For all but a tiny period of human existence the mountains have been a place to be avoided,... feared. We have the incredible good fortune to be able to enjoy them. To be high in the mountains in winter is to be reminded just how majestic the world can be. For the price of a lift ticket we're carried up the mountain speedily and in comfort. Modern clothing and equipment makes it possible for us to visit places that would have been inaccessible to almost everybody just a few generations ago.
It's not quite that easy, of course. The investment in time, money and acquisition of skill is significant, but the good news is that you can be enjoying yourself right from the start. With a good instructor you can fast-forward through the old "ben ze knees" boot camp and finish your first day exhausted but happy. Most of us don't live in the mountains so we set aside vacation time and travel to snow country.
Which brings us to...
Why?
Some reasons are practical. Even though we live on the East coast, it's still a long way to Europe. And with present exchange rates, it's quite an investment. We don't know what will happen in the future, but snow conditions have been less than perfect in many European areas. South America? New Zealand? We'd love to try! Lebanon (yes, that Lebanon)? You're more adventurous than we are!
We feel better looked after here in the USA. Lift lines are manageable, resorts are well laid out, accommodation is often better, ski conditions are usually better. If you want to take lessons, we have usually found that we have taken much more away from them in the USA, and have enjoyed them more.
The Steamboat ski area can be different places for different people. For experts and advanced skiers there are the chutes and the wonderful tree skiing. It feels like the best of the experience of cross-country skiing and the best of downhill skiing blended. Even on a day when the numbers say there are a lot of people out on the mountain, you can usually find somewhere to ski alone.
Intermediate skier? Head on over to the South end of the area where there are plenty of groomed and ungroomed cruisers. If you're not sure which runs have been groomed, pick up a daily grooming guide from one of the Steamboat Ambassadors.
Beginner? There is an extensive beginners area on the lower mountain, although (just like in any ski area) I'd suggest getting higher up as soon as possible.
We have had great experiences with the Steamboat ski school.
Steamboat Springs was a town before there was a ski area. The name came from a natural hot spring that erupted with a sound like a steamboat, and the hot springs still provide water for the hot pools at the Steamboat Springs Recreation Center downtown and the Strawberry Hot Springs park a few miles out of town.
As well as the Steamboat ski area, this is one of the few towns with a ski slope downtown. One block from the main street, cross the bridge over the Yampa River and you're in the parking lot of Howelsen Hill, best known for Nordic and ski-jumping.
For a while, early in the 20th century, Steamboat Springs was the largest cattle-shipping center in the US. Now it's a very pleasant small Western town with plenty to see and do and the railroad is mostly used for shipping coal.
Most visitor accommodation is at the ski base area, about 3½ miles outside the town, and it's easy to get from one to the other, either driving or by bus. Steamboat Resorts, the management company for our condo provides a free shuttle bus to the town during the winter season and there is a (free) city bus stop a short distance away. If you come to Steamboat, you really should try and see the town.
Are you 50 or over? If so, there's something that has made a huge difference to our enjoyment of Steamboat, and it's something that you should consider: The Over The Hill Gang. Six days a week the OTHG meets at 9AM near the gondola building, and guides from the gang show you Steamboat as the locals ski it. They know where the best snow and the least crowded runs can be found. It's a free program; just meet under the OTHG sign near the gondola entrance. We ski with them most of the time, and if you're eligible you shouldn't miss it. Oh, yes... the cost: Nothing, it's free. Although the guide program is provided by the Steamboat ski area, the OTHG is also an active year-round social group with members living all around the country as well as in Steamboat Springs.
It has to be admitted that Steamboat Springs is less accessible than the Front Range resorts clustered along I70, or even Winter Park. We fly into Denver and are still enjoying the 3½ hour drive to Steamboat. If you want to avoid the drive there is frequent jet service to the Steamboat Springs airport, with flights from Minneapolis/St Paul, Newark, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Salt Lake City and Denver. But I still enjoy the drive.
After a few years it became obvious that we'd found somewhere we planned to continue visiting.
One reason that we like The Lodge is the spacious feel to the development. With landscaped grounds and a pleasant open atmosphere, there is never a feeling of just being in a hotel. You can see a plan of The Lodge here. Instead of long corridors our condo has its own front door to the open air, where you find a pleasant view of the mountains. It's a place where you can feel at home, and where you will be happy to return after enjoying your day. We are on the top (third) floor, with a cathedral ceiling in the living room and a lovely view across to the other side of the Yampa Valley. You can see a plan of our condo here.
We're easy to find. Directions for the 3½ hour drive from Denver? Take I70 to Silverthorne, CO9 North to Kremmling, left on US40 and drive 49 miles to the next light, where you turn right on Walton Creek Road. Then half a mile to a left on Village Drive and look for The Lodge on the right. Easy. It's a drive that we enjoy. Click here for directions from Denver and here for a street map to explore the area around us.
At the end of a long journey is not a time when you want to be making phone calls, arranging to meet somebody to let you into your condo. You want to have a check-in desk right here, with somebody ready to help you 24 hours a day. And during the winter season, that's exactly what we have. If you come in summer the desk closes at 9, but there's a courtesy phone by the door that will bring somebody to look after you within a few minutes at any time of night. You will never need to worry about what to do if you arrive late after a delayed flight or an excellent dinner in Denver.
What else is there to like about The Lodge? The people! We always look forward to getting back to Steamboat and seeing the staff at The Lodge. When you read about Steamboat being a friendly place, it isn't just marketing-speak it's true. The staff at The Lodge really are great, and make a big contribution to how we enjoy our visits. Near the check-in desk you will find one of the hot tubs, just a few steps from our condo. There is a pool and outdoor hot tub elsewhere on the property. (See the plan of The Lodge.)
I'm not suggesting that you should bring your work with you, but the clubhouse has a business center with computers available for your use, and free wireless internet is available throughout the property (yes, the signal is good in our condo).
If you prefer not to drive, you don't need a car when you visit in the ski season. As well as the few yards to the ski area, the free shuttles will take you pretty much anywhere you want to go (shopping, restaurants, town...). Not only that, but there is an excellent (and free) city bus system with a stop at the end of the block. If you fly into the Steamboat Springs airport it would be no hardship to forego renting a car.
And finally... We get inside the condo itself. The best thumbnail description that I can give is that it's just a nice place to be. As you walk through the entrance hallway you're immediately struck by the size of the living room. The high cathedral ceiling gives you a feeling of space, space, space! The gas fireplace is ready to light at the touch of a switch. We have recently upgraded the furniture, and hope that you will enjoy it. I like to sit in one of the swiveling easy chairs reading and facing out of the window, enjoying the inside and the outdoors at once. There is a stereo waiting for you, of course, as well as three televisions (one in the living room and one in each bedroom) with cable.
The kitchen is to the side of the living room and is equipped to cook your meals when you don't feel like going out to eat. The food on the mountain at Steamboat is better than you might expect, but we've found it convenient to make a packed lunch in the kitchen each morning. This gives us great flexibility, and means that we never have to wait in lunch-time lines.
The master bedroom has a King Size bed and its own bathroom. I sleep well in Steamboat, but in winter the air is much drier in the mountains, and it always helps to remember to use the quiet-running humidifier. The second bedroom has a flexible arrangement of one queen and one twin bed. Maximum occupancy of the condo is six people, and the leather couch in the living room makes a comfortable bed for two.