We clicked out of our bindings at the gondola base, laughing excitedly. "Wow! That was our quickest run down Valley View and See Ya this week!" exclaimed my wife. I looked at my watch and offered, "It's 4 p.m. closing time. Let's see if we can catch the last gondola and hit it again! We might even pause at the top and enjoy the valley view before we fly down this time." We grabbed our skis and the kind lift operator let us through just before shutting the entrance. It was truly the last gondola.

An hour later, following another fabulous run and some apres-ski refreshment, we sat in the Gondola Pub and Grill admiring the deepening alpenglow on the mountain above. We agreed that this was the best ski-week vacation we'd ever experienced. It was our first time to Steamboat after trips to all the other major Rocky Mountain areas. Certainly the full week of late February sunshine and the great snow conditions contributed to our verdict. Steamboat had already received 350 inches of Champagne Powder^TM so far this season, including a couple of feet prior to our arrival. But it was the mountain itself that made up the lion's share of our enjoyment. We skied over 150,000 vertical feet in six days on semingly limitless groomed, bumped, and gladed runs.

The Mountain

Steamboat's 2,965 acres include six peaks and a 3,668-feet vertical drop served by twenty lifts covering 164 trails. We made the most of the five major express lifts which cover the four main peaks. The Gondola express rises 2,200 feet from the base while its sister lift Thunderhead Express covers a steep 1,638-feet subsection with runs like Ted's Ridge, Vertigo (if did feel straight up and down), and Concentration. Pony Express lift rises 1,657 feet to its own peak with great runs like Middle Rib, Longhorn, and Chaps. Storm Peak Express lift, rising 2,160 feet, covers the broadest expanse of terrain from its namesake apex. Here we enjoyed some of our longest and most exhilirating rides on Storm Peak North, Tornado, and Hurricane. Sundown Express lift rises 1,936 feet with a broad mix of black and blue runs. It was a good place to finish off the afternoon on runs like Kuus's Cruise (no "cruise" with its steep bumps), High Line, and Two O'Clock.

The backside lift, Morningside, provided us access to the double-black diamond runs descending from the front side of Mt. Werner. Although it had been a while since the last powder dump, we hiked up about 100 vertical feet, then traversed and found some powder stashes off of North St. Pats which descended into Flying Z and back down to the Storm Peak Express lift. We could imagine that all of this would be even more exhilirating immediately after one of the many powder dumps that hit Steamboat.

Ski Town U.S.A.

The town of Steamboat Springs proudly displays its 120-year-old roots at the center of northern Colorado's Yampa Valley. With only 6,000 year-round residents, it has a mile-long main street with many restaurants, galleries, and shops. It's one of the friendliest ski towns in the Rockies. It even has its own small ski area, Howelson Hill, across the river off of 5th Street where many of the town's Olympic athletes train for jumping, aerials, and free-style skiing and boarding. Free shuttle buses connect the town to the Steamboat ski base area and the surrounding condos within an approximate five-mile loop. There's definitely no requirement to rent a car in Ski Town U.S.A. Also in keeping with its ski town spirit, Steamboat has provided extra incentives for families to vacation here. In the Kids Ski Free^TM program a child 6-12 years old skis free when a parent or grandparent purchases a 5-day-or-more ticket. Kids 5-years-old and under always ski free.

Contributing to its earned Ski Town nickname, Steamboat lays claim to more past and currently participating Winter Olympians than any other area in the United States. Names from past Olympics include the Werners, Johnny Spillane, Moose Barrows and Nelson Carmichael. Olympian Billy Kidd has adopted Steamboat as his home and is now its Director of Skiing, with programs for skiers of all abilities, including his Peak Performance Camps. Billy gladly hosts the free "Ski with Billy Kidd" ski tour down the Heavenly Daze run most days of the week. We knew we had found the tour the instant we saw his trademark cowboy hat at the top of the gondola. Similarly, Nelson Carmichael hosts a free mogul clinic on Nelson's Run at 1 p.m. on most Sundays.

Off The Slopes

Steamboat is more than just snow riding. Cross-country skiing on miles of groomed trails, snowshoeing with trail access from the top of the gondola, nature tours, horse back riding, and ballooning are other popular winter activities. Although we spent our "ski day off" exploring the town, we would have gladly spent more days in Steamboat for these other great experiences.

Too much to do and too few days to do it. Better check our calendars to see how soon we can return to Steamboat to catch what we missed, including the famed Champagne Powder^TM!

Click here for details to plan you own trip to Steamboat, Colorado.

Les and Rita Furnanz