Today was our 3rd day on the slopes! With the weather holding steady in the 40's, conditions on the mountain aren't getting much better. It hasn't been cold enough at night to make a lot of snow, and the few runs that are open are getting more and more skied off. Still, it's beautiful and there are some runs that are still really good.
We started out on Buddy's Run again. Katelyn, Grant, and Geoffrey did the route twice - they are much faster than I am.... while I took my time and did one and a half laps (rather than go all the way back up Storm Peak, I just took Burgess Creek and did a half lap.)
In the first hour, we saw snow patrol helping people 3 different times!
We all met at the top of Storm Peak and headed over to Sunshine, where we did High Noon a couple of times before taking a little break at Rendezvous lodge. Then we did Tomahawk several times. Grant left around 3:00 because he had to go pick up our rental car, but Geo, Katelyn, and I did Tomahawk 2 more times before taking the Wild Blue gondola down to the base. Once there, Katelyn and I did the Christie twice, the first time skiing vogue - which had tons of bumps (I'm really getting practice with technical skiing!) and then Boulevard to Giggle Gluch, which were both fun and a great way to end our day on the mountain.
Our plans for Saturday are to drive to Winter Park.... however, there is snow in the forecast (finally!) and we've been watching the weather all day. Originally, we were just going to wake up whenever, pack, and head on out in the early afternoon (Winter Park is about a 2 hour drive from Steamboat.) Based on the forecast, though, we decided it would be better to wake up and get an early start, as the snow was supposed to start in the morning and increase throughout the afternoon. So after a soak in the jacuzzi, we spent the evening doing laundry and packing. We went out to a late dinner at 8th Street Steakhouse, and then came home and went to bed.
Saturday, December 27
We woke up Saturday morning to falling snow - normally a welcome sight but we were eager to get over Rabbit Ears pass before too much snow had fallen. Luckily, it was just a shower at that point, because by the time we got on the road half an hour later the snow had stopped. Still, the pass had quite a bit of snow on the road, and we took it nice and slow, and by the time we got down the other side, the weather was clear and sunny with no more snow.
We made it to Winter Park in good time and had brunch at Wake'n Bacon. We were able to check in to our condo at noon. Our condo is right on the Fraser river, on the third floor of our building. (No elevators!). We unloaded the car and settled in. This condo is two bedrooms, with a cozy family room / kitchen area and 1 1/2 bathrooms. We will be staying here for 3 nights.
We turned on the live cams in Steamboat and saw that the snow had started falling again and snowed heavily all afternoon. I wouldn't want to ski, but maybe the low temps and the snow making will enable them to open a few more runs when we get back in a few days!
We walked around the condo area, and checked out the community center, which has a playground, a pool table, and a large indoor pool with 3 jacuzzis. Then we caught the bus to the Winter Park base area. We walked around the village and got some warm drinks from Starbucks. Then we took the gondola up to the top. It's free a few days a week to ride up the gondola after 4:00, and up top the lodge is hopping! There was a live band playing, all the food locations were open, and it was nice to take some beautiful photos up top. It started snowing lightly just before we rode up the gondola, and it was snowing a little heavier when we rode back down.
We came on a great night - not only was it free gondola ride night, they also replayed their holiday drone show, so we got to see that! It was cold and snow fell lightly throughout the show, but it was fun to see! Drone shows are really awesome.
The snow fall increased as the show ended and we walked back to the bus stop. We took the bus back into town and ate dinner at a BBQ restaurant that was really good! By the time we left, the snow was falling harder. We walked back to our condo, about 10 minutes away, and now we are just chilling in the condo.
It's supposed to snow tomorrow as well - but we are currently planning to ski anyway. We will see how it goes!
1 comment:
Another amazing day! Fun checking out other locales! Glad you had a safe journey!
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