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Wednesday, 20th December 2006

US: Steam dream is no lottery

Robert Carson

Steamboat travel feature Robert Carson DATE CREATED:

FAMILY ski trips for us have always involved a short flight to Europe and a couple of hours transfer to the resort. We've had some great holidays, but there has always been that nagging worry in the weeks leading up to the flight . . . would there be enough snow?

Like every other Brit heading for the slopes, we'd avidly check the internet snow reports every day. A foot of snow on the mid-slopes would be welcome news, a metre would guarantee skiing all week. If all the runs weren't open you'd pray for a big snowfall days before your flight.

This year we decided to end the snow lottery and go further afield where there was guaranteed skiing from November to May.

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Steamboat Springs in Colorado is an old mining and cattle town high in the Rocky Mountains. To say it gets plenty of snow - it is famous for its perfect powder - is an understatement. Last winter more than 450 inches had fallen by the time we arrived at the end of March. Two feet is not unusual in a single night.

A nine-hour flight may seem a long time, but even on the short hop to France you don't get to ski on the first day. And the three-hour drive from Denver Airport was a sight-seeing adventure in itself. From the Denver valley, with temperatures in the 20s, you wind your way up to the snowfields of the Rockies.

At 2,000 metres, the old town of Steamboat, with its cowboy bars and great restaurants, is above the snow-line all winter. There's a free bus that runs all day to the gondola two miles away, but we stayed in a condo village that has sprung up at the foot of the gondola. Within minutes you are at 3,000 metres with magnificent views all over the Rockies.

The early settlers at Steamboat were prospectors, quickly followed by ranchers and coal miners. You still get the feeling of a real frontier town.

They have been skiing here since the early part of the last century. The slopes are so wide and well groomed, even intermediates like me had no trouble on the black diamond runs. But if you want more adventure, there's no shortage of powder right into the spring.

The essential difference between Steamboat and many European destinations is that it is more than just a ski resort - more of a holiday experience. You don't have to compromise on anything. Our condo was huge. Every bedroom had its own bathroom, TV . . . the works.

The lounge was bigger than any hotel room I've stayed in, with a better stocked kitchen than many houses back home.

Experience

The holiday experience continues on the slopes. There were no queues at the lifts, all the staff are polite. And if, like me, you are the kind of skier that gets lost on the slopes, you don't need to worry. They will rent you a watch-type gadget to keep you in touch with your group wherever you are on the mountain.

It plugs into computers at all the restaurants and shows you where the other skiers are in your party. You can even send texts so you can meet up for lunch. It is compulsory for children in the ski schools.

Another nice touch high up the pistes are huge electronic boards which tell you how long you will have to wait for the ski lifts at the end of your run.

But the wait was never more than a couple of minutes anywhere on the mountain.

They have been proud of their skiing in Steamboat ever since a Norwegian immigrant introduced them to the sport in the 1920s. Skiing is compulsory in schools here, with a special mountain just for the kids. It's not such a bad life being a pupil when today's lesson is the jumps, tomorrow slalom and there's still downhill racing to come.

They have 120 professional ski coaches for schoolchildren alone, so it is not surprising that for 40 years the town has provided many of the major players on the US ski teams.

If you want a break from the skiing, there is no shortage of other activities. Try snow-shoeing for the day, or soar over the snowfields in a hot-air balloon. I've tried it over the Nile Valley, but this will take your breath away - rugged back country, mountains and forests as far as the horizon.

Because this is cowboy country you can also live the life of a winter cowboy for a day.

A short ride from Steamboat is a ranch where the real cowboys will take you out into the wilderness. You follow tracks through the snow where in the summer mountain lions hunt the deer and elk.

During the summer months the cowboys make a living taking hunting and fishing parties into the mountains.

The town gets its name from the jugging sound made by the local natural springs, just like the early steamboats. The hot springs don't make a sound these days, but relaxing in the steaming pools is the perfect way to ease those muscles after a hard day on the slopes.

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