killclimbz

Wow, you couldn't be picking more remote areas of Colorado. Silverton is probably not a reality for you. Unless you tie it in with a trip to Telluride. During peak season it's over $100 a person for the guided riding. The town is small, has a bar at least and a couple of places to eat, but not much else. Telluride is around a 2 hour drive from Silverton I think. You could go the other direction and hit Durango Mountain (Purgatory) outside of Durango. Staying in Durango would be more affordable and it's a college town. Plenty going on there.
For Wolf Creek, Pagosa Springs is the place to stay. That is on the West side of the pass. The Pagosa Brewery serves up great beer. Several places to eat, and other bars. Not a rowdy scene, but you can find stuff to do. The only problem there is if it's snowing a lot, the West side of Wolf Creek Pass tends to get closed more often than the east side. Tons of huge avy paths run down the west side. Everytime I go down there I stay at a friends cabin on the west side. Never been skunked but it's a possibility.
The other option would be to stay in South Fork. Definitely much less of town and more of a roadside stop. Places to eat and probably a couple of ok places to drink. Don't expect much. It's also probably cheaper to stay in South Fork. That is where I would go if I was paying for lodging.
Wolf Creek is definitely not crowded and it's one of the more affordable areas around.

richedie

Remote is good because it normally means less crowds and more untracked than something like Vail or Steamboat. For the same reason, when I go to Utah, I spend a lot of time in the back country or at Powder Mountain.

It sounds like SouthFork is a better place to stay if it is cheaper. Is that on the east or west side and are the two close enough to drive?

I thought Silverton was supposed to be so affordable. That was part of how they advertised the mountain.

In the end I may end up back in Utah for convenience or maybe Seattle or something. I want to go back to Whistler but I feel I want to try somewhere else.

killclimbz

South Fork is on the East side of the pass. It's about 15 minutes from either South Fork or Pagosa to the area. If you do backcountry and know your stuff, the riding on Wolf Creek Pass is amazing. Some of the best backcountry around.
Make sure you have a partner and are equiped properly. My friend had a close call there last season, and I thought I was going to have to locate and dig. He knows he made a mistake and what it was. Still the terrian is fantastic.

killclimbz

and the slide pics...

richedie

Are a lot of those pictures in or out of bounds. Even with the right gear it can be a risk. I haven't been taking many risks lately with a new family and all so I tend to stick inbounds unless it is really a low risk area and day.

Lately I have been going to resorts with great (back country like) inbounds terrain and just tohit it on the right day. That is why I like less travelled resorts like Poweder Mountain Utah, etc.

killclimbz

They are all "out of bounds". There is a parking area at the top of the pass. It is backcountry in every sense of the word. No avalanche control, you have to make choices based on your investigative skills. When I hear someone talk "backcountry" I think of non patrolled you're on your own terrain. Powder Mountain doesn't really have that unless you duck out lefties creek. Which I have done. Quite an adventure for sure.
Wolf Creek pass has fantastic terrain and lots of low risk spots. Still, it's avalanche country, so you need to know what you are doing and a partner that does the same. It is a blast though. There is a lot of hike to inbounds frontcountry stuff that is avalanche controlled at the ski area.

killclimbz

The "right gear" doesn't make it safer in any way shape or form. It just increases the chance you might save somebody or be saved should they get buried and actually survive it. Education and sound decision making is your best defense.

mpdsnowman

I agree 100%. But you know what makes me feel safe when we went last year...Cody. That dog is a lifesaver. I firmly believe cody would have an incling of an avy prior to any human and if we did get burried I would be confident he wouldnt get burried and could easily guide some to where we are.

richedie

How is the Wolf Creek inbounds frontcountry stuff? Is here quite a bit off the lifts? You think this miht be a good bet for me even though I am more familier with the Salt Lake and Powder Mountain area? I used to live in Utah....and I like the variety of a trip to the area.

killclimbz

Horseshoe bowl looks nice. The hikes off of Alberta peak look pretty nice. Basically everytime I go down to Wolf Creek I play on the pass. Though I get plenty of looks at the area and think, "I should do a day there" but never do. The vertical is not huge, but the ridgeline looks worthy. It's not a huge area. About 1/4 the size of Pow Mow would be my guess. When I think about it the terrain is similar to Pow Mow, just not as big of vertical. There are definitely steep shots on the south ridge of the area at Wolf Creek.