Fatal Accident at Silverton

[oldschool Profile 14er Peak List (39) 14ers in Winter (6)Trip Reports]

Super sad.......

[ajkagy Profile Website 14er Peak List Not Entered]

i saw this, super sad, only 25yrs old.

I heard conditions were downright horrible, lots of people trying to take advantage of the $50 heli drops. Lots of survival skiing, breakable crust/boiler plate conditions. I know it's ski at your own risk, but sometimes you gotta ask the question "when are conditions so bad that it could seriously injure or kill someone?"

[Bean Profile Website 14er Peak List (26) 14ers Skied (24)14ers in Winter (7)13er Peak List (5)Trip Reports]

I can only imagine the pain her family and friends are in right now.

"when are conditions so bad that it could seriously injure or kill someone?"

When it's opening day at Vail Resorts.

[Evans24 Profile 14er Peak List (33)]

Has anyone skiied that run? Is it super dangerous? I was thinking of skiing Silverton, but am now kinda scared! I'm an expert skiier, but a 1500 foot fall with a guide, scares me that could happen to me too?? RIP Sydney, such a sad story.

[gonzalj Profile Website 14er Peak List (26) 14ers in Winter (1)13er Peak List (11)Trip Reports]

RIP Sidney and condolences to family & friends.

[Ish Profile 14er Peak List (33) 13er Peak List (34)]

Has anyone skiied that run? Is it super dangerous? I was thinking of skiing Silverton, but am now kinda scared! I'm an expert skiier, but a 1500 foot fall with a guide, scares me that could happen to me too??

First off, my condolences to her family. A terrible thing to hear about...

Secondly, I have skiied (snowboarded) this run. It is, like all runs at Silverton, an expert endeavor (double black for sure). I don't like to speculate on where or why she fell, but I will say this - you don't want to fall on ANY run at Silverton. There are numerous hidden cliffs and large obstacles located throughout the guided and unguided terrain alike.

In my opinion, you should definitely feel comfortable skiing resort double blacks (think the lake chutes at Breck or upper stone creek at Beaver Creek) and be able to navigate through them without falling.

[ajkagy Profile Website 14er Peak List Not Entered]

I can only imagine the pain her family and friends are in right now.

"when are conditions so bad that it could seriously injure or kill someone?"

When it's opening day at Vail Resorts.

you mean half this season at vail resorts?

[Matt Profile 14er Peak List (58) 13er Peak List (157)Trip Reports]

First, I offer my condolences to her family and a prayer for all involved.

Has anyone skiied that run? Is it super dangerous? I was thinking of skiing Silverton, but am now kinda scared! I'm an expert skiier, but a 1500 foot fall with a guide, scares me that could happen to me too?? RIP Sydney, such a sad story.

Riff and Raff are among the easiest runs at Silverton, which is why the guided days usually start on one of them.
Super dangerous? No. Could you get hurt or die? Yes, but remember, people seem to die on blue runs at ski resorts every year. Errors and bad luck happen.
Ish's take on SIlverton seems spot on to me. I'd add that skill in deep powder is not equivalent to moxie on icy double black runs; folks who aren't comfortable in the pow can have a miserable day and ruin their group's day by taking a long time to get down the mountain.

[TeamDino5280 Profile 14er Peak List Not Entered Trip Reports]

This is incredibly sad and my thoughts and prayers go out to her friends and family.

My wife and I were at Silverton on Friday for the Heli deal. The conditions were incredibly variable and consisted of knife hard, bomb proof crust and areas of thin crust with pockets of sugar snow underneath. With the conditions like that, it takes more patience, thought and skill then if it were covered in pow. The runs were very adventurous in those conditions and we had a few hairy moments ourselves having to self-arrest. So if you are going soon before they get allot more snow be prepared for anything and also be confident in your edges and ability to self-arrest. Also, don’t be afraid to tell your guide if you are not comfortable they will find a better line for you.

Please be careful out there and know your limits.

[BHallDDS Profile 14er Peak List (18) Trip Reports]

A friend of mine knew this girl...very sad indeed. I think this is a huge wakeup call for everyone involved. I have skied at Silverton and have skied this run (Riff Raff). Its to the skier's left as you get off of the chair. As someone mentioned before, it is one of the easiest runs at Silverton and has maybe a 35 degree pitch. Starts off with a roller at the top and then has trees on right and left and feeds down into the valley. I have NO idea how she could've fallen 1500 feet (as the media reported)...perhaps she got off trail a little bit. That said...there aren't really any "easy runs" at Silverton. The terrain there is no joke. But when I was there, the snow was perfect, thigh deep powder...avy conditions very low. If I would've fallen, it wouldn't have been more than 10 feet because of the depth of snow. However, with the conditions in Colorado this year anything at Silverton could've been a nightmare. I know too many people that go to Silverton that have no business being there. That's not to say that this girl wasn't skilled enough but perhaps she shouldn't have been out there. Again, I'm totally speculating about the situation and perhaps someone with better knowledge on the actual happenings can comment but doing $50 heli drop deals is going to encourage some people to try something stupid.