Storm Report: Steamboat Springs, CO

Champagne powder falls in record amounts.

PUBLISHED AT WWW.MOUNTAINONLINE.COM

Last week, the population of

Summit Country shifted north. The

draw? Steamboat received a healthy

dose of powder, and snow-starved

Summit locals came for a fix.

We arrived Saturday night, in time

for a foggy soak in Steamboat's

Strawberry Park Hot Springs to

loosen up the legs in anticipation of

the upcoming ski day. We drove up

Buffalo Pass to spend the night in

the car, forgoing real beds for a

cheap ski getaway. (We're Summit

County locals on Summit County

wages.) The next morning, we

woke to a surprise four inches. But

whether it was a conservative snow

report or untracked snow from days

past, we're soon skiing boot deep

champagne powder. We lap

Sundown Express, slicing through

the legendary aspens, turning over

creamy bumps, and giggling like

two ski bums on a powder day.

Worth a return trip next week, we

think. Then Sunday night delivers

27 inches, Monday brings another

nine, and it kept coming all last

week. Three feet of fresh snow in a

slow snow year? Every Summit County local we talked to was headed to Steamboat. Again we loaded up

the car with skis and sleeping bags in the back, coffee ice cream in the center console, and made our way

back to Steamboat, hoping for waist-deep stashes in the places only the locals know. —Sydney Fox