San Juan snowcat tour VS. day at Silverton?

[Clorox]

Anyone have any perspective to shed on having a day to choose between either a day with the san juan ski co. on a snowcat or going to silverton for a guided day. we are concerned with having too few runs at silverton and have heard we could get as many as 4X more powder runs with the snowcat and be frusterated doing too much waiting at siilverton. we are traveling from the vail valley for a weekend down south and while we have heard all the legendary reviews of silverton, the skeptical posts have made us reconsider.

[BastrdSonOfElvis]

Dude, no contest. The cat can access so much more terrain...and Silverton Mountain is incredibly overrated.

[Mut]

El Diablo cat sking on Molas pass beats both San Juan SNow Cats and Silverton Mountain. The El Diablo terrain is sweet and it is higher up in elevation so it holds snow better. As well, the El Diablo guys are very cool and provide a great experience.

[addicted2coldsmoke]

I suggest you hit all three. If not this trip, then come back. Toss a coin if you are up-in-the-air on this upcoming trip decision. All places mentioned are the real-deal and worth it to check out and experience. You'll have stories... FOE-SHO!

[blutzski]

I was pretty dissappointed with our trip with San Juan snowcats. They definitely weren't trying to get in as many good runs as possible. And they weren't trying to get us the best snow possible. They seemed to be just trying to get the day over with. And it wasn't entirely for lack of good snow. When we finally convinced them to take us over to a tree run on the other side of the basin it was great, unfortunately it was the last run of the day. But the majority of the terrain was pretty tame and the snow was windpacked and sunbaked. It must just be that area because the next day at nearby Wolf Creek was epic.

Haven't been to Silverton but I've heard it was great. I would try that or give one of the other snowcat operations recommended a shot.

[mania]

well, you get the best terrain around here by using a sled or your legs. i prefer leg power.

[addicted2coldsmoke]

When all of you talk "San Juan Snowcats" are you talking about San Juan Ski Company out of Durango or San Juan Snowcat out of Creede?

Cuz I'm confused. San Juan Snowcat in Creede was a regular for us but they havn't been running. They were building last season and I think this season as well.

The original post was asking for stuff around Silverton in which El Diablo Snowcats, Silverton Mountain of course and San Juan Ski Company (snowcat) are nearby.

[dgosn]

Mania hit it dead on.
I have skied silverton and El Diablo. Both are good. However El diablo's terrain is very influenced by wind and lots'o sun. They operate above TL and in an area below TL with few trees (catastrophic fire 80+ years ago). Silverton is hit or miss. I haved skied with San Jaun Skiing (DMR extension), but know the area well. There is not much steep&long terrain and most of the terrain is low elevation compared to most of the San Juans.

Legs will take you to epic skiing almost every day in the San Juans from Oct to July.
Scott