Got this in the mail the other day… 

We bought em a long time ago… no salmonella to report

-Matt

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A wonderful festival

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As has become annual tradition we trek up into the mountains around my birthday for a weekend on the slopes. It started as a birthday trip and there’s been some regulars from in and out of town over the years but we’ve kinda moved it between my birthday on the 6th and Christmas to afford the mountains a little more time for better snow without crowding the holidays. None of the 8 of us that made it up there this year had ever been to Steamboat and we were all looking quite forward to it.

So on Friday December 12th at the crack of dawn we made the drive up I-70 and the cut-over through Winter Park on US40 into Steamboat Springs. It was a little over a 3 hour trip taking us through a different part of the Rockies than we were used to in which our surroundings were less steep and more hilly than you would see through the I-70 corridor up to the front range resorts like Copper, Keystone, and Vail. It reminded me of some of the hillier areas of Wyoming covered in wild grass and shrubs with a light dusting of snow just about everywhere.

We pulled in to Steamboat and unloaded our gear into the condo we’d be staying in over the next 3 nights. The place was pretty sweet; about 1300 sq feet, 2 bedrooms, a large loft with twin beds and it’s own bathroom, 2 full baths downstairs (1 in the master), a good sized living room and kitchen, and a shared deck overlooking the larger deck for the condo complex. The larger deck had 2 large hot tubs, ski lockers, and a fire pit. The place was about a 100 yard walk to a run you could ride down to the main base area for the resort.

We briefly unloaded, got geared up, and hit the mountain for our first taste of Steamboat riding. They’d gotten about 4 inches of fresh snow the previous night and had about 6 chairs and 70 runs open; still pre-season by most accounts. We got a good sense of the lay of the mountain and got about 5 good runs in before calling it quits in the early afternoon well warmed up and saving our legs for the next 2 days. We slipped over to a bar/grill close to our condo call The Tugboat and got some grub before heading back to the condo to relax a bit.

That evening we made the trip from the resort, through town, and up a dark county road to take a dip in the famous Strawberry Hot Springs. The hot springs are located on national forest property which apparently hasn’t always been open to the public. You can see the source of it all literallybubbling out the side of the hill at burning hot temperatures. From there it’s collected and combined at a controlled rate with the river that runs through there. There’s a series of man-made pools then where one spills into the next making the uppermost pool the hottest and the furthest mostthe cooler of the bunch though still very warm. If you should so desire you can slip right into the cold creek as well. It was super cool hanging out in the middle of a forest withsnow falling down and covering the walkways and trees all around you while your swimming around in your bathing suit… or not… it’s adults only after dark and clothing is optional. The entire area is kept natural as well in that there are no lights except for the moon and it’s all very misty and steamy as the temperatures clash. We swam around, dipped in various tubs, and even ran around on the ice and snow with some opting to preform snow angles and test their limits in the cold creek. We were there for about an hour and a half I figure before we packed up and headed back to the condo for some rest before the morning.

Saturday morning we arose as early as possible and made the short walk to the run then down to the base. Aboard the gondola we climbed to start the first runs of the day. Overnight they got about 7 fresh inches of snow and opened another chair. The riding was great. I absolutely fell in love withthe mountain. The terrain is just so different from what I’m used to in that it’s low enough in elevation and fertile enough that aspen trees make up about half or more of the tree cover, mixed in with pine, and the moutain just feels so open. Even at the busiest times of the weekend we still felt like we had entire runs and even entire faces of the mountain all to ourselves. I only saw a handful of roped off areas and you could ride just about everywhere. We (some of us) rode hard all day without stopping for a break and hit some great runs with some great snow. Most epic. We rode back to the condo and changed into some regular clothes.

That night we took a shuttle into town and hit The Smokehouse for some BBQ. Winter Fest was going on in the town of Steamboat that night which sounds  like a big “to-do” in a resort town but Steamboat is actually quite different in this regard. It’s more of a small western town and really along the lines of a classic mountain ski town. Sure, they had several blocks of downtown blocked off for the festivities but it was like 1 tent per block with coffee and cookies… and a camel. Larry the camel stayed in his truck for a good 15 minutes outside of The Smokehouse while several handlers tried their hardest to get him out and onto the street. Eventually he did make an appearance though. After walking around a bit and checking out some stores we took the shuttle back the resort and settled down for the evening after some folks enjoyed the hot tubs.

Sunday morning brought 12 inches of fresh snow from the previous day/night and the conditions were phenomenal. None of us really believed in the coined term “Champagne Powder” as even though we’d hit some great powder runs and blazed some untouched lines it still seemed similar to any other powder we’d ridden previously at other resorts. This was until we actually found some of the fabled snow and it was obvious that it was superior snow for making joyous turns through. This one magic run we took I will likely never forget. It was steeped through an aspen grove with the perfect grade and pefectdistance between trees to make turns that left you covered in fluffy snow as your wake cascaded over you with each turn. More than just floating above the snow it gave you a feeling of lightness and levity and had an almost effortless flow to it like a cushion of confetti as you glided down it. It’s what we came to experience and it was awesome. We continued to ride fairly hard throughout the day and didn’t have a single bad run. Everything had fresh snow on it and it was a good day to be out there carving up the mountain.

That night we ate the Slopeside Grill and checked out some of the shops on the mountain. We again went to the Strawberry Hot Springs after dark. After wrapping up there we pretty much just relaxed back at the condo tired from our 3 day excursion. Everyone slept pretty solidly awakening to our final morning in Steamboat on Monday. We packed up and headed back to reality happy to have experienced Steamboat for our first time and confident it wouldn’t be too long before we returned.

Pictures

-Matt

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/10/earth_from_above_comes_to_nyc.html

Sweet.

-Matt

…make Matt a busy boy.

And blogging seems to be a quick hobby to go by the wayside when life just doesn’t have enough time. We set the date, August 1st, 2009 and hit a moving ground not running quite fast enough. We’re doing the deed up in Estes Park at Della Terra Mountain Chateau and it’s really pretty exciting. However, I’ve now driven up to Estes Park more times in the last few months than I probably will through 2050. If I don’t talk to another wedding vendor ever again it’ll be too soon.

Work has been crazy and our company in particular is a reflection of the current economy at large. While my team and my position is secure we’re defintiely being asked forced to do more with less and I yearn for the weekends more and more each week. All and all I still keep the faith and feel the company is still secure in its future as a top provider in the industry.

While Eric was out here for Tom and Erica’s wedding we managed to catch the Beastie Boys with Tenacious D at the Fillmore in Denver and it was a hell of a show. Both acts threw down hard the day before the election as part of “Rock the Vote” and it was a great time. Tenacious D doesn’t tour much so it was sweet to catch them in one of their limited appearances. I’ve since watched The Pick of Destiny though they really mostly played stuff from their first album. The Beastie Boys are just straight up legends these days but between the front 3 and Mix Master Mike they rocked the house like it was 1995.

Made it up snowboarding to Copper 2 weekends ago for the first time this season. Our passes include unlimited days at Copper Mountain and Winter Park with 6 days at Steamboat. We plan on making it up to Steamboat for our annual weekend with friends around my birthday. None of us have ever been to Steamboat to shred the legendary champagne powder so we’re definitely looking forward to it.

Need more time overall… still trying to retire… still buying Powerball tickets…

-Matt

The moment you’ve all been waiting for in which I officially announce my endoresement for the next President of the United States is finally here. Barack Obama is not just the “better” of the two candidates he’s the only candidate that should even be considered at this juncture in America. What is largely being viewed as the most important American presidential election for the entire global economy it scares me to think of the turmoil and general evilness that would be brought forth under John McCain rule. It should scare you too. So get out an vote, but make it count… choose Obama and Ba’Rock the Vote!

-Matt