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Steamboat Any Good For Carving?


barryj

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If you've never been there then you really should go. One of my favorite CO mountains. That being said, March is spring break and the place gets kooky. Have no idea how it will play out this year but it's been busy through January so I don't expect it to reduce. Worse yet, with COVID restrictions on lifts you might have some serious lines on popular lifts.

Steamboat is really great on pow days. The trees are really good and the snow can be epic. It does, however get tracked fairly quickly and can get icy, not East coast icy but definitely hard and not very grippy.

 

Lay of the land:

If it's not too busy the south side (Sunshine lift) can be nice for carving. It's generally less steep and gets decent grooming. Flintlock, Quickdraw, etc... are all fairly wide and easy and Sunshine is a very nice lift. I've had excellent runs on Sunnyside trail under the Elkhead express lift. It's moderately steep but generally not very busy, neither is the lift. I also like going through Heavenly Daze and down to Thunderhead Express. Again, wide, not too terribly busy and the lift is nice. Ditto for Buddy's Run/Bar UE.

The trails off of Pony Express can be quiet but they are not groomed so well and the terrain is not as even/consistent. YMMV. I like the area.

Burgess Creek area can get BUSY. Avoid unless you're just going through. Avoid Morningside and Christmas tree bowl. Not for carving and usually full of moderately inebriated skiers and snowboarders. 

If you're into trees then the Closets and the Shadows are two areas/runs that are absolutely epic, especially after a serious snow dump. If I'm there on a pow day I usually try and lap Sundown, take a left off the lift into the Shadows. Possibly my favorite place in the world. If it hasn't snowed in a while it can get bumpy and hard but I love that area. 

Don't let the map fool you, it's an enormous place! Keep something in the legs for getting back because getting down from the top to Gondola Square can take 30 minutes of some fairly steep pitches. 

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17 hours ago, barryj said:

Who's been and what's it like??

I might have to go for a business trip next month...that I will stretch to a week :eplus2:

I have been to Steamboat for 1-2 weeks per season for 16 of the last 20 years.  If you can swing it bring both soft and hardboot setups.  There are so many great trails for craving, but, if it snows while you are there stick to the chutes and Christmas tree bowl.  These bring you to the big meadow where you'll find freshies and way less people.

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Hey there are even tickets available for Lovey on Sundays!  I thought every weekend through March was booked everywhere. That's why I was schlepping it to Steamboat, for that weekend at least.  I'll be gasping for air in Buena Vista this Sunday so I wont embarrass myself. 3/7 has some real possibilities though. 👍

@big mario, want me to throw a couple of dogs and chili cheese fries from Max's in the cooler for the drive out? :barf:  

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45 minutes ago, Kneel said:

 

@big mario, want me to throw a couple of dogs and chili cheese fries from Max's in the cooler for the drive out? :barf:  

pork roll please!  We can get buddy tickets on our passes for any day, sold out or not

Mario

I mean taylor ham, I forgot youre one of those north jersey guys

Edited by big mario
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And when you get done riding stop at the T-bar for food and drinks - located by the base of the Christie 3 lift in an old ski patrol shack. Food is great and all seating is currently outside so great if it’s sunny. 
 

On Sunday’s and some other days the SSWSC Alpine Snowboard Team may be training gates on All Out, other days they train at Howelsen in town.

Edited by bucky
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2 hours ago, big mario said:

perfect!  let me know how much

 

That's the spare from our freezer.  I'll pick you up a fresh one before we leave Wednesday. Costco has been carrying it for a couple years now.  See, a glimmer of hop in this godforsaken state... 👍

I also think I just figured out the topsheet for my next board... 

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45 minutes ago, barryj said:

Yeah......what's the scoop on Howelsen Ski Hill ??

It's 101 miles from Loveland.

It's 404 vertical feet pale in comparison to Loveland's 1781 feet and 1800 acres of runs.

While Howelson is the oldest operating ski area in North America, Loveland is on the continental divide which is FAR older.

Speaking of age Howelson  is referenced in this thread

in 2007...   (sidenote: a beer on me to anyone who can get @philfell back on the forum.)

Which surprisingly actually predates the Yo Lci!! thread. :eek:

Still the LCI is the largest continuous gathering of carvers in North America.  You'd be foolish to go to Howelson...

Loveland... it's cold, it's windy, you won't like it.  GO!

Edited by lonbordin
Seriously you should go for the views alone...
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14 minutes ago, lonbordin said:

It's 101 miles from Loveland.

It's 404 vertical feet pale in comparison to Loveland's 1781 feet and 1800 acres of runs.

While Howelson is the oldest operating ski area in North America, Loveland is on the continental divide which is FAR older.

Speaking of age Howelson  is referenced in this thread

in 2007...   (sidenote: a beer on me to anyone who can get @philfell back on the forum.)

Which surprisingly actually predates the Yo Lci!! thread. :eek:

Still the LCI is the largest continuous gathering of carvers in North America.  You'd be foolish to go to Howelson...

Loveland... it's cold, it's windy, you won't like it.  GO!

Phil is pretty heavy into enduro moto racing now. Not sure if he even slides snow anymore. 
 

ink

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1 hour ago, bucky said:

And when you get done riding stop at the T-bar for food and drinks - located by the base of the Christie 3 lift in an old ski patrol shack. Food is great and all seating is currently outside so great if it’s sunny. 
 

On Sunday’s and some other days the SSWSC Alpine Snowboard Team may be training gates on All Out, other days they train at Howelsen in town.

They train at HH Saturday and Sunday and at the main hill Monday, Tuesday,  and Wednesday. 

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3 hours ago, lordmetroland said:

I love the ingredients: pork, diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer. All adds up to deliciousness.

Not just deliciousness, but salty pork by product goodness!

Edited by big mario
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On 2/16/2021 at 4:00 PM, big mario said:

Not just deliciousness, but salty pork by product goodness!

No sense trying to explain it to those highlanders. It's practically organic, minimally processed and contains everything the body needs. Pork, salt, sugar and "flavor". Honestly, I don't think they can handle it out there...

Edited by Kneel
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