What I learned at Steamboat Springs

During my weekend getaway, I'll be skiing at three major resorts in three days before returning to the real world in Wisconsin. Yesterday, I skied Steamboat Springs in Colorado. It was a two hour drive from the condo. Steamboat Springs is one of the oldest resorts in the United States in an old mining town. The scenery was spectacular. Here's what I learned:

I learned how to ski

I joined ski club in fourth grade and skied Afton Alps all winter through seventh grade when I started focusing on wrestling during those months. I've always been able to get from the top of the hill to the bottom, sometimes because of gravity alone, but I never took lessons. I got to this point by watching and "feeling it," but yesterday it clicked.

I watched one of the guys we were skiing with (Travis) and I noticed him shifting his weight downhill and keeping weight on both feet. I asked him a few questions and with a quick lesson, my day turned bright. I could ski. I'm excited to put my new technique into action today.

Know your limits

The first time I skied in the mountains was two years ago when I went to Winter Park. The weather was miserable and we didn't spend a lot of time on the mountain. Steamboat Springs is known for tree skiing. I was with experienced skiers and snowboarders who love the trees, so I followed. I have enough athleticism to avoid the trees, but that wasn't the case for a certain gentleman named "Carl."

We were on our way through the trees and Tony and I saw a man lying on the ground in a heap next to a tree. He had Sonny Bono-ed a small pine tree and couldn't move. We attended to him for a short time before getting the ski patrol. He was boarded to the bottom. This old-timer definitely didn't know his limits (see picture below...it's not just a picture of Tony. Carl provided background scenery).

I'm tough, but not that tough

I get cold. So what. My whole life I've been "that guy," so I bundled up and had no shame. My core was a bit sweaty, but my toes and fingers still got cold every now and then. I also had a moment when the bottom of both of my feet cramped, but I worked through it. My quads also burned and that ended up taking us back to the car. I wasn't the only one whose legs grew weary, though. It was much wiser to be safe than sorry. When people begin to fatigue, injuries creep in (alas, Carl). I would rather be "smart" than "tough," but I am tough!

Skiing on powder is better than skiing on ice

In the Midwest, we typically ski on man made snow and it turns to ice throughout the season. Individuals in the mountains are very self-righteous about being able to snow in powder. They don't comment often on the 300-foot elevation drop at our local resorts, they dis the icy slopes. Skiing was not intended to be done on ice and I experienced this yesterday. Fresh snow is fun.

Clothing is optional at Strawberry Park Hot Springs

Steamboat Springs is known best for the world-class skiing, but also for the hot springs. We drove up the switchback road to see the springs. It was during the day, so we didn't witness people in their birthday suits, but allegedly clothing is optional after 9:00pm. I have no interest in sitting in hot springs with others in all of their glory, but I'd love to go in the daytime in the future.

There are a lot of rich people

Boy oh boy, there were some amazing homes along the slopes. That's all I'm going to say about that. These people have a bunch of money.