Silver Couloir
This line is also called “Elvis.” It’s listed as one of the “50 classic ski descents”, meaning it gets a lot of traffic. It could be tough on you if it’s all tracked out. Park at the Ryan Gulch trailhead where a skintrack will follow the trail up to the first junction. You’ll see a sign for Buffalo Cabin Trail and you’ll go left. Later you’ll come back to this intersection from the other direction. The trail goes up until it diverges from the Summer trail and gets onto an old wide slide path where you’ll rapidly gain altitude. After you reach the tree line there’s another steep stretch and then it flattens out. You’ll head west over the final ridge to get above the drop in for Silver. Watch out for wind scoured conditions on the entrance and be sure you’re not accidentally dropping into Little Elvis to the skier’s right or even worse, the chutes to the skier’s left that end in big cliffs. When you hit the apron on the exit you’ll want to go skier’s right and then work your way back towards the trailhead. You’ll need your skins for the exit. Be sure not to follow the drainage below the trail at the bottom or you’ll have a tough way out. The exit trail wraps around Buffalo and climbs back up to the starting section. Many people consider this a Spring line due to safety issues but of course every Winter is different and every backcountry skier manages their own risk tolerance level differently so you might find tracks in here at any given time of year.
Maps
*All Mapped Areas are Approximations
Images
Silver Couloir AKA Elvis
Looking up at the Top of Silver Couloir
A Good Angle on the Top of Elvis
The Narrow Segment in the Middle of Silver
Where Elvis' Crotch Exits into Silver Couloir
Silver Couloir Lower Down Beneath the Narrows
Apron/Exit of Silver Couloir
Guide Books
Classic Colorado Ski Descents by Jon Kedrowski
Backcountry Ski & Snowboard Routes: Colorado by Brittany & Frank Konsella
Wild Snow: 54 Classic Ski and Snowboard Descents of North America by Louis W. Dawson
Climbing and Skiing Colorado's Mountains: Over 50 Select Ski Descents by Ben Conners & Brian Miller
Making Turns in Colorado Vol 1: The North by Fritz Sperry
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Videos
All videos are Copyright their respective owners. These are 3rd party videos hosted on YouTube or Vimeo and we make no guarantees as to their accuracy or relevance.
Silver Couloir Buffalo Mountain by Eric Fazendin: 04/21/2016
Silver Couloir by Dane Wobbema: 05/08/2014
Silver Couloir,Buffalo Mountain by Jason Maurer: 02/24/2014
Silver Couloir Buffalo Mountain by Preson Burns: 04/07/2013
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*All Mapped Areas are Approximations