It took me a little while to cut this one. I need to switch to a better piece of editing software. Anyway, that’s the video of Velzy and I in Steamboat Springs. Looks like I’m gonna have one more trip this season and that’s about all. It’s already a great season, so I’m content. Enjoy the video.
Today was our last day in Steamboat. Actually, we were supposed to leave yesterday. We took a few more runs down the mountain and spent a little time playing in the terrain park. Now we’re packing it up and trying to get out before it gets dark and the roads ice over. I’m watching Velzy pull the stuff out of the freezer now – coffee, Belvedere vodka, etc. I’m gonna miss this place. I hope the ride home is safe. We might stay the night in Denver – see if there’s a new years fireworks show or something. Have a happy new years.
Today is the day after Christmas, known by some as boxing day. Why is that important? Well, actually, it’s not important at all – but the attached photo shows some boxing day riders in their boxers (posing with Velzy).
Today also happens to be our third day of boarding in Steamboat. We haven’t seen any new snow fall since the first day here, but there’s still lots of fresh powder to be found. We worked our way to the back of the mountain this morning – just to check it out. We found big open areas with tons of powder left untouched. We ended up spending the entire day. Keep in mind, riding good powder like this is new for both Velzy and I. The soft falls really builds our confidence; but swimming out of the powder after you fall can really wear you out!
Steamboat is a great mountain. The only complaint we’ve had so far is some funky signs. They seem kinda poorly placed at times – or missing altogether. It’s really a minor complaint – who wants to spend all day reading signs anyway?
What better way to celebrate Christmas than snowboarding in epic powder with your best friend! Steamboat Springs has catered to our every dream about sweet, sweet powder! The rumors are true! It’s almost fun to fall in the fluffy, champagne powder! Getting out of the deep stuff is quite exhausting though! I need to research techniques for getting out of 3′ of powder! I fell in twice, and it wore my happy a$$ out trying to get out!
Time to open presents! (aka time to hit the slopes!!) Here is our Christmas breakfast picture for your enjoyment! Pura Vida baby!
Champagne kisses!!!~Velzy
Today was our first day on the slopes here in Steamboat, and today was also the best powder conditions I have ever experienced! (Velzy says, “me toooo!”)… We’re really enjoying the mountain. Gondolas rock! The people here have been really nice and it’s not too crowded right now at all. Most of the day was near whiteout conditions. At the end of the day, the storm started to break and the view was epic.
The best part of the day, hands down, was this “champagne powder” that people are always bragging about. The snow was so dry and fluffy that you couldn’t pack it into a snowball (lucky for Velzy). Falling down was like landing in pillows… most of the time. There were a few small patches of hard packed snow and ice – but they were few and far between. Simply wonderful.
We just woke up and Velzy shouts, “it’s snowing!” I feel wonderfully rested after about 15 hours of sleep. The only problem is that the slopes open in 30 minutes and we still haven’t eaten any breakfast. And here I am, wasting time on the Internet. It’s ok, really, she’s cooking! =D
It could very possibly be a good day.
It sure is nice having Internet access on the mountain. We arrived at our condo in Steamboat a few hours ago. After such a long drive, I had to go straight for the nap. First impressions are good. The mountain looks like fun and I dig the little town. We haven’t gone exploring so there’s not much to report. It was a fun drive up, aside from being rather long. We saw lots of vehicles that ran off the road during the storm. Denver was still a mess with snow plows running everywhere. We really ended up having great weather and driving conditions, all things considered. The only time I really needed to use 4×4 was getting into one of the gas stations in Denver and for the last little crawl into the condo. Attached is a snapshot of Velzy posing in my truck on one of the passes just before you get to Steamboat.
I just finished packing the last of my gear and I’m about to leave the apartment. The plants are watered, the trash cans are empty, the bed has fresh sheets, the kitchen sink is empty and I can’t think of anything I’ve forgotten. A few hours from now I’ll be swinging by my parents and then it’s 15 to 20 hours of hard driving. I hope my new Xterra shows me the same kind of love and reliability as the last one. I’ve shown off a few pictures of trucks in my last two entries – this time I actually took a moment to snap a picture of mine.
They’re calling it a Colorado blizzard. There are some nice pictures over on the BBC News. Tomorrow around 10pm, me and a friend are headed directly for it. I’ve been mulling over road closures this evening. As far as I know, the bulk of the snow has passed; thus I suspect that the roads will be fairly clear by the time we make it in. If my memory serves me correctly, most of Colorado is pretty quick on getting the roads scraped and sanded.
Word of the snow pushed me over the edge. I was talking myself into being happy with the BFG Long Trails that came standard on my Xterra. Upon hearing about the storm, I did what I wanted to do anyway, I traded them in on a new set of BFG ATs. I also intend to pick up a set of snow chains, probably in Colorado Springs. I hope we get a dump of snow like this while we are there.
I just finished installing my snowboard rack. It’s night and raining so I can’t seem to take a very good photo of the truck. Yes, I put the rack on in the rain… I wanted to see if it was going to fit the same on the new truck. A lot has changed between the 2000 model Xterra and the 2006 – but the size of the rails on the roof rack is not one of those things.
This thing is different from my old Xterra – some good and some bad. The new truck has 261hp where my old one had 170hp. The entire truck is just slightly larger, but it feels huge to me. I thought the original Xterra was the perfect size. I feel like I’m riding higher, and I kind of like that. I had an ARB bullbar on my old truck, I miss it. The new one is an automatic where the old one had a manual transmission. Honestly, I still think I prefer a manual, but they’re hard to find in 4×4 models. I was looking for white and ended up buying a black one. The new one will have a hitch, so that’s pretty sweet. It does seem easier to find places to put stuff in the new one.
Anyway, this will be it’s first big trip. I’m still trying to decide on the tires. They’re kinda crappy but I don’t know if I can afford to trade them in. I only get $50 a tire trade in value! However, I did slip on the rain today going around a corner. I kinda sorta went fast on purpose to see if the tires would grip like my old truck. I lost traction in the front on a hard turn and slipped maybe a foot before it grabbed again. The stock BFG Rugged Trails just don’t grab like the BFG All Terrains do.
Maybe some day I’ll mod this one up. I’d love to add rock sliders, heavy bumpers, a small lift, big tires, wench, gps, cb, mp3 player, window tint, rain guards, a spoiler, and all kindas of stuff I honestly don’t really need. They sure look purdy all fixed up tho:
