Silverton again !

Frankontour

Frankontour

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a few other pics are available on http://www.silvertonmountain.com

After the powder days at Fortress Mtn and Timberline Lodge last weekend, it looks like this fall will give us some great surprises (at least to see on the internet if stuck in eastern Canada lol)
 
Silverton is a very steep and rocky mountain with light and dry (that means NOT base-building) snow. These carefully selected early season pics of the past 3 seasons are misleading to their prospective clientele IMHO. No customers are going to be skiing there until close to Christmas. And that will be after a couple weeks of volunteer bootpacking to stabilize their notorious San Juan snowpack.

We all want Silverton to succeed, but I'm not a fan of hyped marketing. If you're planning on making a reservation, make it for February or later to maximize available terrain.
 
i am not a fan of hyped marketing either, but i see nothing wrong with this photo. any ski area that got that much pow is going to try to catch a photo of someone skiing the pow. even though that snow is light and over no base, waist deep is still pretty impressive for september. obviously, they were very selective in picking where to shot photos to avoid rocky areas and the skier might still have a core shot or two when the skiing is done... but it is not like they are opening tomorrow and people are booking vacation plans. any one who books a vacation for december or january to a place like that gets what they have coming to them. caveat emptor.
 
riverc0il":3bycc0w5 said:
i am not a fan of hyped marketing either, but i see nothing wrong with this photo. any ski area that got that much pow is going to try to catch a photo of someone skiing the pow. even though that snow is light and over no base, waist deep is still pretty impressive for september. obviously, they were very selective in picking where to shot photos to avoid rocky areas and the skier might still have a core shot or two when the skiing is done... but it is not like they are opening tomorrow and people are booking vacation plans. any one who books a vacation for december or january to a place like that gets what they have coming to them. caveat emptor.
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perfectly said. for 98% of us, its just pure early season stoke.. thats it.
 
I think Silverton stretches it a bit. From the website:

If you think early season isn't where it's at, perhaps you haven't been in the right place?- With smooth tundra as ground cover above treeline a mere 3 foot base can provide bottomless turns. We will try to open as soon as possible if we continue to get more snow and cold temps. One without the other won't work. Stay tuned, it could happen at any time and we will update the website immediately as soon as we know anything new. We need about 36" more to make it a go as this snow will likely settle out quickly to about 16" of base by the weekend. There is a hurricane brewing in Baja, so it will pump loads of moisture somewhere.
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Outside of publicity, there is no reason for them to open and I'm doubtful if they could. Smooth tundra opening? With a Baja hurricane? #$%@#!!!

And another Silverton crazy post.....

First Tracks of Season September 4th, 2004- Once again Silverton Mountain logs the first tracks of the winter on all natural snow. Skiing on both Labor Day and Memorial day 2004, fond memories for all.
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They were not open to the public on these dates. Many resorts could send someone else to ski a few turns at outrageous times of the year. They don't.

Last week, my brother in Telluride got about 3 feet on top and 1 foot in town and he hiked for turns. Pretty easy to do when a commuter gondola spits you halfway up the mountain. He had face shots -- esp on Mammoth/Joint Pt. that gets even more blow-in -- and could ski the base of chair 9. However, you do not see any nonsense in the Tride website about opening if a Baja hurricane strikes. Insanity.

Finally, I think Silverton inflates snowfall amounts/bases. I multiply by about 3/4 when deciding whether there is enough snow to go. Just more over-the-top advertising.

I like the place, but the ads scream desperate for attention sometimes.
 
I see that Chris (who spends much more time in SW Colorado than I do) corroborates my suspicions. Knox Williams (guru of Colorado snow for over 30 years) does not believe that Silverton has an unusual microclimate like Wolf Creek and Buffalo Pass. In the absence of hard data we should assume snowfall similar to nearby Red Mt. Pass. In 2003-04 Silverton reported 409 inches while Red Mt. Pass reported 374. Red Mt. Pass has a long term average of 289 inches. Put these numbers together and you get 314 average for Silverton, very respectable by Colorado standards but not huge.

Then in 2004-05 Red Mt. Pass had 364 inches and Silverton reported well over 500. Very suspicious IMHO for two locations so close that should get substantially the same weather.
 
that post about first tracks is crazy. especially in context because they referenced the mountain claiming first tracks. they could have referenced skiers earning turns and claiming their first tracks. bad wording and a nasty marketing move trying to hype the place. i have seen worse marketing blunders though.

at least they are honest and say they need 36" to open (and only that IF the current snow pack consolidates down to a 12" base). i have no idea what typical october snow fall is like in colorado, but 3 feet of snow in october seems unlikely (at least all in one storm, which it would have to be to avoid further reductions in snow pack and consolidation).

definitely hype. but that is what the marketing departments at ski areas do. it will likely make any one that knows what is up do a :roll: but i don't think it is harming any one, certainly no more than the rest of the marketing hype that flips around this time of year.
 
riverc0il":1a78n0kl said:
that post about first tracks is crazy. especially in context because they referenced the mountain claiming first tracks. they could have referenced skiers earning turns and claiming their first tracks. bad wording and a nasty marketing move trying to hype the place. i have seen worse marketing blunders though.
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:bs: on the marketing part.

I guess Fortress (AB) could do the same and claim First Tracks of the season somewhere on September 15. :roll: Oh, that doesn't count because Silverton would probably be saying ...oh, we meant First Tracks in the US.

Fortress:

http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/show ... post902249

The next day:

http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/show ... hp?t=61551


Okay, fair point, so this report should :-# them up.

First "LIFT-SERVED" tracks of the season, Timberline (OR). Openning day of the 2006-07 season, September 16th.

http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/show ... hp?t=61574

What about my fresh tracks on August 31th 2006? Ah yes, that was in the 2005-06 season. :lol:

:x
All this reminds me of Kmart on June 1st 1997 (or that same year in late May) when they claimed they were the open ski area open East of the Rockies. I told them the lady selling tickets bragging about it. "Euh sorry but Tremblant AND St.Sauveur are still open today" No reply on her part. :roll:

Or one of the favorites, posing for pictures in St-Sauveur sometimes in the 80s on the last day of the season with a banner, "1er MAI 198?". All is fine and dandy, but it was April 29 or something.

:-({|= We've all heard that song before, but I'll take those statements with a grain of salt if they come from the Marketing Departments.
 
riverc0il":2vwdiwcx said:
that post about first tracks is crazy. especially in context because they referenced the mountain claiming first tracks. they could have referenced skiers earning turns and claiming their first tracks. bad wording and a nasty marketing move trying to hype the place.
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Which is why we didn't run a news story based on it.
 
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