dburdenbates
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Saturday March 10
Landed in Denver and picked up our rental car. Began the long drive to Steamboat. Stopped in Dillon for an excellent lunch and a brew or two at the Dillon Dam Brewery. It was snowing beautiful big flakes and snowed almost all the way from Dillon to Steamboat. Traffic was fine, but having lived in the South for most of our adult lives, the road conditions got a bit hairy. Checked in at the Ski Time Square Condos, then headed over to the base to get the kids rentals setup and to pick up their ski school tickets. Later to the City Market to stock up on groceries (along with the rest of the world) and finally back to the condo to get some rest for the next day.
Sunday March 11
First day skiing on our first visit to Steamboat! We got up early and were at the base ready to go at 8:00am. We picked up our gear (we left our skis to be waxed overnight). We checked our boys (15 and 11) into Rough Riders at 9:00. The oldest went into a level 4 class and the younger one went into a level 3. It had been 2 years since they last skied and that was in Indiana, so lessons were a must! Hubby and I were then free to explore the mountain. Because of the snow the previous day, conditions were quite nice. Still several powder stashes to be found. And oddly enough, we did not wait in a lift line all day. We wondered if people had forgotten to set their clocks up for DST. I wish we would have enjoyed the slopes even more than we did since it turned out to be the best conditions we had all week. We ate lunch at Ragner's downstairs at Rendezvous Saddle Lodge. It was a lovely lunch (we both had an ahi tuna sandwich with a mixture of regular and sweet potato fries, a couple of beers and shared a decadent piece of triple chocolate cake...ya gotta have carbs!), but a quite expensive meal... over $90 for the two of us.
After picking up the boys from ski school, we soaked awhile in the hot tub at the condo and then Mom and Dad head out into Ski Time Square looking for a brew or two and a dartboard. We were told that Lupo's (an extreme sports bar) had dart boards, but at 6:15 they were still closed even though they were supposed to be open by 6:00. We wandered around and wound up at the Pirates Bar above the Jade Summit Restaurant (within spitting distance of our condo). This place immediately became our "Cheers" for the trip. Pirate John at the bar is awesome and Kevin, the owner, is just as great. We stayed a bit longer than expected and stumbled our way back to the condo by 11:00 or so.
Monday, March 12
A little sluggish getting going this morning because of the relatively late night out. Still, we were at the base by 8:15. Today the older kid went into a level 5 class and the younger went into a level 4. I'm relieved that their instructors think they are doing well and progressing quickly. Conditions were icy because of warm weather the day before and then an overnight freeze. We could've waited until 10:00 or 11:00 before hitting the slopes and we wouldn't have missed anything. Though, I must say that as the snow softened up, it became quite nice (at least in my opinion. Hubby preferred the ice over the softer, slushier mix). Crowds were higher since I guess everyone got into town on Sunday. And the entire friggin' state of Texas is here. I guess when you live in a place with 8 months of summer per year, you go to a colder clime for vacation. Anyway, with the snow softened and they crowded slopes, the runs got pretty sloppy and moguled up even on some of the easier blues. I decided to use this to my advantage and work on my mogul skiing. I think it may have helped, but of course, these were pretty soft moguls we are talking about. Lunch today was at the Food Court area in Rendezvous Saddle. Still a good lunch and only a third of the price of the previous day (I had a tuna salad sandwich and hubby had a bean burger).
Tuesday, March 13
Our day off from skiing. We planned to go to Strawberry Park Hot Springs, but it was close to 70 degrees in town, so sitting in pools of hot water wasn't that appealing. Instead we just headed into town and did a bit of shopping and exploring.
Wednesday - Friday, March 14-16
Conditions and crowds for these days were basically the same. Icy mornings because of the warming/freezing cycles and then softer afternoons. Lift lines were longer than we like, but probably still manageable. The big boards stated anywhere from 10 to 16 minute waits for the Sunshine and Sundown Lifts and slightly less for the Storm Peak lift. We stayed over near the Morningside and Pony Express lifts to escape most of the crowds.
On Thursday afternoon, the boys skied some with me after ski school while hubby went back to the condo. It was probably the best time to be on the mountain. I guess lots of folks pick up their kids and then leave (what we did Sunday - Wednesday) so after 3:00 the mountain clears out and the snow is still nice and soft. This was one of my favorite parts of the vacation. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the boys did. They kept right up with me and kept going off into the trees to find little bumps and jumps. We wound up being some of the last people on the mountain. Friday our oldest son skied with us the entire day and we picked the younger one up at lunchtime from ski school. They skied everything that we did including blacks, trees and moguls. It was a sad last run, but we were certainly spent.
Friday night was our family night out for dinner. We tried to go to SakeTume Sushi restaurant in Ski Time Square, but it was going to be a 1-2 hour wait. So we headed over to the Jade Summit Restaurant (owned by the same lovely folks that own the Pirates Pub upstairs). Great food, and they can make it QUITE spicy if you want them too.
Driving out Saturday was sad, but we were looking forward to getting home. Traffic was fine from Steamboat to Denver (ate lunch at the Dillon Dam Brewery on the way back also). All went smoothly except for we were charged $150 more for our rental car than what we were quoted. It was with Budget and they are now officially on my "S" list. I'm still planning the letter that I'm writing to complain.
All and all, a good trip.
Landed in Denver and picked up our rental car. Began the long drive to Steamboat. Stopped in Dillon for an excellent lunch and a brew or two at the Dillon Dam Brewery. It was snowing beautiful big flakes and snowed almost all the way from Dillon to Steamboat. Traffic was fine, but having lived in the South for most of our adult lives, the road conditions got a bit hairy. Checked in at the Ski Time Square Condos, then headed over to the base to get the kids rentals setup and to pick up their ski school tickets. Later to the City Market to stock up on groceries (along with the rest of the world) and finally back to the condo to get some rest for the next day.
Sunday March 11
First day skiing on our first visit to Steamboat! We got up early and were at the base ready to go at 8:00am. We picked up our gear (we left our skis to be waxed overnight). We checked our boys (15 and 11) into Rough Riders at 9:00. The oldest went into a level 4 class and the younger one went into a level 3. It had been 2 years since they last skied and that was in Indiana, so lessons were a must! Hubby and I were then free to explore the mountain. Because of the snow the previous day, conditions were quite nice. Still several powder stashes to be found. And oddly enough, we did not wait in a lift line all day. We wondered if people had forgotten to set their clocks up for DST. I wish we would have enjoyed the slopes even more than we did since it turned out to be the best conditions we had all week. We ate lunch at Ragner's downstairs at Rendezvous Saddle Lodge. It was a lovely lunch (we both had an ahi tuna sandwich with a mixture of regular and sweet potato fries, a couple of beers and shared a decadent piece of triple chocolate cake...ya gotta have carbs!), but a quite expensive meal... over $90 for the two of us.
After picking up the boys from ski school, we soaked awhile in the hot tub at the condo and then Mom and Dad head out into Ski Time Square looking for a brew or two and a dartboard. We were told that Lupo's (an extreme sports bar) had dart boards, but at 6:15 they were still closed even though they were supposed to be open by 6:00. We wandered around and wound up at the Pirates Bar above the Jade Summit Restaurant (within spitting distance of our condo). This place immediately became our "Cheers" for the trip. Pirate John at the bar is awesome and Kevin, the owner, is just as great. We stayed a bit longer than expected and stumbled our way back to the condo by 11:00 or so.
Monday, March 12
A little sluggish getting going this morning because of the relatively late night out. Still, we were at the base by 8:15. Today the older kid went into a level 5 class and the younger went into a level 4. I'm relieved that their instructors think they are doing well and progressing quickly. Conditions were icy because of warm weather the day before and then an overnight freeze. We could've waited until 10:00 or 11:00 before hitting the slopes and we wouldn't have missed anything. Though, I must say that as the snow softened up, it became quite nice (at least in my opinion. Hubby preferred the ice over the softer, slushier mix). Crowds were higher since I guess everyone got into town on Sunday. And the entire friggin' state of Texas is here. I guess when you live in a place with 8 months of summer per year, you go to a colder clime for vacation. Anyway, with the snow softened and they crowded slopes, the runs got pretty sloppy and moguled up even on some of the easier blues. I decided to use this to my advantage and work on my mogul skiing. I think it may have helped, but of course, these were pretty soft moguls we are talking about. Lunch today was at the Food Court area in Rendezvous Saddle. Still a good lunch and only a third of the price of the previous day (I had a tuna salad sandwich and hubby had a bean burger).
Tuesday, March 13
Our day off from skiing. We planned to go to Strawberry Park Hot Springs, but it was close to 70 degrees in town, so sitting in pools of hot water wasn't that appealing. Instead we just headed into town and did a bit of shopping and exploring.
Wednesday - Friday, March 14-16
Conditions and crowds for these days were basically the same. Icy mornings because of the warming/freezing cycles and then softer afternoons. Lift lines were longer than we like, but probably still manageable. The big boards stated anywhere from 10 to 16 minute waits for the Sunshine and Sundown Lifts and slightly less for the Storm Peak lift. We stayed over near the Morningside and Pony Express lifts to escape most of the crowds.
On Thursday afternoon, the boys skied some with me after ski school while hubby went back to the condo. It was probably the best time to be on the mountain. I guess lots of folks pick up their kids and then leave (what we did Sunday - Wednesday) so after 3:00 the mountain clears out and the snow is still nice and soft. This was one of my favorite parts of the vacation. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the boys did. They kept right up with me and kept going off into the trees to find little bumps and jumps. We wound up being some of the last people on the mountain. Friday our oldest son skied with us the entire day and we picked the younger one up at lunchtime from ski school. They skied everything that we did including blacks, trees and moguls. It was a sad last run, but we were certainly spent.
Friday night was our family night out for dinner. We tried to go to SakeTume Sushi restaurant in Ski Time Square, but it was going to be a 1-2 hour wait. So we headed over to the Jade Summit Restaurant (owned by the same lovely folks that own the Pirates Pub upstairs). Great food, and they can make it QUITE spicy if you want them too.
Driving out Saturday was sad, but we were looking forward to getting home. Traffic was fine from Steamboat to Denver (ate lunch at the Dillon Dam Brewery on the way back also). All went smoothly except for we were charged $150 more for our rental car than what we were quoted. It was with Budget and they are now officially on my "S" list. I'm still planning the letter that I'm writing to complain.
All and all, a good trip.
