getting the Most out of an UNGUIDED day:

1)  Figure out which way is North once you hit the top of the mountain.  The mountain has all kinds of exposures and depending on the wind direction, the wind will usually load some aspect extra deep.  Some areas will always be deeper than others, but if you stay north it is a good place to start, unless of course the wind loaded south sides that day. 

2)  Hikes of longer than 25 minutes usually close by 1:45.  Be sure to arrive early if you want to hit the longer hike-to terrain.  Ski patrol needs time to sweep at the end of the day and the more distant areas usually close first.  Terrain options get scaled back near the end of the day, so don't wait until the end for the classic run.  Last lift upload is at 3:15pm.

3)  Follow the sun.  Hit the Backside first, then Westside.  The Backside gets the sun first so the snow will usually be best if you hit it first.  In the spring the backside will usually close at 11am due to wet snow avalanche hazards.

4)  There is usually new terrain open every day.  If you want to hit the distant hikes it is usually best to wait a few days after fresh snow.  The ski patrol needs time to open new runs and they keep working further out each day.  Hikes beyond 45 minutes usually require a guide, but the majority of the terrain can be accessed without a guide.  However guides can ski runs before they open to unguided skiers when conditions allow. 

5)  You can usually find fresh snow for two weeks after a storm.  With 1,819 acres and only a few skiers a day, you might see a bunch of people at the base area (because the parking lot is so small), but once you get up top there are so many nooks fresh snow abounds.  You just have to look for it.  Obviously the areas that can be seen from the lift get hit first and most often, but they might not be the best so keep looking and you will find it.

6)  Certain areas of the mountain have thin cover all season long, regardless of what type of snow year it is.  Snow does not fall in an even blanket in high alpine mountains.  A foot of fresh will likely not leave any of the new snow on the ridge tops but deposit it in favored locations.  The ridges are usually thin all season as the wind scours the snow from them and loads it on the slopes.  Super steep areas like Waterfall Ramp, Two Smokes, Skid Mark etc. are thin all year because the snow has a tough time sticking to these steep rocky areas.  You just have to accept that it is thin for a short section in those areas and enjoy the great snow above and below them.  Snow settles rapidly, so 3 feet of new snow will be reduced to 1 foot of new snow within 24-28 hours. 

7) There will always be sucker tracks heading to big dead end cliffs or ice falls on the backside.  Don't assume if someone else made it, that you can also.  It is always best spend 5 minutes to hike up 30 feet and traverse around cliffs than to keep heading down into 'no mans land'.  Scout before you drop and you can find all sorts of fun. 

Enjoy your day!