Tony Furtado to play the end of Season Party April 9th

Steamboat Ski Corp. has hired Tony Furtado to play the apres ski end of the season party at the base of the mountain on Sunday April 9th, 3pm. The ski area is also giving all the school kids in the valley a free ski day to close out the season. I'll see you on the slopes or at the party!

Spring Powder Day in Steamboat

Steamboat got a pleasant surprise last night with 5 inches of the light stuff reported on the 5am snow report. Friends up on the mountain were kind enough to call and let me know that it was almost a foot deep in the trees and they were finding face shots. Not bad for a storm that was predicted to be trace-2 inches. I was a little too busy to get up but a powder day is always good for a smile.

Steamboat Nastar Nationals

The Nastar National Championships are in Steamboat this week. It has been fun to meet some of the racers. Anywhere from our friend Andrew Stevens to a 81 & 77 year young couple that have been racing together for 7 years. She had a sparkle in her eyes like you wouldn't believe and he wasn't far behind. They live in Miami and ski 9 weeks a year. It's insprinig to me to meet people I can look up to like that. It makes me snile right now as I picture myself just as fiesty and still skiing fast in 40 years or so :)

Andrew Stevens is a 4 year old racer out of Boulder who came up to race in his first Nationals. He was all smiles today and put up a great performance. I wish I could have started at his age but the important thing is getting out there whatever age you are with a smile on your face.

Gin Blossoms in Steamboat Springs

The Gin Blossoms played in Steamboat at the base of the Gondola this afternoon. One ofthe great things about living or spending time in Steamboat is that they bring in surprisingly good bands on a regular basis for free concerts. It's a cool place that the bands love to come and skiers know how to have a good time. It makes for a great mix. The Gin Blossoms put on a great performance in the spring sun. Wish you were here.

Steamboat powder

Here's a powder shot from last Monday in Land of the Little People that I just downloaded from my camera. It's a bummer when the snow gets all tracked up and is only a foot deep in the tracks ;) It never occured to me to take a picture until my last run so I didn't get any action shots that day.

Marabou Ranch Steamboat Springs

I'm working on a new blog about the Marabou Ranch project just outside of Steamboat Springs to share some details about this project. It is close to the ultimate gentleman's ranch since you and your family can be ranchers without the responsibilities of managing your own ranch full time. They also will have five luxury cabins along the river for owners or their guests to stay in. That's a great benefit for the buyer or the investor that wants to wait a few years to build their dream home.

I've spent quite a bit of time over the past year keeping up with this project as it progressed though planning. I am working with a couple of clients so understand if it is right for them so I thought I would share a few things about the project with the rest of you. Whether you are interested in something like this or not it is worth checking out for the pure fantasy factor of it. I've had fun checking it out and touring the property. Definitely a great side benefit of being a Realtor in Steamboat Springs :)

Spring Fly Fishing in Steamboat

I haven't gotten out fly fishing yet this spring so I'll pass on a story from today. My father in-law Ted and our friend/neighbor John spent the day fly-fishing today on the Yampa river here in Steamboat Springs. Being kids at heart they fished all day. They started fishing below the dam that hold in Lake Catamount. This is an exceptional stretch of river and both caught several large rainbow trout. The land they were on will soon be developed into Tailwater River Ranch. About 14 lots will be nestled into the surrounding hills and they plan to do some stream improvement to preserve/enhance the fishing.

Later in the day they headed up to where the Yampa River comes into Lake Catamount. Here they found a wooly bugger pattern that the brown trout couldn't resist. They caught over twenty nice browns in the 20 plus inch range. I can't verify if it was a fish story but at least one of them is a good fisherman and they were in prime water so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.

March Powder Day in Steamboat

I've been too busy to get out skiing much this month. I admit this is a good problem to have. I live here for many of the same reasons people visit Steamboat Springs so it was great to get out and take in an epic powder day today if only for a couple of hours or so ...

Some of our best powder days here in Steamboat are when the forecast is for 30-40% chance of trace to 3 inches of snow. We are coming off a rare warm spell this year where we had 2 weeks of mostly bluebird days with only 2 days (and 20 inches of snow). The rest of the year it has been snowing on nearly a daily basis. We have nearly 400 inches so far this year! I was responsible and didn't get up until around 1pm but there was still waist deep snow in most of my favorite lines and chest deep in the secret ones. Not bad for a 12 inch snow report but that is one thing I have to live with as a tree skier in Steamboat. There is nearly always twice the snow in the trees are they report and often more on the big days. Everyone I talked to said it was one of the best days of the year and I have to agree.

Thanks to my 3 clients that called while I was on the lift (good timing) then readily extended me a powder pass to tell them how good it was and then let me call them back later.

Spottswoode Cabernet

I had the good fortune to share a bottle of Spottswoode Cabernet last night with new friends Trey and Jorge. I have had this wine once before and it was excellent. Last night it did not let me down with an abundance of bold flavors, complexity and sopistication. I'm not much good for tasting notes but it was an outstanding wine and that is what counts. My new friends share many interests but I am far behind them in wine knowledge and exposure. It was fascinating to hear some of the stories behind the wines below and their memories of how they found, first drank those wines and the story behind them.

I had offered to bring over a nice bottle of Hurricane Ridge Cab from Washington and they said thank you but I should really just have some of theirs. They had an impressive collection of wine on the counter including 2 bottles of Screaming Eagle Cab, a Harlan '99 Cab, Petrevs '97, Colgin Herbland Vineyard '98 Cab, Amuse Bouche '02+'03 Cab, Pride Reserve Cab and a Diamond Creek 3rd release Cab. They are here for a week and I saw another case on the floor. They were kind enough to invite me over again later this week to taste some of the others.

I've often thought about what makes an expensive wine worth the price. I think that the story and the friends you drink a great wine with are almost as significant as the pedigree of the wine itself. A great bottle of wine or a great friend can make an occasion, sharing wine can make a new friend. A virtuous circle I think. It is quite a compliment to me to get to share nice wines with any friends much less new ones. You can't put any price on friends other than how great it feels to have them and how long the memories last. Something simple like opening a bottle of wine has created another great memory for me.

I sent a girlfriend a bottle on a trip a week after we met and now she is my wife, best friend and the mother of two wonderful kids. Wine is powerful stuff, the passion that goes into making a great wines comes back in the strentgh of our memories of it and the occasions it creates.

Steamboat Ski area in play?

Not that this is anything new but the stories are becoming more persistant and the sources more credible. The sale of Crested Butte ski area was a huge boost for the resort and local real estate prices so one has to wonder how this would play out for Steamboat. Most people think a new owner of the ski area would be a huge plus for the experience on the mountain

It's no secret that American Skiing is not in the best financial condition. A few years ago they had a contract to sell Stemaboat to the owners of Okemo and left them waiting at the closing table while they sold Heavenly to Vail Resorts instead. Several parties have good reasons to buy Steamboat including groups with a large stake in the base area redevelopment, the group from Cincinati that bought the Alpine land parcel last spring and a couple of groups out of Chicago. That said the Steamboat Ski Area is a strong performer with a valuable franchise in the ski industry. Players like Intrawest who bid last time would definately give this one a look.

The base area is on the verge of being redeveloped and the demographics over the next 20 years are strong. The remaining inventory at the Steamboat Grand is expected to be auctioned off which will remove a large uncertainly that could make many buyers uncomfortable. Without getting into all of the details there are many reasons people without strong existing ties to the area would be interested.

Alden and Neve

Here is a picture of my son Alden hugging his little sister Neve. As you can see Alden loves Neve. Neve is always watching what her brother is up to and he loves to make her laugh by tickling her or moving her arms as he dances. Alden will be 3 on March 25th and Neve is now 4 1/2 months old. We are lucky to have them and they are lucky to get to grow up here in Steamboat. I'm still not sure I'm ready to grow up myself...

Steamboat Winter is back!

During the warm spell that ended a few days ago many people thought it might be the end of our epic winter. I admit I did show a little fear but I stayed confident in the fact that March is Steamboat's 2nd biggest snow month after November. We have had 2 nice storms and they forecast several more days of snow to come so keep the faith and get up here to take advantage of the goods. I've been busy so I haven't been out this week myself but I heard it was nice yesterday and today. I'll be up for a while on Saturday to survey the condidtions for myself. Let it Snow^3

Neve's 4 month checkup

My daughter Neve had her 4 month check up today and everything looks great except the shots they gave her are hurting tonight. She is now 14 lbs, 90% ile in height and 60% ile in weight which seems strange since she has very chubby legs. I guess she is destined to be a ski racer... We are very lucky to have her whatever she decides to become. She has charmed her daddy so many times I lost count long ago and has the sweetest demeanor. The best part is that when she sees me she opens up a big smile and it puts me on the top of the world.