Silverton, CO - Nov 30, 2006

[ChrisC]

I normally do not post 2nd hand reports, but I was curious to report what was going on with Silverton and its 'unguided' season.

My brother skied Silverton on Thursday after the big blizzard. The snow report claimed the following

Snow Report 2006/07
Base: 45" -60"
36" new snow this week! New terrain opening each day

My brother thought -- 24" to maybe, just maybe 30" -- was a more legit snowfall amount. Bases were estimated at a solid compacted 36" upper and 18" lower. The upper parts were good and its boney/lacking lower down. Overall, the San Juans have had a pretty dramatic snowline around 11,000 ft this fall. The cold enough temps at altitude and 100" of snow have created a good base. The problem is Silverton starts at 10,000.

Most of the west-facing runs were open. A few close-in east-facing runs were open too, but the majority closed. The terrain open was not what I would expect - but I think this might be do to avalanche control.

My brother said people were getting 7-8 runs max per day unguided. He only got in about 5 runs because he was with a friend who is not as comfortable in ungroomed/uncontrolled/tight terrain. The technical challenge, altitude, hiking limits many very good skiers.

They were providing topo trail maps with names - a good move!

Tickets were $49.

Silverton still needs about 1-2 decent storms to be ready for prime time.

I really like Silverton and want them to succeed. However, I think they are one of the more dishonest mountains about snowfall amounts - and that is something I do not tolerate well.

 

[Tony Crocker]

I believe Silverton is making a serious marketing mistake if they are cooking snowfall numbers. A lot of areas can get away with what I call "brochure quotes" in their marketing materials to the casual skier. But Silverton's clientele is the fanatics, and they will not take it well if they show up and see conditions substantially at odds with their expectations. MRG has the fanatic clientele also, and that's probably one of the reasons they play it straight.

As the marked up picture shows, areas do not have to lie. They can cherry pick locations to measure. This can range from the routine Colorado practice of measuring as high a sheltered location on the mountain as possible (OK, as long as that info is available to the public) to choosing a wind-loaded spot (crosses the line into deceptive reporting IMHO).

 

[ChrisC]

Maybe someone is listening...

Silverton News
Updated 12/11/06.

Snow Reporting- Some people have asked questions about the snow report. The report is based from the mid mtn elevation of 11, 945' on the north side which has been holding snow since October. The base area is at 10,400' and has less snow on it, just as the upper mountain above 13,000' has substantially more snow on it. When looking up from the base area you cannot see the majority of the snow on the mountain. Each time fresh snow falls, it doesn't fall as an even blanket. The winds blow during, and sometimes after each storm depositing much more snow in some areas, and less in others. That is the nice thing about Silverton. Regardless of which way it blows, some aspect is loading extra deep for your enjoyment. Snow is measured in an undisturbed area, not in an area that has been compacted by skier traffic.

That is still a pretty advantageous spot for some wind. Also considering the Silverton double chair tops out at 12,300 and you generally are not hiking to 13,000 very often....it's a generous spot.

Silverton Snow Report 2006/07
Date: 12/11
Base: 44" (mid mtn) - 54" (upper mtn)
New Snow 24 hr: 8"
New SNOW 48 hr:8"
New Snow 72 hr: 8"

But Silverton's mid-mountain base (11,945') corresponds roughly to Telluride's summit base at a similar altitude @ 11,800.

Telluride Trail Conditions & Lift Status Update

December 12, 2006
Snow
13 Last 24 Hours
19 Last 48 hrs
19 Last 7 Days
Mid-Mountain Snow: 36
Summit Snow: 41

However, if I wanted to increase Telluride's bases by 10-25% - a plot in the wind-loaded areas (red) could do that versus older stakes (yellow) which are more exposed to the typical SW winds.