Friday Special

Growing up in Colorado, I was always excited if I could ski on my birthday, or at least by Thanksgiving weekend.  Typically that meant begging my parents to take me to another area in the state as Steamboat''s snowmaking wouldn't be quite ready.  Well, times have changed and while I missed my actual birthday by a few days, I'd say being able to ride up the gondola and ski Heavenly Daze, Sitz, and Vogue is a real treat for today, November 23rd.

With sunshine and cool temps, all the familiar feelings came rushing back pretty quickly.  Having wind on my face, edges gripping under my feet, shins against my boots, hips and knees feeling the pressure build through the turns - it almost seemed like it hadn't been so long since I was last making turns with my son Noah on Buddy's run last April.  Noah has snowboarded all his life, and that April day together was the only other time he has skied  - until today.  Sure, the coverage is a bit narrow on Heavenly, it's a little slick on Sitz, Vogue could be less crunchy, and Noah's skiing technique isn't quite World Cup caliber yet - but all things considered I'd say we had a fantastic time on surprisingly decent snow this early season morning at home in Steamboat.

Nelson Carmichael

1992 Olympic Medalist