5 Feet of Powder in 5 Days

The picture above is from my last run at about 11am this morning through one of my favorite stashes. I only crossed one track in several hundred yards. I'm not saying that is easy to find but it is definitely there for those that learn the mountain. It is nice to be back in the storm track. There was about 2 feet new in the trees this morning… I’m having Déjà vu from last year. I hope that you can make it out soon to enjoy an epic spring day for yourself. From the Steamboat Straight Talk Report: "Over 5 feet of snow in 5 Days! I'm still trying to catch my breath. It was lost hours ago in the 16" of fresh glorious snow at the top of 3 O'clock trees. Still Breathing hard... If you are not skiing sweet turns through the trees today kick yourself. The snow is bottomless and the skies are still snowing. Looks like mother nature is going to keep the white stuff falling for the next few days."
UPDATE: It kept on snowing and 2 days later it was 100 inches of fresh Champagne powder in 7 days. Get out here soon, this kind of Champagne doesn't age well. Ski over to the Steamboat Springs blog main page for more.

Steamboat Needs your help

There was 9 inches by 5am so likely well over a foot by now. I just looked up and in the last couple of minutes the flakes got huge like lake effect snow. Saturday there was 23 inches on top by 9am after 13 inches at 5am and it wasn't snowing this hard. Almost another foot Sunday and several more day of snow in the forecast!!!! I think that we may need help stabilizing the snow, it is getting to be like last year. Can anyone come out and help ski it all so we don't have an avalanche :) Let it Snow!!!! I hope that you can make it out soon.


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Steamboat Real Estate Market update

The Real Estate Market in Steamboat Springs continued to be strong in January with an 110% increase in sales year over year on volume that was 20% lower. This shows the strong demand we are experiencing here in Steamboat and the tightening supply we are experiencing as availible land, condos, townhomes and homes get harder to find. The average price of units sold county wide more than doubled since last January. This continues a trend that really took hold in June that has seen many new and more expensive properties coming on the market along with appreciation on a comparable unit basis. Just to be clear that doesn't mean the price of the average property has doubled it is just that the mix of higher end properties have increased (and sales of development properties) along with apreciation across the market.

Given the weakness in several markets like Florida and Las Vegas you might ask if Steamboat is heading for the same situation. I study the market here pretty closely and feel comfortable that this is not the case here in Steamboat. I won't go into the details here supply continues to tighten while demand has been increasing due to several strong factors like the sale of the ski area to Intrawest, improvements and the redevelopment of the base area, the relative value Steamboat represents, the tight supply of lots along with several other strong Steamboat specific drivers and nationwide demographics.

If you would like more details on how the market is developing here in Steamboat feel free to give me a call. I will be happy to send you data and talk in depth about what is driving the market and what I expect to see moving forward. We are in the midst of some strong drivers that will improve the overall experience in Steamboat and prices are likely to follow. You can reach me at 970-819-6930.

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Steamboat to be featured on the Weather Channel

Here is one of my videos from last years Epic Season here in Steamboat Springs to warm you up for the Weather Channels segment on Steamboat.

The Weather Channel is featuring Steamboat Springs in a segment titled "Epic Conditions". It will be shown on March 2nd in gondola square after the North Mississippi All Stars finish playing and air for everyone to see on March 4th at 7pm, check your local listings for the time where you live.

From the Steamboat Pilot: "The first image is of gently falling snow. Then, as the music picks up speed and a narrator introduces the audience to Steamboat Springs, a skier drops off a rock into a pile of powder. It was the sequence The Weather Channel wanted when shooting footage for “Epic Conditions,” a new series to debut on The Weather Channel at 7 p.m. March 4.

The first episode focuses entirely on Steamboat and the weather patterns that produce the trademark champagne powder as well as the dangers that massive amounts of snowfall can create. “Through vivid storytelling, this series effectively demonstrates what happens when the perfect weather conditions meet the perfect sporting activity,” said Kaye Zusman, the series developer and the vice president of programming and development for The Weather Channel. “They picked Steamboat because of the champagne powder,” said Heidi Thomsen, public relations manager for the Steamboat Ski Area.

The show chronicles weather patterns that produce Steamboat’s snow and what makes it different from other places in the state and across the world. The show mixes weather lessons with powder shots, but “Epic Conditions” also highlights the dangers that come with 30-inch powder days." Link to the full article here. Back to the Steamboat Springs blog main page for more.

Wendy's Steamboat Bull Riding

Wendy and I were invited to the finale of the Marabou Ranch Winter Festival tonight. It was a great evening with everything from a nice dinner including elk tenderloin, to a great performance by country music singer Julie Roberts and even a mechanical bull. Wendy was apparently feeling pretty spunky tonight so she took Crusher for a spin. She drew a throng of admirers quickly as the bull got going. Her form is pretty darn impressive. I suspect she will get invited to ride in the Steamboat Springs Rodeo series this summer :)
Click the play button at the bottom left of the picture to see here in action or go to the full size version if you want a bigger picture or to rate her performance. It starts a little slow but I guarantee you will find it entertaining. I hopped on next but didn't look nearly as good so I'll spare you from seeing the video of me.

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9 inches new at the summit last night

It looks like the Winter Carnival pleased the snow gods and we got a nice storm last night. I was a little concerned when stopped down here at the base last night but it looks like it just concentrated on the mountain instead after dropping a couple of inches down low.

Here is a quick powdershot from last weekend to get you through. Pete was the director of ski patrol for over 20 years and at 60 can easily ski or bike me into the ground.


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Steamboat in Business Week for Telecommuting

Steamboat's population of virtual workers is increasing. I suspect the 10% of workers number Business Week mentions below is a few percent low given the accelerating influx of families moving here for great schools and all that has to offer while maintaining their careers in the city. This doesn't even include a much larger number that spend extended periods of time here during the years because they can telecommute from Steamboat.

I personally telecommuted from Steamboat by modem for years to HP before deciding it was a whole lot better to live here and raise kids here than wait to retire here. It feels almost sinful to work from such a great place but my results improved and I have talked to quite a few people that said it helped them achieve better results while getting much more time with their family and out playing. Ever since we made the move full time we keep kicking ourselves for not doing it earlier and time has proven it to be a wise decision for us. My switch to working in Steamboat Real Estate didn't involve as much of a switch as you might think. It is still about communicating effectively to people all over the world, analyzing a market, helping people make great decisions, and being professional but I get to add a lot of nice side benefits like helping people realize their dreams of spending more time with their family here in Steamboat.

It is a whole lot easier to telecommute to Steamboat now since broadband is now widely available around town and even in more remote areas like Steamboat Lake where you can work from a cabin in a woods as well as you can in the suburbs of Chicago.

Let me know if you have any questions about what is it like to telecommute from Steamboat. It's not right for everyone but you might be surprised that it could work for you. In the age of knowledge workers that are valued for their intellect and results more than face time it could be worth thinking about how telecommuting can allow you to either spend more time here or make a permanent move to Steamboat.

From Business Week today: "It's an idea whose time has come, experts say. "A community that has talented people will draw work to itself," says Jim Ware, executive producer of Work Design Collaborative.

Clearly, a boom in virtual workers can add significantly to a local economy. Consider Steamboat Springs, located in Routt County, Colo. The county has a population of about 22,000 people. About 10% of Routt County, and about 86% of those virtual-worker households bring in more than $100,000 a year. Location-neutral businesses—whose owners live in Routt but whose customers live elsewhere—contribute $35 million to the local economy, creating $600,000 in sales tax revenue, according to a March, 2006, survey by the Routt County Economic Development Cooperative. Here is a link to the full article here , there are also a few links to other articles about working virtually as part of a special report in the top right of the article. Here is a link to the study if you would like to read more about this trend.

Steamboat Springs Winter Carnival

If you've never made it to the winter carnival here in Steamboat Springs or only come to the parade like most people put it on your list and come next year. Winter Carnival is an event that is completely unique to Steamboat because it is a product of our history and of the wonderful people who have called this town home for over 100 years now. It lasts for 5 days with countless events day and night.

I'm not sure where else you could find skiers being pulled behind galloping horses downtown, a huge fireworks show, kids 4 and up skiing down at night and either jumping off of large Nordic jumps through a ring of fire one after the other in rapid succession or off of a freestyle ski jump like is just another Saturday night, A lighted man and 50 friends skiing loaded with live fireworks shooting off of them of a sled right behind them. Over 1,000 local kids participate in Saturday night's events alone with countless more kids and adults on the other days, not bad for a town with about 14,000 people. By the way they will let anyone over 11 try jumping off the 20-50 meter nordic jumps in Alpine, Telemark or Nordic jumping skis and will give you pointers if you want them. 4 year olds do it as part of the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club.

It's hard to describe the charm of the Steamboat Springs Winter Carnival, in many ways it is Steamboat at it's best as the ranchers gladly share an event they pioneered to break up the hard frontier winters with local city dwellers and visitors alike. That an event that is this friendly yet audacious (given our overcautious society) can still exist is a testament to many of the things that make Steamboat Springs extraordinary. I feel lucky to live here and be a part of this community every day but even luckier during Winter Carnival time. Come on up next year and share in the fun.

Skijor back to the Steamboat Springs blog main page for more.

Daddy, I like the powder snow in my face

We went up to the Lynx Pass area to check on a friend’s house and I got to take Alden out snowmobiling in the 1-3 feet of new snow that had accumulated from last week. I figured out the snowmobile enough to make it feel like we were almost weightless like powder skiing after a good storm. Our champagne powder brunch (suitable for a 3 year old) came complete with nearly continuous face shots of powder in some sections. Alden said “Daddy I love getting powder in my face”, one of countless moments I am glad to be a Daddy. We both had full face helmets so the powder just passed by in an almost surreal fashion and you didn’t have to time your breathing. For the record I never complain when I do need to time my breathing. We didn't stay out too long so I also got to push Neve on a big swing . She charms her Daddy like I can hardly believe. Her giggles as I pushed and dodged her were truly priceless. Swing back to the Steamboat Springs blog main page for more.

Back in the game

I have to say it is nice to be back in the storm pattern again. January was a little light on the snow but we have been getting something new almost every day now. Maybe just a few inches but over several days it makes a big difference and tonight it is dumping. I just got back from walking with our yellow lab Woody and we were both covered with snow after only a few minutes. It can definately snow harder than this but for the last couple of hours mother nature has been delivering a nice new powder blanket to give us sweet dreams tonight. Back to the Steamboat Springs blog main page for more.

It's Snowing Again!!!

I love skiing either way but I love it a whole lot more when there is new snow. We have gotten 14 inches in the last few days and anouther storm is coming in right now. We had a typical January snow slowdown and it appears we are getting back to a normal snow pattern right on schedule! I hope that all of you can get out and enjoy it soon.

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