Steamboat Conditions

how many times have you done this drive??? yeah

How many times have you?

Never skied but have driven in the area about 4 times..Winter driving

Sno Yampa Vallley , has 10k ft runway...I'm sure if  visibility is at least 500ft they will be able to get in..

You are sweating the small stuff, go and enjoy the snow and mountains...

 1 it excellent place vibe town mountain. I flex into Denver and took shuttle but your airport is close .check out if the awesome natuarl springs so beautiful.have a blast!!!

JasonWx wrote

Sno Yampa Vallley , has 10k ft runway...I'm sure if  visibility is at least 500ft they will be able to get in..

You are sweating the small stuff, go and enjoy the snow and mountains...

Seriously dude, just go with the flow. If you're delayed there is nothing you can do about it.

1 to 3 inches won't shut the airport there. They know how to deal with snow better than we do here in the suburban east coast. Last time we were there we had a good 12-18" storm while in Winter Park and guess what - the kids went to school. They hadn't had a snow day in something like 8 years.

The drive from Denver to Steamboat isn't bad at all. We've done it several times. Last time we got in late, I didn't check the car well (a Ford SUV of some type) - got headed up the road to Berthoud pass and it was snowing HARD. Realized on the first snowy curve I was in a 2WD instead of the AWD I wanted...by the time we hit the top of the pass there was 6" on the ground and if we'd had to stop we would not have made it...just kept moving up, passing cars that were stuck.

If you haven't been to CO, the drive can be very beautiful - especially through the passes.

We're coming in at night, so no way to see anything while driving.

They're 93% open now.  Thanks to those who are giving advice.  I should respond directly to all good advice, but I don't have the time to do it.

If you had to land in Denver the drive up to Steamboat from DIA is one of the better ones as far as easy mountain passes go. Going up the big hill on I-70 can be a bit treacherous but once you leave the summit area it's not that bad. Rabbit Ears is one of the easiest going passes, the hill dropping into the Yampa Valley is long but as long as you go slow it's not a big deal. Watch for elk and deer.

Once you are in Steamboat you don't need a car. the public bus system is one of the best I have ever seen. I used to put a pound of weed in my back pack and transport it via the busses there, it smelled like I had a dead skunk in my pack! I may have been the wealthiest dish washer in town my second season there. I'm sure there is a way to get up to the hot springs without a car too. Maybe a taxi service.

We are already going through Denver, and their forecast calls for zero snow the day we fly in.  If our HDN flight got cancelled, we'd drive up early the next morning.  However, if the forecast holds, I don't think there'll be any cancellations.

raisingarizona wrote

I'm sure there is a way to get up to the hot springs without a car too. Maybe a taxi service.

There are several shuttle services to take you up there. It's family friendly during the day, not so sure about night time.

You're right about the drive from Denver being relatively easy even in bad weather. The last few times we have gone to CO we ski Winter Park then STeamboat - hence the drive through Berthoud which is definitely NOT easy in the snow. We got through last time just a couple hours before it closed for about 18 hours.

98% open, 150 inches so far.  I leave tomorrow afternoon.  Wish me luck that my flights don't get delayed/cancelled and the luggage makes it.  Saturday evening, there should be a trip report up.

YES! Get some Loco!

Take pictures and post em.

Ditto. Have an awesome! time Sno, you deserve it.

Have a great time - post lots of pics as we are living through you every run vicariously.

Sno,ask some old person why the ski hill was named Mt Werner.
Have a wonderfilled time with your family!
I can't wait to here about today's powder.

Our HDN connection got cancelled, so we had to drive up from Denver.  The only rental car they had that fit our luggage was 2WD.  It was one of the more hair raising car trips I've ever done, especially through the Rabbit Ears Pass.  A BMW got stuck ahead of us and I was worried that we'd get stuck too and never make it to Steamboat.  We did make it, thanks to snodad's experience with winter driving conditions.

Unfortunately, we only were able to ski half a day since we had to drive up in the morning.  However, I don't know if I would have lasted much longer than that, even if I was there at open, since I have to adjust to altitude.  I was beat at the end of the day, and snomom went to bed at 8pm, which is way earlier than usual.  

Even for only half a day, I would take the ski experience we had over any full day eastern skiing experience.  When we got on the gondola at about 11:45, there was no wait at all.  The gondola is 8400 feet long and 2400 vertical, just like Whiteface's gondola, and it serves less than half of the mountain's acreage, just to put the sheer size of the place into perspective.

We went straight to the Sunshine area.  We knew it had some easier groomers, and we needed to warm up.  From what I heard about this area, I expected a western version of Okemo.  I was completely wrong.  The runs in that area had more than enough pitch to them to be enjoyable.  On the days my mom is skiing, we'll probably spend a lot of time here.  After that, we decided to try other parts of the mountain.  

We later worked our way over to Storm Peak, and then Pioneer Ridge, ending at the Thunderhead Express.  Never made it into Morningside today.  The runs are so much steeper than eastern runs of the same rating, and most of the lifts serve quite respectable vertical and length.  We never waited more than maybe 2 minutes for a lift today, and we were warned about lift lines being long.  Even if it is more crowded tomorrow, there still won't be much of a line, and we can always take the lesser lifts to avoid lines.  I think only Sundown and Sunshine had anyone waiting at all, and were mostly ski on.  When we skied them, the Storm Peak Express, Pony Express, and Thunderhead Express had no line at all.

Glad you are enjoying your first western ski experience.  Steamboat is one of my fav places to ski.  Get in some trees soon.  Best tree skiing in the world in my book.  They are not like eastern trees as the braches are up high on the aspens.  The only time you should ride that Gondi is first thing in the morning. Zero reason to ski back to the bottom before the end of the day.

The worst drive in a snow storm I've ever done was from Steamboat back to Denver.

I don't believe you, not unless I see pics - otherwise you might as well be at Disneyworld

Enjoy tomorrow!

I'm doing a full trip report with pics.  Stay tuned!!

Skied again today, but didn't take pictures.  It was much more crowded than Sunday was, but still nowhere near what Hunter and Mountain Creek can get like on a regular basis.  Skied the Sundown area a lot today and High Noon was the ROTD.  Great snow and not too many people.  Also did One O Clock which was a bit thin, and Two O Clock which was better, but High Noon was the best.  Did a couple runs on Sunshine as well.  Didn't get into the trees today.

I should have taken ADK Jeff's warning not to eat at Rendezvous.  That place is a real joke and shouldn't be used for anything but bathrooms.  I was on that side of the mountain and thought I could avoid the crowds by eating lunch early at 11, but I was totally wrong.  They had already ran out of food and had to make everything to order by the time I got there, and there were lines at every serving station like 10 deep.  I was prepared to walk out and try the lodge at the top of the gondola, but I noticed that there were 3 slices of sausage pizza left, so I grabbed one and a bag of chips.  The pizza was the only hot food in the entire lodge that you didn't have to stand in a huge line for.  My parents just settled for snack items because it was so crowded.  

Storm Peak skied great on Sunday, but was really crowded today and not as good.  The HSQ was running slow because there were a bunch of marginal skiers who could not load or unload it without causing slowdowns.  I avoided that lift all day and used the 4 Points and Bar-UE lifts for the little time I was on that section.  I just don't get why a HSQ that serves no beginner runs can't run at full speed without slowing and stopping constantly.  I can see why the Christie 6-pack stops a lot since it is a true beginner lift, but Storm Peak is detachable and serves only intermediate and expert terrain, so one would think that it wouldn't stop much at all.

Also skied the Pony Express for a few laps on Longhorn.  That run is pretty cool and had decent snow on most of it.  However, because that section is lower, that run became a little easternlike toward the end of the day.  A few inches of snow tonight should help make it less easternlike.

I was spoiled by how awesome Sunday was, but today was still a lot of fun and one of my best ever ski days.