Winter in Steamboat

Winter just can't wait to come to Steamboat Springs this year, it has snowed 1-3 times a week since late September and 18 inches is forecast tonight for Rabbit Ears pass. We got about 4 inches of heavy wet snow in town so there may be a foot or more up there to start with.

Sat Night UPDATE: The National Weather Service said the storm's heaviest snowfall was near Steamboat Springs, where some areas got up to two feet of snow. a warning remains in effect through the morning for western Colorado, where up to four more inches of snow is expected in spots.

Normally we get a good snow about the third week in September and then Indian Summer until at least the end of October. It is normally 60-70 degrees sunny and calm. Last winter was nearly a record snow year with huge powder days starting the Sunday of Thanksgiving and I was mountain biking up on the ski hill the first week of November. It normally starts snowing regularly in early November.

Thanksgiving requires some faith because the real storms come either Monday or Tuesday beforehand, during Thanksgiving weekend or the week before in order of likelihood. Personally I never leave town for Thanksgiving because 3 out of 4 years we have good to Epic conditions. Opening day or any day they open upper mountain tree runs for the first time there can be 3-4 feet of powder in the trees making for one of the best days of the year. You have to read the snow very carefully because there is not packed base underneath off of the blue runs but the rewards can be bountiful. Sunday Thanksgiving weekend last year was unreal with faceshots all day and powder days almost everyday for a week. Starting that Sunday we had 70 powder days out of the next 100. I never even got in shape last year because it was so soft. With snow that frequently the report could be 3-4 inches and it would be at least a foot in the trees. Definitely a year full of powder days I will never forget.

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