Colorado 2021-2022 Steamboat Ski Resort/Conditions/Meetups

[Ron]

@Ron on average how are things mid-March? Snow, spring break crowds? March 12-19 if it matters . . .

12-19 is typically very busy. Hard to say about the weather, Ive been in full on spring skiing to 10* and deep powder.

 

[raisingarizona]

I am still uncertain as to what area is encompassed in the expansion. I will have to see if there's a more detailed map

It would be a game changer for steamboat adding in that area. It’s the kind of terrain the mountain has come up short on. I’m sure there are some locals not excited about that though.

 

[Ron]

I’m sure there are some locals not excited about that though.

ya' think ? .

 

[Chip]

I've got a 3 week trip to Utah Feb-Mar next year and plan to swing by and hopefully get a couple days at Steamboat mid March on my way back home. Will definitely hit you up as the time gets closer...

@Ron on average how are things mid-March? Snow, spring break crowds? March 12-19 if it matters . . .

12-19 is typically very busy. Hard to say about the weather, Ive been in full on spring skiing to 10* and deep powder.

So this is when I'll be coming out- my rental is done in Salt Lake on Mar 15, so I'll leave there and drive to Steamboat on the 15th and will most likely ski Mar 16-18. Really excited to get back as I haven't skied at Steamboat since the early 90's. So I'll be happy with any type of conditions/crowds

 

[Ron]

Good chance I’ll be in Hawaii by that time!

 

[Chip]

Good chance I’ll be in Hawaii by that time!

well that if Hawaii is open by then

 

[Ron]

well that if Hawaii is open by then

true! Fingers crossed more will vaccinate and get their boosters.

 

[Eagle93]

@Ron - a couple of Steamboat questions if you don't mind:

What are typical hours of operation? 9a-4p or similar? The Hours of Operation page just indicates "closed" atm and I'm trying to plan for how best to use our Night Skiing and First Tracks sVIP perks.

For Night Skiing, do they actually clear the hill before they "start" night skiing? Or would we potentially be able to ski right through the 4-5:30 window on our chose night? Although I'm leaning towards using Night Skiing on our arrival day as a warm-up of sorts.

Any general advice on usage of First Tracks? I'm thinking later in the week, so we are more familiar with layout/preferred runs, but also thinking Friday might be a generally busier day.

Thank you for any recommendations!

 

[Ron]

lifts begin to spin at 8:30. end, 4 is usual.

Night skiing: yes, it opens after the close. its only a small portion of the lower mountain. I have never done it.

First tracks: Im not positive on how it will be operating this season, as far as getting tickets. Last year, you could buy a pass at the remote pass locations (see web site) or walk-up at ticket office although there seemed to be some confusion about that. I would try to call them or do a "chat" on the site. Sign up for emails on the site, they typically have a deal on 1st tracks pass's in October.

First tracks general info: 1st tracks is only over in the sunshine area from the top down to Sundown lift. You can work your way over to the trees below and the Sundown lift line though. Keep in mind, they sell a lot of tickets for it now so its not like you get there at 7:45 and go up at 8. I have seen lines on a powder day that are ridiculously long and not everyone gets up in time. Other than powder days, its a great deal (in general) You need to get there early during peak season (I would get there about 7, but watch the base cam to see how quick the line is filling in.) I have friends who love it because they go mid-week and rip groomers for an hour before the mass's show up. Sunshine has the best groomers. There's also some fantastic tree skiing in that area, ranging from beginner to expert (especially if you know where to go ). I dont use it but its really nice to be up there early for some groomer laps. Please note that the Sunshine lift Does not run for this hour. If you dont mind standing in line, you can probably get 2-3 powder runs in before people start showing up. One down side of note is that if its a day where get 8+ inches, and if you dont ski trees, you will have a very difficult time getting down in the open terrain as the pitch isn't steep enough on Upper High noon. You can ski down under the lift line or 3 O'clock and not have to ski trees but it will be bumped out ungroomed terrain. Not sure of your skiing ability so just be aware. So, the sum it up, its a great way to beat the crowds as long as its not a big powder day. I am able to get up using Christy 6 pack or thunderhead lift early enough to ski off the Storm peak area by 8:50 and have about an 1.5-2 hours of skiing basically alone but you do need to know how to navigate that.

Let me now if I covered that well enough or you have more questions.

 

[RJS]

Echoing @Ron's great advice, my only time to Steamboat was just after I got my first powder skis and was excited to try them out. I did first tracks on my first day there with my dad on a powder day. I got up to the top of Sunshine, and not knowing the trail map I just started skiing down what looked like a fun slope. I got a few nice powder turns in before slowing down and finally stopping because the pitch wasn't that steep. I then spent the next couple of minutes looking like an idiot poling myself along the flattish powder, trying to get up enough speed to continue down the slopes. A couple of runs later a badass local offered to take me in the trees. I struggled to keep up with him, but the lines through the woods that he showed me were so much fun and I immediately saw why people love the place.

Have a great trip there, Steamboat was a ton of fun. It was a great place to go with my dad because he was able to have fun on the groomers while I zipped through the trees, and we were able to meet up at the bottom and ride the lift up together.

 

[Ron]

Have a great trip there, Steamboat was a ton of fun. It was a great place to go with my dad because he was able to have fun on the groomers while I zipped through the trees, and we were able to meet up at the bottom and ride the lift up together.

great story! Glad you had a great time.

 

[Eagle93]

Thanks @Ron and @RJS , that helps. I probably wouldn’t spend money on either, but we got them included as free sVIP perks with our package, so we’ll probably give it a shot. We got Coaster tix too, may use those on our off day, we’ll see.

I saw there are really only about 3 runs open for night skiing, thus my thought of using it for a warm up on our arrival day. Take a half dozen runs to help our lungs acclimate a bit. I don’t think we would bother otherwise, since ther is a forced i0-min. Downtime. When we’ve been at Keystone, we rarely go back out after we call it a day. We’d sometimes ski til 6pm or so, otherwise it’s just tough to get motivated if we’re indoors after normal lift close time. Having to stop skiing for 90 minutes would be a non-starter for heading back out.

First Tracks sounds cool, but if we have to be in line by 7am, we may not use. We’re staying by the Thunderhead, so getting down to the base isn’t very convenient to board the gondola. If we could hop on the Thunderhead with First Tracks that would be nice. If it is a powder day, we’d have to either drive down to the base or flounder down the catwalk (why not?) from Thead to the base, and then fight the crowds. I’ll probably book this for Thursday of our trip, so we know our way around to make it worthwhile if we use it.

From reading @Ron’s unofficial guide, I suspect we’ll spend a decent amount of time in the Sunshine trees. Sounds very similar to the Hi-Lo trees at Winter Park where we spent a lot of time on last January’s trip. I’m also thinking some time over in the Pony Express area, as it sounds similar to Mary Jane and the Black Forest/Outback at Keystone. We;re not big on moguls, but love the trees and natural features.

 

[Ron]

so, if you have access to thunderhead, thats the way to go! You cannot join in on 1st tracks by going on t-head. you can only access it via the gondola. no other lifts are running before 8:30 and if you miss the cut-off, they will not let you through the ropes.

@Eagle93 7am is only for a peak day or big powder day. I would think most mid-week days you could get there 7:20-7:30.

 

[pete]

@Eagle93 , perhaps the lodge runs a shuttle to the base? Lots of the lodgings have shuttles so with a bit of luck, maybe.

There is Right-O-Way but it may be a bit of a hike to catch unless there's a cut through path. I don't recall any specific locations as many of the homes between you and the trail appear to be private verse condos on the opposite side of the hill ... under the Gondola - Ski Trail Lane area.

The Scandinavian Lodge folks would likely know if any shortcuts exist if not having a shuttle option.

 

[Eagle93]

@Eagle93 , perhaps the lodge runs a shuttle to the base? Lots of the lodgings have shuttles so with a bit of luck, maybe.

There is Right-O-Way but it may be a bit of a hike to catch unless there's a cut through path. I don't recall any specific locations as many of the homes between you and the trail appear to be private verse condos on the opposite side of the hill ... under the Gondola - Ski Trail Lane area.

The Scandinavian Lodge folks would likely know if any shortcuts exist if not having a shuttle option.

That's a good point. I'll check that out as that would be best if it is a powder morning. The walk to Thunderhead doesn't concern me, but trying to ski/skate down a catwalk isn't appealing on any day, let alone with a coating of fluff to slow us down. From Google Earth, it looks like there is only 500' of vertical from Thunderhead bottom terminal to the Gondola terminal. Not much drop over about a mile of distance as the crow flies between the two.

It does seem like that entire area near Thunderhead is private homes... probably makes a cut-through unlikely and probably makes the Scandinavian Lodge an unpopular neighbor as the only condo in the area. From a quick look on Zillow, most of the homes are in the $2M-$8M range. The few vacant lots are priced between $786k and $1.8M

 

[dbostedo]

From Google Earth, it looks like there is only 500' of vertical from Thunderhead bottom terminal to the Gondola terminal. Not much drop over about a mile of distance as the crow flies between the two.

It's very flat with a little bit of uphill in places in the last 1/3 as you really get to the base (snowfall and grooming dependent I'd imagine). I wound up doing some polling/skating when coming down that way last season, even when well groomed. Prior to that it was OK - just your standard gentle slope.

 

[pete]

It's very flat with a little bit of uphill in places in the last 1/3 as you really get to the base (snowfall and grooming dependent I'd imagine). I wound up doing some polling/skating when coming down that way last season, even when well groomed. Prior to that it was OK - just your standard gentle slope.

very true, with powder I don't know one could ski clear to the base without a track or two allowing one to keep up the speed needed to get past the Christie III lift ... and that may be optimistic.

but if one's good at Nordic skiing, then it may be considered a good warm up.

 

[Ron]

That's a good point. I'll check that out as that would be best if it is a powder morning. The walk to Thunderhead doesn't concern me, but trying to ski/skate down a catwalk isn't appealing on any day, let alone with a coating of fluff to slow us down. From Google Earth, it looks like there is only 500' of vertical from Thunderhead bottom terminal to the Gondola terminal. Not much drop over about a mile of distance as the crow flies between the two.

It does seem like that entire area near Thunderhead is private homes... probably makes a cut-through unlikely and probably makes the Scandinavian Lodge an unpopular neighbor as the only condo in the area. From a quick look on Zillow, most of the homes are in the $2M-$8M range. The few vacant lots are priced between $786k and $1.8M

maybe im not following the posts correctly but you dont need to go to the base if you can walk to/get dropped off at thunderhead.

yes, that neighborhood is all residences and a steep walk up hill to Thundehead. on a powder day., that road is not the best to walk on. its narrow and there's little room for cars. Oh, and you wont find a home there for 2M. .

 

[Eagle93]

maybe im not following the posts correctly but you dont need to go to the base if you can walk to/get dropped off at thunderhead.

yes, that neighborhood is all residences and a steep walk up hill to Thundehead. on a powder day., that road is not the best to walk on. its narrow and there's little room for cars. Oh, and you wont find a home there for 2M. .

only concerned about getting to the base on our first tracks day.

 

[Ron]

You can easily ski down from t head to the base. No problem.