The Boat is THE place to ski
Written: Apr 01 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: huge number of trails, big vertical and acreage, bumps, trees
Cons: steeps too short, flat groomers
The Bottom Line: I would defintely go back to steamboat because of its large amount of terrain and all-around positive, hospitable environment.
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| jclark2's Full Review: Steamboat |
I just got back from a week long trip to Steamboat 3/24-31 for Spring Break and it was just awesome. I really didnt know what to expect since it was so late in the season and id never been there. all my knowledge came from reading epinions. I have to say i was quite a bit more then pleasantly surprised.Everything just fell into place for one of the best weeks of skiing ive ever had.
WEATHER:
In the week before my trip the forecast wasn't particularly promising. Weather.com was predciting temps in the 50's and rainy all week. Well lets just say thats the last time i take them seriously. The first 2 days the temps did in fact reach the low 50's but it stayed dry and the mountain slushed up a bit but after that it didn't get above 35 the rest of the week. Nor was there a moment after where the air wasn't filled with snow
The only problem is that on these days the upper half to 2/3 of the mountain are completely socked in with full whiteout. This demands that u stick close to or in the trees. In the spring, if u didnt have the ability to do this u might be unhappy because the lowere mountain was bit slushy. I simply went and skied a few of the best tree runs of my life. So basically the weather was amazing all week with the mountain ultimately picking up 8-10" over the course of the week. And this was in the last week of March. Ive gotta get out there in the winter.
Snow Conditions:
Coming fromt he East even the snow we got, which was supposedly heavy, felt to me like Champagne Powder. it was light and fluffy and it felt like i was floating through it. But we did have 2 days with out the POW. The first 2 days the upper mountain was in solid packed powder conditions but by noon the lower mountain would get really slushy and very difficult and uncomfortable to ski. When the mercury plunged into the 20's and 30's for the rest of the week the lower mountain still got slushy but it held off until later in the day. The upper mountain collected up to 10 inches of powder, and held it all. Evrything became easier and more enjoyable and the trees were heavanly. The bumps got bigger softer and more fun and everything was quieter. It was simply perfect.
Lift Service:
The lifts at Steamboat are very effective. Four high-speed quads are extremely effective in moving skiers and the slower lifts are excellent supplements. The Gondola is quick and a short wait, in fact i didn't wait on a lift-line all week and never felt i was sitting on a lift for an excessive period of time. i was very pleased with the way I as moved around the mountain.
Terrain:
For the absolute first time skier this seemed like a great place to learn because they had an abundance of beginner slopes at the bottom of the mountain many of which had their own lifts. Also, many of the blues on Sunshine peak are relatively flat and are perfect for the slightly more experienced novice.
I am not completely sure that this is the right mountain for a lower to average intermediate skier. While an intermedeiate might look atb the map and say, "look at all those blues at Sunhsine, Ive gotta get there." They will be sorely disappointed. This is beacause most of the blues at Sunshine will be far to flat for them and the blacks which have a bit more pitch are prowled by giant bumps that could leave an expert out of breath. All around the mountain nary a black was groomed, at the very most 3 a day so this skier might be hard pressed to find somewhere enjoyable to ski other then Buddy's Run which can get tired. A place to try would be Morningside which would be a great intro to tree skiing and offers some bowl skiing that is it not so bumped up. This probably the best place on the mountain for this skier.
For the upper intermediate and advanced skier this a superb mountain. There are dozens of blacks with moderate pitch and most of them have nice soft bumps that this skier will love. None of them are really steep and only a few have really intimidating moguls. This skier will also be able to appeciate much of the tree skiing that Steamboat is well known for. They may also be able to attack soem of the powder stashes up on pioneer Ridge though they might get slightly over theie heads as the bumps on the ridge are not frendly.
For the expert there is easily a weeks worth of terrain at Steamboat. On the main part of the ski area, Storm peak there are plenty of blacks that while not having much pitch have huge bumps that easily make for a fun adbn exciting ride, as well as a challenging one. An expert should also like Pioneer Ridge, with its narrow and steep bump runs that can dish out challenge to any skier.
Where the expert will really have the most fun though is up on Mt. Werner. Morningside is a decent warmup but then you have to turn to the front side and Christams Tree Bowl and the Chutes. I skied Christmas numerous times and also skied Chute 1. I would guess that some of the pitches here may reach or exceed 40 degrees and the only problem is that they are never sustained for very long. This short bit will challenege though because it is heavily gladed and the powder that this area holds is amazing. You can also hike up farther to the summit which i did not do but which i hear is even better. No matter how good u are i think youll find a challenge at Steamboat.
Food/Town:
We ate back at the condo most nights but we did eat up at the Grubstake in Gondola Square twice and the food was quite good and another night we went into a steakhouse in town where u ahd 2 cook your own steak. The food there was also good though it did depend largely on your own ability to cook.
A few nights we took the shuttle into town and hung out for a bit but really nothing was going on so we came back. The base area is huge with dozens of restaraunts and it often had a live band that was quite good. Still this did not strile me as a big party town.
This mountain is good for everyone with lodging options all around, great lift service and tons of terrain. Its a must ski.
Recommended:
Yes
Level of Experience Needed: All
Best Time to Visit: February
Best Suited For: Friends
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Epinions.com ID:
jclark2
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Location: New Rochelle, NY
Reviews written: 8
Trusted by: 3 members
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