What started as rain in the town of Silverton turned into deep, fluffy snow. The parking lot alone got 28 inches, with over four feet at mid-mountain. The county road crews had trouble getting up to the ski area, with several snow plows getting stuck along the road from town. The ropes that showed which runs were open and which were closed were all buried, which made it hard for ski patrol to get Silverton open in time. There was also a lot of work that had to be done clearing the chairlifts. Silverton is only open on Saturdays and Sundays for the first three weeks in December. Silverton owners decided to open Dec. 3 for one day only, but they only could accept cash for lift tickets since the power and the phone lines were out.