catskiing (well boarding!) at Silverton CO
okies we flew in to the USA yesterday and +1 and I did a day of cat skiing at Silverton today - 13 runs of pure powder joy. I gotta do more cat skiing man - half the cost of heli skiing with terrain and conditions just as good.
There were 3 guides and 5 of us clients so the group was tiny - basically it meant we got more runs and less hold ups!
Guided hiking day at Silverton mountain tomorrow which is going to test our fitness at altitude - somehow I can see ourselves coming down this way more….no crowds is pretty attractive….
Hey Kort,
Good to hear from you! Sounds like you’re having a great time over there.
Did you get any photos of the catboarding? How long are you over there for?
Hey guys!! Will post some pics later today! Just finished up in silverton yday and heading up to breck today. Simply put, silverton is awesome! Did a guided hiking day at silverton mountain yday and loved it. Perhaps 70 people on the mountain at the most?! No crowds! The hikes range from 5-25 mins so very do-able to anyone of decent fitness. We were at 12,500 feet so u just hike slow and steady. We also did 2 heli runs which was a highlight! This was +1’s first experience with a heli and I think she wants more! Ahh i hope breck has snow like silverton - I think we found a new place to ride!
okies uploaded some pics at http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii304/cleeshoy/27Jan2011-catskiing_at_Silverton/
Sounds like awesome fun kort!
Whereabouts in the US is Silverton?
The link to the pics didn’t work for me??
Sounds like awesome fun kort!
Whereabouts in the US is Silverton?
The link to the pics didn’t work for me??
Colorado
Link isn’t working for me either, kort.
sorry guys - link as follows!
http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii304/cleeshoy/27Jan2011-catskiing_at_Silverton/
jezz - in the USA for 4 weeks but the snowboarding component of our trip is 2 and bit weeks 
pics from the heli drops - once again I am not in any of them as I was taking the (crappy) pics
http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii304/cleeshoy/28Jan2011-Silverton_and_heli_drops/
thanks mizu! Yup that bus was the one that picks you up from the bottom of some runs - apparently they only just put the “correctional facility” label on the bus - it proved a funny talking point!! No handcuffs or pat downs!
Yeah nice pics kort. Good times!
Great stuff, kort. Looks awesome! 
You should post a couple of those photos into the Photography Contest.
Jezz - thanks mate, I could do with a new board 
although after seeing some of the entries I don’t want to embarrass myself!
mizu - there were a couple of cat ‘o’ nine-tails for general use
Silverton, CO. Someone asked about location.
It’s a pretty isolated town of around 500 hardy souls, at around 2900 m, over a couple of mountain passes from Durango, CO, which is in the southwestern corner of the state. Like many of the mining towns in the state (Breck, Aspen, Crested Butte, Ouray, etc.), they’re in improbable, harsh locations, with spectacular surroundings and a well-preserved collection of late 19th century Victorian and brick structures. This one is no exception. The nearest airports are Durango and Telluride, the nearest international airports are Albuquerque, Colorado Springs, and Denver.
I wasn’t aware that they had a catboarding operation, when I went four years ago it was the single lift and the lung-burning hike at 3700 m + afterwards.
The catboarding operation is not run at the Silverton mountain - its run about 6 miles from the town of Silverton, out near Molas lake trail. More info at http://snowcat-powder.com/
The single lift and hike at Silverton mountain still exists! They also offer heli drops during the day if you wish ($150 a run).