Mt Silverado

Overview

Mt Silverado is the tallest mountain in Slokais Islands at a height of 14,347 feet or 4,372 meters. Located on the border of Silverado and San Fernando Province near the tri-point with Colorado Province. The peak consists of a glacial lake with the official peak being a slightly elevated outcropping. Mt Silverado and its surrounding area is part of Mt Silverado/Dalindaya N.P which consists of the mountain and several other San Fernando Mountain peaks.

History

Mt Silverado is known as Dalindaya in the local Termbyarda language and was believed to be the home place of several sprits. Due to this several summits are believed to have occurred prior the the first official summiting in 1320 due to various pieces of wooden gear found within Lake Guxin. Minjian faithful made the first recorded trip in 1320 in search of spiritual knowledge building a camp just below the summit. At this time the true peak was covered by a glacier, meaning no permeant marker could be constructed. Since then many climbers have died while climbing the Mt Silverado usually during snowstorms or times of high wind. In 1885, David Guerra became the first to place a permanent marker at the peak declaring it "the highest place in all of the islands of San Fernando". By 1920, due to melting of the glacier, a climbing hut was built of the summit with the Department of Weather and Atmospheric Sciences staffing the building.

Hike

There are multiple routes to the peak with the longest being known as the Silverado Trek. The Silverado Trek begins in Silverado City and climbs over several ridges before even reaching the base of Silverado itself, there it crosses Scenic Highway 4 where it joins the Peak Trail in it's climb up the mountain. Due to it's significance in both the Minjian faith and the Termbyarda ethnic group many travel this section as a spiritual journey, with the route often being crowded. Eventually when the trail reaches a small lake, it becomes a series of steep steps with a high level of difficulty required for summiting. This section of trail is bare volcanic rock and is exposed to heavy winds and snow for much of the year. Eventually the trail climbs the bowl of the peak with a Minjian temple and a small museum being covered from heavy winds by various rocks along Lake Guxin. This section is usually covered in snow for many months and experiences some of the lowest average temperatures in Slokais Islands

Location

Mt Silverado is about 35 miles from Silverado City and Silverado Lake. It is about 100 miles from New Liverpool in the middle of the San Fernando Mountains. A popular arrival route is via the Silverado City Train Station and a common shuttle to both the start of the low trail and the high trail, private cars have been banned from entering the Silverado Mountain Road since 1989 due to it's narrowness and environmental and traffic concerns. Despite this, the low trail start has several businesses including the highest elevation Sun-Mart