Don't be surprised if you run into some gun-slinging cowboys or gold miners mo'osing around the base of Silverton Mountain's well-powdered slopes. Just seven miles south of the steep new ski area, tucked among alpines, is the historic mining town of Silverton, and we promise you'll feel like you are in the genuine Old West – or at least in a really close movie-set version. The original false-fronted saloon and brothel buildings of the historic downtown area still remain, and are now used to house modern restaurants, shops and galleries. Gunfights are staged on the main streets from Memorial through Labor Day, and when they aren't hitting the slopes, visitors can make a trip to Silverton's restored town hall, courthouse, jail and gold mine. But with such high demand for Silverton's unique, reservation-only, specialty-guided skiing, it's not likely that the town will serve as too much of a distraction.
While most other ski areas designate 25-30 degrees slopes as really steep runs, for Silverton, those are the "easiest." The area's steepest trail is 55 degrees, giving you an idea of why, since its opening in 2002, Silverton has become known for its fantastic steeps and extreme skiing –voted number 1 in the steeps category by Ski Magazine. The area is only for advanced and expert skiers and has only one double chairlift, unloading at the top of a scenic cirque at 12,300 feet, with a pretty easy hike to the 13,300 feet elevation. The runs are loaded with bowls, chutes, cliffs and natural terrain, but beware, with the highest (13, 487 feet) and steepest terrain in North America, there is really no easy way down the mountain. Silverton caps the amount of unguided skiers to less than 475 a day, and in certain times each year, only provides guided-skiing with very small groups daily (similar to a cat or heli operation).
1 lift including 1 surface lift.
$$$$ (Very Expensive)Longest run is 3,000 feet.
Mountain Statistics: 3,000 feet vertical drop, 13,300 feet summit elevation, 1,600 acres, average annual accumulation 400 inches.