Steamboat Straight Talker's Blog (559)

So....today is turning into quite the powder day!  Maybe it was the white sky and blanket of fresh snow I woke up to, maybe it's that March is looming at the end of the week, waiting somewhat ominously as the signal for spring break, bluebird days, and spring skiing, or maybe it was just the 2 cups of strong coffee I started the day with.  Whatever the case, I was really excited to get on the mountain today and I can't tell you how surprised I was with the conditions that I found.  With 1"…

It is hard to know where to ski on a day like today but let me tell you this:  IT DOESN"T MATTER!  Fluffy, soft, phenomenal, beautiful, blissful.  This has been an awesome season so far and I don't see any signs of that changing.  What a year it is when you know that any day you head out onto the hill, you are getting a winner.  Whether it be groomers, powder (and there is plenty to find), bumps (aka pillows), glades you name it you will find it and when you do, there will be a huge smile on…

I've got to hand it to the snow Gods.  Like any good deity, they seem to always prepare for mass on Sunday.  Today was certainly no exception.  Our 5am six inch snow report was more like 8-10 inches by the time the gondola opened and it's only getting better.

First tracks down Twilight were filled with…

Some days are just meant for cruising. This morning happened to be one of those days. With storm clouds on the horizon and a good chance of snow later this afternoon, the groomers looked too good to pass up. Now don't get me wrong, there is still plenty of powder left in the trees and the moguls are soft as pillows, but this morning I wanted to get out and hit the corduroy. …

A fresh blanket of snow graced Steamboat last night and I headed out to enjoy the freshly fallen snow on our public land.  Did you know that when you ski at Steamboat Resort, you are skiing on the Routt National Forest?  Steamboat Resort operates under a Special Use Permit (long term lease) with the United States Forest Service to offer developed recreation opportunities (skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing) to the public.  This land is your land, this land is my land...…

Here we go again... another storm full of fluffy snow is scheduled to arrive later today blessing Steamboat and the Yampa Valley with the good stuff.  But while we wait in anticipation for the storm to show up, there are plenty of smooth groomers to keep everyone smiling.

Steamboat has…

It's a glorious and stunning winter morning here in Steamboat.  If you aren't up here already, you should be on your way.  I can understand being a bit on the fence today so here's my Top 5 Reasons You Should Ski Today:

1.  As I mentioned above, it's a beautiful day in Steamboat and since we've been getting SO much snow lately you may have forgotten how to link up your groomer turns.  Wouldn't want to lose your "edge" in that department, so for your fast groomer-skiing-form's…

We seem to have a tradition here in Steamboat of epic powder dumps in honor of our past Presidents. The official 9:00 AM snow report says ten inches up top and eleven mid-mountain, but the chatter on the lifts has rumors of some runs boasting 18 inches of the fluffy stuff. As your objective journalist I invite you to judge for yourself.…

I had the privilege of skiing with my 6 year old (Caroline) today.  She gave me some great perspective of the ski conditions through the eyes of a child.  How cool is it when a girl not even 4 feet tall is plunging into powder stashes and schussing to jump off every mound of snow she can find.

The runs…

There are a lot of smiling faces around Steamboat these days. If your vacation is over and your are heading home, your smiling because you have had a great week of skiing. With fresh powder everyday this week the skiing was wonderful. If you are just getting here, you are smiling because your about to ski some of the best conditions in the country. With two months left in the ski season we just surpassed last years snow total. The snow is piling up and the conditions are at their prime. Keep…

Last night, while Cupid was flying over Steamboat with his bow and arrow, he saw a cloud so full of snow it that was bustling at the seams and ready to burst. Cupid eyed the cloud as he passed by, winked and snickered, and pulled back mightily on his bow.  The arrow flew off the bow with great force and pierced the cloud releasing bucket loads of fluffy snowflakes.  The cloud was so full of snowflakes that it dropped 4 inches of snow before the sun came up this morning and there's no sign if…

Yep, it's snowing again in Steamboat.  The powder magnet is on, and we are about to have an awesome few days here in the Yampa Valley.

If you haven't checked the weather forecast lately, let me catch you up to speed...  We have a nice storm sitting on Steamboat today through Friday with…

Happy Fat Tuesday from Steamboat!  A couple of inches of fresh snow fell overnight and the conditions right now are perfect.  Before gorging myself on jambalaya and king cake, I gorged myself on the foot of fluffy powder that has fallen over the past three days. I could not picture a more perfect day in Steamboat!  Plentiful powder underfoot, shining sun, deep blue skies, and an air of celebration puts a big smile on my face.  Because the temperature was on the chilly side this morning, I…

So amidst the Winter Carnival post exhaustion bliss, there has been some activity up on Mt. Werner over the past few days.  Still tons of fresh to be found up here and with this cold snap the consistency couldn't be better.  I was pleasantly surprised to find a great morning in my path today.  I was so proud to call myself a local this weekend, tons of fun with kids jumping and skjoring, riding shovels and of course great fireworks and fanfare down at the local ski club.  It was super quiet…

I'm not sure that it's entirely possible, but it seems the recent storm Nemo who all but shut down the east coast, has made its way to the Rocky Mountains.  Ok... that's a farce.  But I'm here to tell you that whatever name you give Steamboat's latest storm; it translates to "DEEP!"

Now usually, the…

 Thursday evening marked the opening of the 100th Winter Carnival. Our skiing heritage runs deep in Steamboat and this weekend is another special three day event that brings out the best in our wonderful town. The Winter Sports Club and the Steamboat Ski Area have shared a special bond rich in skiing tradition that dates back 1/2 century. This combination has produced some amazing athletes, most of them have trained and raced on the slopes of Steamboat.  We've have watched these athletes go…

We are celebrating in Steamboat! Not only did it snow another 2 inches in the past 24 hours, but the 100th Steamboat Springs Winter Carnival is also full swing.  To celebrate, I decided to take it back to the days before sophisticated snowmaking and grooming equipment manicured the slopes to perfection.  In our time of high tech fabrics and helmet cams, its refreshing to take your turns back to the simpler days where skiers schussed down runs on wooden skis with metal and leather bindings. …

Just another typical day here in Colorado - when I checked the forecast last night, I expected to wake up to a partly sunny sky and mild temperatures...  I awoke to an overcast sky which is no big deal; but the surprise weather showed up around 9:30... it's snowing!!  Well as usual, Steamboat has the snow magnet and here it comes again.  While the bigger storm is on tap for this weekend, I am pretty happy about those fluffy flakes flying from the sky this morning.

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Maybe it was the friendly ticket scanners, maybe it was the solitude of the gondola ride, or maybe it was the reggae music blasting at 4 Points Hut, but the vibe on the mountain this morning was nothing but good.  Those of you who were pressing glass on any of the glorious pow mornings last week will appreciate this:

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Smiles were a plenty this morning with bright blue skies and empty slopes to grace this Monday.  I do believe there has been a slight outbreak of the "brown bottle flu" on the heels of Super Bowl 47 and the Baltimore Raven's hard earned victory over the 49ers.  There was nobody out on the mountain first thing this morning and what a glorious morning it was.   Everything is sparkling in the sunlight as the colder temperatures are holding last week's snowfall right where we want it to.  Soft…