Steamboat Springs

When I was 13 (or maybe it was 12…) my parents took me to Steamboat Springs in Colorado for a ski trip over my summer (winter in the US) break from school. I really enjoyed my ski instructor – Glenn Goldstein – and since the week I was in his class all those years ago we’ve kept in touch. I visited him when I returned to Steamboat a couple of times during my teens, I’ve met him in Tasmania, and even stayed at his house for close to two months when I was 19. Almost 30 years later, he had been reminding me to visit him in Steamboat with the kids and Lisa, so this (extended) spring break we took the kids to Colorado for a week of trees and mile-long runs in the heart of Rockies ski country.

The first couple of days on the slopes were a hoot, the California ski season had been very poor during February and the latter half of January so the fresh snow we scored in Steamboat was a very welcome gift. The kids took to the top-to-bottom tree runs instantly – as I can remember doing the first time I skied Steamboat – and were loving the sprinkling of fresh powder we had on days two and three.

The kids skied like champions for three days straight, so we took a bit of a rest day midway during our stay in Steamboat to explore the old cowboy town as well as the ski village, which had changed a lot since I first visited. As the name suggests, Steamboat Springs is home to a number of naturally occurring hot springs. The most accessible of them is Old Town Hot Springs in the heart of the town of Steamboat, we spent the morning soaking in the tubs of bubbling hot water and giving the ski muscles a bit of rejuvenation. The kids loved the waterfall climbing walls with 10-foot-deep pools below. Definitely worth a visit if you ever find yourself in Steamboat.

An addition to Steamboat since my last visit 15-or-so years ago was the largest alpine coaster in North America. Lisa took Lilia on the Park City Coaster a few years ago when we were in Utah, but the Outlaw Mountain Coaster in Steamboat was definitely next level. At more than 6000 feet in length, the coaster took about 12 minutes to rise and roughly a third of that time to descend. It’s physically impossible to come off the track, but even with that fact in the back of my head I had to brake a few times on the way down otherwise Max may have fainted from the combination of fright and g-forces. Very, very fun! One or two photos below may find their way into Max’s 21st birthday photo reel.

We also dined at a fancy establishment named Table 79 after Max had regained his composure following his near death experience on the coaster. One of the few restaurants in town that had Stonestreet on hand, it was wonderful food and great to be able to take Glenn and Michelle out on the town during our stay.

The winter time is Glenn and his partner Michelle’s bread winning season: Glenn works five or six days a week on the slopes and Michelle is always hard at it managing a condominium complex. But we were lucky to be able to ski with both Glenn and Michelle on our last day in town, enjoying some fresh snow up top and a fantastic Scandinavian lunch on-mountain at Ragnar’s. It was a ton of fun skiing with Glenn, the first time I’d done so since I was 19 (I think). The kids had an absolute ball exploring every nook and cranny of the mountain, guided in a way that only someone who’s skied 37 consecutive seasons at Steamboat can guide. I’d steered clear of my favorite ski runs at Steamboat – black diamond tree runs named Closets and Shadows – earlier in the week because I didn’t want to destroy the kids’ legs, but Glenn had them down Closets with relative ease (yes, Dad’s chest was puffed up watching them ski those trees!). A great finish to a spectacular week in the Rockies, thanks again to Glenn and Michelle for hosting us!