Day 1 (2/25)
Today is a travel day with a 6am flight. That wouldn’t be so bad but I had a hockey game at 10:15 last night, if I got a hours sleep I’m lucky. I arrived at the airport with plenty of time. It’s been a while since I’ve flown and the $15 bag check fee was slightly unexpected. Glad I decided not to bring the snow board I borrowed that would have been $75 since it was oversized. Seems like some airlines charge and some don’t, unfortunately Frontier did. I’ll think about Southwest next time.
The drive to Steamboat was 3hrs. We stopped in Dillon at the Village Inn for a late breakfast and made it to Steamboat early afternoon. The condo is across the highway from the mountain and we have a clear view of the slopes. It has 4 bedrooms, 3 baths and sleeps 10 to 12. In addition it has a deck, 10 person hot tub, fireplace, two car garage and grill… very nice. After everyone was settled we gathered up coupons and headed to town to rent ski’s. We found a place away from the slopes called Straightline Sports. All three of their packages were less than $30 a day with the coupons that made the middle package $19, a great deal. With the skis taken care of it was across the street to the pub for a brew before stocking up on groceries.
Groceries for 10 for 4 days took a bit but once loaded up with the essentials it was back to the condo. I doubt that will be the only time we take a trip to the store.
Day 2 (2/26)
Today it was up early for some breakfast, biscuits and gravy, and then off to the slopes. One of the guys has a condo on the property so we parked in the garage for his units. It was a short walk to get lift tickets and I opted for 3 days instead of 4, that would turn out to be a good choice. Lift ticket in hand it was on to the Gondola and up the mountain. We skied the right side of the mountain in the morning, those of us that didn’t want to be on the blacks (expert) runs that is. Here is the map for reference. Conditions weren’t optimal and I thought my skis needed waxing since there was no glide in them. Lunch was at the Rendezvous Saddle, mid mountain just above the South Peak lift..
The afternoon was short as some of us headed down early and grabbed a table at the Gondola Pub for a brew. We stayed there an hour or so and then headed back. On the dinner menu was chili with pasta and turkey. After a dip in the hot tub and a few more brews we called it a night.
Day 3 (2/27)
Breakfast this morning was bacon, sausage and eggs with a brief moment of entertainment thrown in. A fox walked up on the deck, drawn by the smell of bacon I guess. It wasn’t there long enough to get picture but it was still cool. Skiing today was better as it snowed last night. The skis road better with the new snow which was a welcome change for me, it was to much work yesterday felt like they were covered in fur. We started the day going to the left side of the Gondola down Buddys Run, there are few blues and mostly black runs there. The weather wasn’t the best overcast, colder and windy. Wind was so bad I had to borrow a balaclava from another one in the group to keep my face from freezing.
After one run there it was back to where we were the day before and familiar territory. Once over there we found an area off Tomohawk called Ramrod that was fresh powder past your boots. We spent the rest of the morning there until lunch where we met up with the others at the Gondola restaurant. Lunch yesterday, today and tomorrow would be water with granola bars. I carried a back pack with me that was very convenient as prices at the restaurants are pretty high. One of the guys pulled a leg muscle just before lunch so a couple of us headed down with him and called it a day. For me that was a smart move for me as I was already fatigued, legs were sore and I still had tomorrow to go.
A few hours later the others showed up at the Gondola Pub, we had a couple pitchers there and went back to the condo. Dinner tonight was chicken with pasta. The day ended with another dip in the hot tub and a few more brews. It was going snow again and with the weekend crowd coming it would be good skiing tomorrow, we had yet to see a groomed run but that would change.
Day 4 (2/28)
We could see going up all the trails were groomed. After a few runs on Tomahawk we joined up with the more experienced guys for a run or two down some blue/black runs. That was a new experience and I only lasted for two runs. I could tell my day would end early as the legs were fatigued again. It was back to Rendezvous Saddle for lunch and from there the plan was to ski down instead of taking the Gondola. That proved to be the right choice as it was a ways to get there and I was spent by the time we got through Vagabond to Right O Way. Cruising in to the Gondola loading area shoes and a brew were calling. That would be it for me and skiing this trip no crashes and everything in tact, not to bad.
Day5 (3/1)
No skiing today for me and a few others, the rest were off for there last hurrah. I slept in and hung out at the condo till lunch time. Then me and one of the the other guys headed to town for a little shopping. I was able to find a few good deals a Columbia Titanium jacket and a pair of Keen sandals, both half off. We stopped there, which was a good idea, since the others at the condo wanted wings for the race (Sprint cup). We headed across the street to the Steamboat Smokehouse for takeout, and a brew while we waited of course. 20 minutes later the wings were ready and we were on our way back to the condo.
Tomorrow it’s back to the airport and reality. A great trip with a great group of guys. I hope to do it again next year.
