DMR/Purgatory

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dboyce

New member
Looking for a little guidance at DMR for an Eastern U.S. board user--we will ski there ahead of a trip to Silverton in late March. Can anyone recommend any off-piste/glades/hike-to possibilites? Off-board is fine to dboyce@comcast.net. Many Thanks
 
Durango is just one ridge - that is pretty fully developed. Hidden areas? Trees between trails - however, the woods in this region are tight - and not many open places. There really is nothing to hike to within boundaries. It's not a steep place.

My experience - the extreme left and right are less crowded and steeper.

But if you could afford it, this is a good snow-cat operation out of Durango/Purgatory.

http://www.sanjuanski.com/
 
That cat operation is fairly cheap as I recall, less than $200, and not far off from what you'll pay at Silverton if you have to rent gear. You should also check out Telluride and Wolf Creek when you're in that area.

And I would allow a minimum of 3 days coming from the east coast before Silverton. Otherwise you will not enjoy those hikes above the lift starting at 12,200.
 
Thanks all three for the input. Snowcat site says price is $250, BTW. Cheap if compared to heli, but what isn't?

Would love to have three days before SIlverton, but one will have to suffice. We certainly will not be the only flatlanders on hand on a prime time weekend.
 
60% of Silverton's clientele is Colorado local. I suspect a good chunk of the rest is from other mountain states. Some reports on EpicSki suggest low tolerance for those who can't keep up. You should tell them up front that you are only 48 hours removed from sea level, and probably request to be in a group of "slow hikers."

I did a 20+ minute hike on Highline Ridge at Taos last Saturday after flying to NM Wednesday night, and I was grateful I didn't do it any earlier.
 
Tony,

Is that Mt. Baldy CA or Alta that you reference? I used to live in Upland and skied Baldy when it was open. Went to college in SLC and skied the other one a few times as well.

Thanks for the input re Silverton--passing along to rest of group. We have 8 skiers so can move at own pace, but sounds like the group will splinter due to fitness, acclimitazation, etc.

Did not realize that Wolf Creek is only 58 miles form Durango--think we will ski there on the first day. Looks like a more interesting place (I have skied Purgatory). Need to get the story on the D. Boyce lift.

Thanks,
D.Boyce
 
Unless it's a powder day, Wolf Creek is more like Wa-wa-wachusett than anything else. It's about 1000 ft with a few good steeps near the Waterfall.

400-500" on average terrain
 
Tony Crocker":2prpgdu3 said:
60% of Silverton's clientele is Colorado local. I suspect a good chunk of the rest is from other mountain states. Some reports on EpicSki suggest low tolerance for those who can't keep up. You should tell them up front that you are only 48 hours removed from sea level, and probably request to be in a group of "slow hikers."

I did a 20+ minute hike on Highline Ridge at Taos last Saturday after flying to NM Wednesday night, and I was grateful I didn't do it any earlier.
Click to expand...

If you are athletic, I think you can make it. I have done SF-Silverton in 24 hours and its not that bad. I always hike Telluride within 24-36 hours of getting there. Do I keep up with my bro statined in T-ride? No! But I hike consistent and do not stop.

Get athletic and you will be fine.

"Slow hiker" - f-that.
 
Slow hiker does not mean slow skier. We've been over this before, but altitude acclimatization is not necessarily related to fitness. Recall admin's friend Todd last March. If you haven't exercised (and that doesn't mean skiing groomers) at 12,000 feet before, it is best to be conservative is estimating what you can do in the first few days. It's a plus that you are a whole group. With 8 people you may see a fairly wide range of altitude effects.

For lift serviced terrain Telluride is far above Purgatory or Wolf Creek. But Wolf Creek is a snow magnet that often gets twice the snow of the other areas. So you should check snow reports when you arrive and decide where to go accordingly.

I referenced neither Alta or Mt. Baldy in this thread. So I don't understand that question.
 
Tony Crocker":2988wwwz said:
Slow hiker does not mean slow skier. We've been over this before, but altitude acclimatization is not necessarily related to fitness. Recall admin's friend Todd last March. If you haven't exercised (and that doesn't mean skiing groomers) at 12,000 feet before, it is best to be conservative is estimating what you can do in the first few days. It's a plus that you are a whole group. With 8 people you may see a fairly wide range of altitude effects.
Click to expand...

All Mt. McKinley climbers must read the mountaineering booklet provided by Denali National Park as part of the registration process. A section of that booklet sub-titled "Arctic High Altitude Mountaineering Medical Issues" contains a table of "Incidence of High Altitude Illness in Various Groups". For the group "Colorado Skiers", the figures look like this:

Max Altitude Reached : 11,500 ft
Average Rate of Ascent to Sleeping Altitude (in days): 1-2
Sleeping Altitude / Percent with AMS / Percent with HAPE or HACE
7000' / 15-20% / 0.01%
8500' / 25% / 0.01%
10000' / 25-40% / 0.01%

Meaning that while it's unlikely any of the group will die of pulmonary or cerebral edema, 2 or 3 of them will feel like total crap.

Here's the page of links to PDFs of the booklet in various languages:
Denali Mountaineering Booklet
 
Just curious, but does anyone actually call it Durango Mountain Resort?

Judging from its logo, it seems like even the resort can't make up its mind.
 
I love wearing my "Purgatory" shirt from the "sinfull" old days. I guess they were concerned about losing their "bible belt" clients with the original name.
 
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