I did Silverton on my yearly bro trip two years ago.
Silverton is real hidden gem, both the town and the mountain. Very cool operation up there. The snow was subpar, it had been really warm the previous couple days. Still found some good hidden goods. Yes, serious elevation (coming from the PNW), be ready for some 12k-13k bootpacking. We had been splitting/hiking around Summit County the precious week to get ready but were still destroyed by the elevation. We also sis the infamous rope rappel on our ski out on one line. Craziness. Truly a unique place.
I do have some gripes though..... our guide was very impersonal and kind of a dick. I've heard great stories about having awesome guides, so it may have been just bad luck for our group. He was a 1st year guide I think. The other gripe is the serious "powder farming." The guides will set the line and if you don't 's' his turns, you'll get a talking to. No room for creativity at all. I understand the idea behind the powder farming, as they need to conserve snow for customers in the following days. Part of this could be the guide too. I dunno, just made it a bit constricting.
Overall, it was a great experience and one item I could check off my bucket list.
