The Latest Trend in Skiing Is Renting Out the Entire Mountain
Illustration: Ping Zhu
“Fresh powder is one of the rarest commodities in the world,” says Aaron Brill, co-owner of Silverton Mountain. There’s a reason you’ve never heard of the resort. The private ski club in southeastern Colorado limits access to 80 guests a day—unless someone buys out the mountain. First tracks after lunchtime? It’s an advantage that no name-brand resort can provide: not Aspen, not Vail, not St. Moritz.
All 1,819 of Silverton’s skiable acres can be yours for $14,000 per day. For an extra $900 you get a helicopter and 29,000 acres of sugary, backwoods pow. Reservations are available to the public and sell out months in advance, but guaranteed access goes to 25 “luminaries,” loyal patrons who have earned elite status. For that $14,000, they can bump day-pass holders when conditions are prime. (Skiers who’ve already booked on those days get fairly compensated to come back another day.)