There are places that get snow, and then there is Silverton.
A week ago, a storm parked itself over the town on Saturday and kept dumping the white stuff through the next day. When it was over, about 5 feet of snow sat piled atop Main Street.
For Silverton’s 550 full-time residents, and people in neighboring towns, getting snowbound is just part of living in the San Juan Mountains nestled in southwestern Colorado.
Homes become bunkers. Pantries stocked in the summer are raided. Scrabble boards come out. Neighbors stop by for potlucks.
And heaven help you if the basset hound has to go to the bathroom.
The world slows to a crawl, and everyone gets to contemplate the unearthly quiet that mantles the land. The only sound is the occasional soft thump of snow being shed from an evergreen.
When the snow quits blowing sideways, people have a chance to rub elbows.
“When it comes down like that, you go to the bar,” said Jen Brill, who co-owns Silverton Mountain Ski Area with her husband, Aaron. “There’s a lot of drinking going on during and after a big storm.
“The snow’s still here, but the town’s moving again,” she said. “But for about two days, you didn’t want to drive off Main Street. They punched a single-lane hole through, and that was about it for getting around.”
Brill has been posting photos of the snow online. One striking image is the resort’s bus with snow up to its windows.
Anywhere else, children would romp around houses and yards, freed from the classroom. “Unfortunately for Silverton kids, school is within walking distance, so there was no snow day,” Brill said.
When Brill spoke with me Friday, she was at her ski resort about 1,000 feet above the town, huddled in a large tent with about 100 skiers. She reckoned the wind was gusting more than 60 mph.
“We’ve never had wind like this in the morning,” she said. “When the ski patrol calls, I can barely hear them.”
For Silverton residents, who live at 9,308 feet, packed pantries are critical.
“I think as long as you have food in the fridge, a storm like this is fun,” Brill said.
What’s in her larder? “Lots of soup, lots of beans and tons of pasta,” she said. “And everyone always has potatoes. I also keep a ton of meat in the freezer. A lot of people hunt up here, so you’re always getting elk steaks for Christmas.”
She also keeps stocked up on medicine and special dog food for her Akita, a dog built for snow but not for treks to the vet in drifts taller than an NBA center’s head.
The couple bought the mountain a decade ago and have been married four years. That means a lot of togetherness during storms, though probably not too many viewings of “The Shining.”
Brill spent a number of years wintering in Montana. She said it’s nothing compared with Silverton — and this year is exceptional even by normal standards.
“I think the average number of days Red Mountain Pass is closed each winter is seven,” she said. “They already have five days when the pass has been closed.”
Brill paused. The wind was gusting.
“Our tagline at Silverton Mountain is ‘Experience the Adventure,’ ” she said. “So we kind of eat it up.”
William Porter’s column appears twice a week. Reach him at 303-954-1977 or wporter@denverpost.com.
Correction: An earlier version of this column read “Brill has been posting photos of the snow on Denver Post Online.” This was incorrect, .
