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July 13, 2008: Balloon Weekend in Steamboat
The Annual Balloon Festival was in Steamboat and since moving to their new Bald Lake location, you can easily see the balloons launch from the Guest House. I went for a walk with Molly and enjoyed watching the variety of different balloons launching from Whistler Park. Molly had fun, but I think it was the river that kept her excited as opposed to the Bear shapped balloon.
Here is the view from the end of the driveway of the Guest House
Molly is secretly eyeing the river around the corner
Molly swam in the river at least 5 or 6 times on this walk alone
June 11, 2008: The latest snow I have ever seen in Steamboat
Unless you were the one to wake this morning and look out the window to see the snow falling, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you we awoke to a few inches of fresh snow this morning. It was surreal to say the least. Fortunately we knew it was headed this way after watching the news last night. It is the same weather front that caught those day hikers out on Mt. Rainer. We just bought some new lilac bushes to put in the yard and thankfully we brought them into the garage last night.
I’ve lived here for over 10 years, and this is by far the latest I have ever seen it snow down in the valley. We all keep joking that summer is never really going to make it and that soon enough we will just dip back into winter again. Fortunately though, between rain and snow showers, the valley has completely greened up.
We have started taking reservations for next winter, so get ahead of the masses and pick your perfect weekend.
May 30, 2008: The Valley is Green and the River is Raging
We just got back into town after a few weeks away for work. Since our departure, the valley has gotten incredibly green and the river is raging through town. Tons of people are descending upon the Yampa Valley this weekend to run in the Annual Steamboat Marathon, Half Marathon and 10k running race. As a fellow runner who has run all but the marathon several times, I know what those runners are in for…hills, hills and more hills. But the scenery is amazing, which will hopefully take their minds off of the hills.
Bookings for summer are in full swing and we definitely encourage you to plan your trip to Steamboat now. There are tons of activities close to the house including hiking and mountain biking at the ski area, enjoying one of the many running races on weekends throughout the summer or just sitting by the river enjoying a drink/dinner at one of the many restaurants which now line Yampa Avenue.
May 1, 2008 - April showers bring May snowstorms?
You will likely find it hard to believe, but it is actually snowing out today in Steamboat. There are winter storm warnings and advisories for Steamboat calling for up to a foot of snow at higher elevations. I actually had to scrape snow and ice off of my car windows this morning. Earlier this week I drove over Rabbit Ears Pass for the first time since December and it looked more like March than late April or early May. My friends and I are actually considering going skiing up in North Routt this weekend, while other friends are all headed for warmer climates like Buena Vista, Grand Junction and Ft. Collins to escape the snow.
April 7, 2008 - The ski season is over and it is still snowing!
Yesterday was the last day of the ski season and as the mountain closed it was snowing. Final snow totals put us at 489 for mid-mountain and over 500 inches at the summit. The skiing was actually quite incredible on the final weekend from an epic sunny Friday afternoon (one of the few all season) to the dull roar of snow plows heard off and on all weekend.
There was much fun had by all on closing weekend from free concerts, to the “early” cardboard classic and a pond skimming finale…I think all locals left the mountain with a grin from ear to ear. There is a subtle quietness that has come over town, with many folks packing up after a long season and getting ready to head out to all corners of the earth. Others of us are getting ready to reconnect with friends in town and to enjoy a long list of meal deal specials in town. As one friend pointed out, Mud Season is the one time that she and her husband can afford some of the nicer restaurants in town thanks to the specials for locals.
To all of our guests this season - we would like to thank you for many wonderful memories. I started out this season skiing with guests and in true guest house fashion my last run of the season was with one of our guests, a 12 year ripper from the front range.
We are open for bookings year round, so once you make the switch to spring and summer thinking, keep us in mind for your next trip to the Yampa Valley.
March 22, 2007 - It is official - 450 inches in one season - New Record!
As I wrote on Thursday, this was likely our last big chance to break the record. The snow gods had teased us for a week and a half with a 1/4 of an inch here and a 1/2 of an inch there. All of the locals were still holding out hope of breaking the record and we did that indeed with a four inch storm on Thursday afternoon! There was much celebration to be had around town and the paper even wrote an entire “Ode to 450 inches” expose in the Saturday paper. In this write up there was a history of when we got snow and how much we got. I thought it was perfect as it reminded me of all the times Clint and I woke to blow the snow but also how many times we got up on the mountain to get the goods.
The paper listed out some of this year’s snow stats and I have some of my favorites here…
8,400,000 - Pounds of scoria spread on local roadways by city snowplows
1,300 - Overtime hours logged by city snowplow drivers
0 - Days of school cancelled because of snow by the Steamboat Springs School District
Powder points
- It snowed more than 6 feet in the first ten days of February 2008
- It snowed 7 feet in seven days at the summit from Jan. 8 to 14
- The ski area hit the 100-inch mark for summit-base depth March 6
- Longest Streak of Snow: 26 days (Jan. 16 to Feb. 10) with 137.5 inches (11.5 feet) at mid-mountain
March 20, 2008 - It’s Snowing - Need 2 Inches to break the record!
It’s snowing this afternoon in Steamboat and every local knows we only need 2 inches to break the all time record of 447.5 inches set during the winter of 1996-1997. Keep your fingers crossed for us. The mountain has been recording snow fall in 1/2 inch increments trying to break this record. I’d like to see a good 4-6 inch storm to blow the record out of the water once and for all. Clint and I have been joking that if we miss the record, we are going to make bumper stickers that say “446 - I demand a recount”.
March 10, 2008 - 438 inches and counting
If you ask any local in town what one thing they are hoping for more than an epic score at the annual spring Ski Haus sale, then it will certainly be topping the 447.5 total snow fall record set during the winter of 1996/1997. Each inch of snow that falls means that we are that much closer to breaking the record. The anticipation is building. I knew something was up when I looked over at the sign on the top of the Sunshine lift yesterday and it said that we had received 1.5 inches of snow the night before. I don’t care if they start counting in 1/16ths of an inch, just as long as we break that darn record.
The season is starting to wind down, but at the guest house, we are starting to switch gears mentally for spring and summer. You see, spring is one of my favorite times in the valley. You can eat out for cheaper than you can buy food at the store. There is a meal deal nearly every night and it is a great time to reconnect with fellow locals that have been up to their eye balls in snow (i.e. - working several jobs, hunkering down to enjoy the snow, travel for work…you name it). While many locals will jet off for exotic locales, there are many of us with year round full time jobs who are “trapped here”. I couldn’t think of a better place to be trapped.
Start planning your get away for summer…because the old adage is that “I came for the winter, but stayed forever because of the summers.” We will have plenty of things to keep you all excited and busy here in Steamboat, including a place to store your mountain bikes in the garage as well as a bike stand to keep your rides tuned. If you planning a weekend away to kayak, trail run, mountain bike or just plain relax, drop us a line and make a reservation.
March 2, 2008 - From 52 to 15 Inches New!
Yesterday Clint and I went skiing and it was warm, almost hot. The news reported a high in Steamboat yesterday of 52 degrees. There was a free concert at the base and all of the locals and tourists had come out of the woodwork to enjoy a healthy day of spring skiing. We also heard yesterday that there was a storm headed this way, but no one would have believed it based on yesterday’s blue bird weather. But around 10 pm, in it rolled and after dumping 15 inches of new snow by mid-day Sunday, we knew for sure that March was here. Known for it’s epic spring skiing days and awsome winter storms, it doesn’t get much better than this. We have officially broken the 400 inch mark, and now all locals are crossing their fingers and hoping that we break the all-time record. After a winter like this one, you want it to go down in the record books, so that all those early mornings and late nights shoveling were worth it!
February 19, 2008 - Woodpile Woes
We heat the guest house primarily with our woodburning stove. How much wood we will use is always up for debate at the beginning of the season. I bet Emily $1 early in November that we would have enough wood split and stacked on the porch for the winter. I was wrong, and now I am digging up the secret stash in the backyard to supplement our dwindling supply.
The way it goes is this. First I shovel all of the snow off of the buried woodpile. Then I take a sledgehammer and knock the frozen logs loose.
Then I carry these unsplit logs to the back door and pile them neatly.
Finally, I carry the logs through the house one or two at a time and pile them on the porch for splitting later. Today’s addition to the pile consists of the snowy logs piled on the left of this photo. All of the wood you see here represents about 25% of what we started the winter with. 70 days of snow and cold all but obliterated a woodpile that was intended to last for 4 months!
The break in the weather has allowed us to grow the woodpile enough that we should be able to survive whatever March decides to throw at us. If not, there is still plenty of wood in back that I can dig up. I will split and stack the newly transported logs over the course of the next couple of days.
I owe Emily $1 for losing the bet we made in November. She was soooooo right.