In true Laura fashion, I talked Matt into booking a ski weekend in Steamboat while we were sitting on the couch in my parents’ living room in the warmth of Florida. I knew damned well I was going to need something to look forward to when we got back, and boy, did I! Here’s the story (as written while we were there):

Sunday:

Work wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be – it didn’t drag on for eternity like days can when you’re excited for something. 

I made it home at a reasonable hour, and I think we left within about 20 minutes of me being there. Before 6:00 pm, anyway. 

We stopped in Idaho Springs for McDonald’s dinner, and again in Silverthorne for gas – all in all it was a fairly uneventful drive. Thank goodness. The roads were clear and the moon was full – GORGEOUS. 

We’d called the Bristol Hotel on our way and gotten instructions on how to get in since we were arriving after the lobby closed. After finding our welcome packet, we set off to find our room. Which made no sense. The paper said 5/7, but it looked more like 517 the way it was written. There are NOT 517 rooms in this place, so we were really confused. 

Eventually, I said screw it and tried the key in room 5. Lo and behold, it worked. When we walked in, the whole room number thing made much more sense. Rooms 5 and 7 connect via the Jack and Jill style bathtub. One of our keys opened room 5, the other room 7. Really interesting. 

We threw our stuff down and got in bed. We were tired from the drive, but thankfully not wired from trying to stay awake… Tomorrow, we hit the slopes!

Monday:

It was snowing when we woke up this morning… 

We went to breakfast at Creekside, which is always delicious. After that, back to the hotel to get our stuff together for the day. 

We headed to the bus stop – nice thing about Steamboat, there are free buses that run throughout town and up to the resort. 

When we got to the base, we put on our boots and decided to just take the gondola up and then get our bearings. We got off at the top and heard that almost a foot of snow had fallen overnight. Made for some amazing powder. It was still snowing, though, and visibility was shit  at the top. 

We spent most of the day on the Rendezvous Lodge aide of the mountain. Conditions were perfect (except for the visibility), but turning on powder takes a toll. 

We were out til about 2:30, and called it. We took the bus back to the hotel, changed clothes, and went to dinner at Salt & Lime. Tacos and margaritas, YUM!

Sometime during dinner we made the decision ito head to the hot springs afterwards. So we went back to the hotel, grabbed our bathing suits, and headed to Old Town Hot Springs. 

Getting from the door of the building to the actual pool always sucks when it’s freezing outside. I came out of the locker room in my bikini – AND my down jacket. Unfortunately, we forgot to take any pictures or video of the absurdity….

The pools were wonderful. It’s so cool to be there when it’s cold. The steam rises out of the water and creates quite a cool atmosphere over the place. 

We stayed for a couple hours, until our hands and feet were uncomfortably pruny, and then braved the cold to go back inside to change. Then it was back to the hotel and to lay down and read books because the TV doesn’t work right….

Tuesday: 

Today dawned with less snow falling, anyway. There were still flurries when we walked to breakfast at Winona’s this time. A Greek omelet and a couple cups of coffee later, and we walked back to the hotel with to go cups of coffee, which was awesome. 

By then, the sun had started to peek out from behind the clouds, and we started getting excited about heading up the mountain. 

Back on the bus, back to the base. Boots on. We decided to take the other (brand-spanking new) gondola to see where it went. We got off and  went to the next lift and up  to the top of the mountain…

And conditions were incredible! Beautiful soft powder left over from yesterday, and a bit more overnight combined with gorgeous sunshine and perfect visibility made it about perfect. 

We took a run back down Storm Peak and decided to go off the back side to Morningstar. WOW. I don’t think I’ve ever been in such amazing powder in my life. We played in the bumps and the trees, and there was a time where the snow was up over my boots. I giggled like a little girl so many times! 

We did more runs, all of which were bump runs – nothing was groomed well. I’ve never had so much fun over them. Thankfully, my knee decided to cooperate and I was able to ski them all day! 

Towards the end of the day, I went inside and chilled out for a bit so Matt could go do a few more runs… Then one last run back to the base and I could get my feet out of my ski boots! Bonus – they were handing out free hot chocolate! 

Then back to the hotel and a shower for me. We decided to go to the Italian restaurant next door to the hotel, but we didn’t have reservations and apparently they’d been full since November or something…

We finally decided on the Yampa Icehouse, which we’d seen (and smelled, it’s a smokehouse) when we took a walk before dinner. 

Oh. My. God! SO good. I had the pulled pork nachos and Matt had the dry rub smokes (and fried) wings.  Nice, chill dinner. Cool vibe at the place, too. 

Then back to the hotel, where I’ve happily been laying in bed for a long while now…

Wednesday:

I woke up early today, dammit. 5:42 or some ridiculous time like that. So I read a book for awhile, and eventually Matt woke up too. 

We got up and out the door pretty early today, because we wanted to get some runs in before heading home. 

Breakfast was egg sandwiches from Yampa Sandwich Company, complete with some coffee, eaten while sitting up in bed, since our hotel room didn’t have a table in it. 

After breakfast, we got our shit together, packed up the car, and drove to the free lot at the resort. Unfortunately, the closer one was full by 9:00 am, so we had to park at the one that’s further away. Thankfully, there’s a free shuttle to the base. 

We took the gondola up and took a run or two, and figured out that my legs would actually work. Conditions today were much smoother than yesterday, and I figured I could avoid bumps and save my legs. Matt suggested we try this black run he’s done before, Rolex. I said why not, thinking it would be groomed… 

He pulled up short at the edge of the run, WAY too late to turn around, and I said, “tell me it’s groomed!”

 “It’s groomed, I’ll say it’s groomed,” was the response. 

Oh. Fuck. 

Well, I wasn’t about to take my skis off and walk back up the hill. So I took a deep breath, pulled up my big girl pants, and started down the run. 

It was most definitely NOT groomed, but thankfully the bumps were small. I made my way down, scared but not panicked. At one point, Matt paid me the best compliment ever and told me I looked like I know what I’m doing! 

I got down with no issues and Matt asked if I wanted to do the black next to Rolex, which actually did look groomed. So we did that one, and it was everything I wanted Rolex to be, fast and smooth and steep. Those two runs were the crowning glory of my day. I did another run or two after that and realized my legs were COMPLETELY spanked. Matt went up and did another run or two while I headed to the base and sat by the fire to wait for him. 

Then it was back to the car. We changed clothes (awkwardly, as can only be done in the front seat of a Jeep) and headed home. 

We stopped for lunch at the Moose Cafe in Kremmling, which is good. Not the best, but pretty decent food for a shitty little restaurant that makes you feel like you stepped into a time warp. 

We made it home in daylight, unpacked the car, showered, and made frozen pizza for dinner….. 

Until next time, Steamboat!