Silverton Mountain is a freak and stands out starkly — a single chairlift rising in the wilderness. This ski area is a mixture of lift-access and backcountry, and an inexpensive bridge to full-fledged wilderness skiing, with guides taking groups on avalanche-controlled but otherwise wild, steep slopes. It is part of the San Juan mountains of southwest Colorado.

The Silverton Mountain is really mind-blowing that Skiing magazine once ranked it No. 1 in North America in the categories of “steeps” and “powder” ahead of places like Whistler and Jackson Hole and Snowbird. On a busy midwinter day, Silverton had only about 80 customers a day. It is recommended for much of the winter, visitors there must ski in groups with a guide, who makes the decisions about where to go and what slopes to ski, because of the avalanches.

Silverton Mountain is unlike anything you’ve ever skied. Everything you’re going to ski is a version of an avalanche path. If you get caught in an avalanche, swim.

The chairlift ascends only on about 1,900 vertical feet, which is hardly epic. But consider it a giant stepladder to a world of skiing. That means throwing skis over shoulders and tromping up the extended ridge from 10 to 40 minutes, and from anywhere from 300 to 1,200 vertical feet.

Photos by: Kevin Moloney