Silverton Mountain: One old chairlift, no easy way down

Drive six miles north of Silverton and you reach a ski area that breaks almost every rule of a normal resort. Silverton Mountain has one chairlift, an old double, and it loads you from a base near 10,400 feet up to about 12,300 feet. From there it is hiking, traversing, and skiing terrain that tops out at a 13,487-foot peak. The mountain calls itself the highest and steepest ski area in North America, with, in its own words, “no easy way down.”

There are no groomers here, no cut runs, no green circles. It is bowls, chutes, and cliffs left mostly the way the San Juans made them, with around 400 inches of snow in a typical year. In the heart of winter you ski with a guide in a small group; unguided days open up later in spring for people who already know the place.

The part that surprises first-timers is the gear. Everyone riding the lift carries an avalanche beacon, shovel, and probe, every day, and you can rent the set on site if you don’t own one. That is not red tape. It is what an unpatrolled, ungroomed mountain asks of you, and it is a big part of why skiers travel a long way to ride here.

This is an experts’ mountain, and it is honest about that. If it sounds like your kind of day, plan ahead: book early, brush up on your avalanche basics, and read the requirements straight from the source at silvertonmountain.com.