WTF Silverton?

[hatchgreenchile]

Im also not a dogfighter and Ive never skied SM (yet) but I do have some perspective...

Where I tour it is the busiest BC zone in the country maybe the world. We have a heliop that gives zero fucks about local feedback, intruding on your peaceful wilderness experience or dropping a boatful of fat texans on your head when your a switchback away from first tracks in west bowl that took you 15 minutes to get to from your car.

Count me in for April 20th SM heli bumps with sfb, bakerbob, buster and iceman...

Ah yes, I've heard about the powderbirds and the issues there!

Silverton isn't the Wasatch or Front Range, that's for sure.

[uglymoney]

I've seen the ATV posse when driving up the Jeep Road over Imogene Pass from Telluride. Old timer Jeep Tour drivers say in the last few years, the amount of ATV has skyrocketed to the point that the quality of the roads have deteriorated.

We were out in Lake City this summer and word around town was that next year they are going to be limiting atv rental permits. Not sure how true that is but I am hopeful because the atv traffic was crazy.

[concretejungle]

ATV shenanigans , or really to be specific Side by Sides are coming to a boil in lots of other places as well. Fat skis of the motorized toys!

Texas Wheelchairs is the preferred term.

[capulin overdrive]

Texas Wheelchairs is the preferred term.

That's a good one!

I'm a 2 wheel guy, and we're scared they're going to take us down with them when people get mad enough to start closing stuff. Kindda sad, people can't be responsible.

[Cosmic Suncloud]

SM's expansion of ATV use must be stopped!
Think of the children.

[grskier]

I've seen the ATV posse when driving up the Jeep Road over Imogene Pass from Telluride. Old timer Jeep Tour drivers say in the last few years, the amount of ATV has skyrocketed to the point that the quality of the roads have deteriorated.

It's the case in many portions of CO.

[Telemarketeer]

That was my experience. I was in Tride w my wife for a week. I took one day to drive over to Silverton. It had not snowed in a week plus; snow was okay, but certainly not great. That was not really the issue for me. My group was made up of me, two snowboarders and a group of skiers who were friends with the guide. We skied the same lame front side gully three times because the friends liked the run and did not want to hike too far. And they were fucking slow. Not to mention one snowboarder got too low on the backside one run, and we all had to go down Two Smokes, which took forever, because like I said they were fucking slow.

I vowed to only go back for unguided or make my own group of eight. The mountain and experience were cool enough. Had I known our afternoon was only going to be two runs down the frontside (Tiger?) gully, I would have paid for a heli drop off the ridge. I had more money back then.

Exactly why I won't do guided without a group of eight, and getting a group of eight of my friends together of similar skill level is pretty difficult.

And are You guys bitching about ATV's or UTV's? The increase in UTV's (Polaris RMK and the like) has been nuts everywhere in the west lately. Moab seems to be the epicenter, but every where I go they are ripping around where it used to just be Jeeps and ATV/Motorcycles.

[Danno]

600 user days spread over 25,074 acres is unlikely to create a meaningful level of skier compaction IMO.

Just a lot more avy poodles.

[grskier]

I've always been in a group of 8 friends or placed with people who rip and have had the opposite experience.... so, obviously ymmv.

I always thought that place was prime for some sort of mini summit.

[uglymoney]

I've always been in a group of 8 friends or placed with people who rip and have had the opposite experience.... so, obviously ymmv.

I always thought that place was prime for some sort of mini summit.

Same here. Every time and I started going the year after they opened. Until last year when I beatered, tore my acl, and cost my group a run or two while I walked and skied out. I still have PTSD from making people wait on me.

[Buster Highmen]

I've always been in a group of 8 friends or placed with people who rip and have had the opposite experience.... so, obviously ymmv.

I always thought that place was prime for some sort of mini summit.

I haven't filled a group in years and most of the time just go solo. Sometimes there's a slow one or crasher, but in my experience that's the anomaly, not the norm. But again, when I'm skiing @ SM, all the frazzle of the usual ski resort herd rush rage fades away and I'm just glad to be there.

We did have a mini summit there years ago for marshalolsens bachy party with discount lift tix.

We could whine or reminisce about it online or actually be constructive and organize something. Just a thought. With all these other Summits further West, I'd think the ColoRadions might feel left out.

[galibier_numero_un]

... We did have a mini summit there years ago for marshalolsens bachy party with discount lift tix.

We could whine or reminisce about it online or actually be constructive and organize something. Just a thought. With all these other Summits further West, I'd think the ColoRadions might feel left out.

That would be a little of fun!
...Thom

[Toadman]

Anyone gone with these guys?

https://silvertoncatskiing.com/

I'm in Tride this weekend. I don't care about raging and ripping this trip. ( I tweaked my back last week, and just trying to rehab it so I can actually even ski.) So, I may be the slow one in the group since my ski fitness has declined. Not going to pull the trigger until last minute. Still looks like plenty of space on the Cat for next Monday.

How's the drive from Tride? Their website says 2 hours if the roads are good. Will there be any powder to slay if it hasn't snowed in a week?

Thx

[Underoos]

Do it. You'll have fun.
We skied with them a few years ago. Low angle rolling terrain. Lots of benches. Relaxed, easy skiing. When we were there it was 6" on top of crust, but it was fun anyway. They laid out a nice lunch spread for us. Let us bring our own beer and party favors in the cat. We rented the whole cat ourselves, so YMMV. We did 14 laps. They' weren't long runs, but I was beat at the end of the day. They let us jump off stuff and were generally fun to hang out and ski with. The drive was at least two hrs, we did it on snowy roads.

[Alpinord]

Anyone gone with these guys?

https://silvertoncatskiing.com/

I'm in Tride this weekend. I don't care about raging and ripping this trip. ( I tweaked my back last week, and just trying to rehab it so I can actually even ski.) So, I may be the slow one in the group since my ski fitness has declined. Not going to pull the trigger until last minute. Still looks like plenty of space on the Cat for next Monday.

How's the drive from Tride? Their website says 2 hours if the roads are good. Will there be any powder to slay if it hasn't snowed in a week?

Thx

Lack of snow shouldn't be an issue in the San Juans. 2 hours from Telluride sounds about right via Ridgway, Ouray & Silverton. Another 20 or so will get you to Purgatory Snowcat Adventures. We had a great time last Friday and highly recommend them (see video in San Juan stoke thread). They now own what was formerly San Juan Untracked, which is another option for cat skiing.

Silverton Cat Skiing used to be El Diablo which was around for years. They are up on Molas Pass which may offer more above timber options than Purgatory, depending on avy danger. Not sure on current beta on their crew and operations.

[Shredhead]

Today would have been a good day to book a private heli. Monday would probably still be good.

[Foggy_Goggles]

^^^you Aspen guys have your reality meter broken. You know a private heli is something like $10K? So reality is that, best case senario, you find 9 friends on short notice and drop a grand each. I know you and Skideeppow probably just fly in private and but down the Amex Black and more power to ya but it certainly ain't in the budget for most.

If I was 1%-ing, I'd spend it on skiing also and I probably could give 2 shits about what the regular people on TGR think but...now you are that guy.

[summit]

Since this thread is back up I'll mention that I apologized to Buster for the unwarranted crap I said about him earlier. Alls good.

[Buster Highmen]

Oh, I'm still a dork. So there's that.
I love to ski. I love Silverton Mountain and will be lurking there shortly.

[Toadman]

Lack of snow shouldn't be an issue in the San Juans. 2 hours from Telluride sounds about right via Ridgway, Ouray & Silverton. Another 20 or so will get you to Purgatory Snowcat Adventures. We had a great time last Friday and highly recommend them (see video in San Juan stoke thread). They now own what was formerly San Juan Untracked, which is another option for cat skiing.

Silverton Cat Skiing used to be El Diablo which was around for years. They are up on Molas Pass which may offer more above timber options than Purgatory, depending on avy danger. Not sure on current beta on their crew and operations.

Thanks for the beta. Looks like Purgatory is booked up the day I'd be planning to do a trip.

[Shredhead]

$9,900 for two hours of hobbs, divided by 12 good skiers is about $80 a run.
I don't think we'd have much trouble filling the ship.

[Alpinord]

Thanks for the beta. Looks like Purgatory is booked up the day I'd be planning to do a trip.

Did you call them or look online? Call if you haven't.

[Toadman]

Did you call them or look online? Call if you haven't.

Just looked at their online availability calendar. When I tried to do a dummy booking, it came back no reservations available. I'll give them a call.

Thx.

[ACH]

Oh, I'm still a dork. So there's that.

That maybe true, but you are also our dork, so don't go changin...

[adrenalated]

Per the email I just received, the BLM has approved Silverton's terrain swap request with no changes to the proposal.