Surprise Snow Day

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.

The day started out a bit gray bird, so choice of eye protection today is cruicial.  Having a goggle lens that is made specifically for flat light conditions will save you on a day like this; my rule in snow sports is that your eyes and feet need to be happy for a successful day on the slopes.  Sometimes flat light conditions keep people from getting up to the mountain first thing, which is when the snow is often in its best conditon of the day - the groomers are perfectley manicured right now allowing for carving smooth and predictable turns on any run.  The snow is still in amazing condition from the massive storm that dropped feet and feet of snow on us last week - the groomers are soft, and the snow feels almost like sugar as your ski cuts through each line of dreamy corduroy.

Most of our morning was spent up high doing runs off of Storm Peak on runs like Buddy's, Rainbow, Cyclone and Hurricane; rounding off the morning down low on Vagabond, Heavenly Daze and See Me.  Every run we took felt great with soft snow under our feet, and fluffy flakes coming down on our heads us as we lapped our favorite runs.  The snow is fairly consistent on all elevations of the mountain.

I wouldn't expect the new snow today to pile up too high, but it's just enough love to make things fun.  It looks like we are in store for some perfectly sunny skies on Thursday followed by a decent storm this weekend while Steamboat celebrates its 100th Winter Carnival.  The snow gods are smiling down on Steamboat this year, so keep it coming!

Pick of the mountain today is Cyclone - it is skiing smooth & consistent and the snow is in great shape.  Don't forget to grab a new grooming map each morning... it's easy to miss these runs when they have fresh corduroy.

Have a great day on the mountain!

Kevin Olsen

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