Its 4pm Sunday in Steamboat Springs in Colorado and the ski lifts have come to a halt – its Superbowl time.  Just as well because after 5 hours of skiing today we are in need of a lie down.  We just listened to several American anthems and now its George and Barbara Bush on the field of play.  George only just manages to flip the coin in the air from his wheelchair. America loves it.

 

It’s a cut down version of the Keen family on this trip.  Sian and Anthony are here with Mrs K and I.  Our first trip to an American ski resort.  We flew to Denver and given the extortionate cost of a transfer to the hotel we opted to hire a car for about half the price.  After a stop in Frisco for supplies and some dinner, our 4x4 Ford comes in handy on the last leg of the 4 hour journey up to Steamboat as the roads get more narrow and a bit icy.  The temperature drops to minus 6 as we cross the mountains.  We have a close shave with a deer shepherding her family across the road but the main hazard is me staying awake.  Mrs K keeps me awake with conversation and sweets.  We arrive in Steamboat around 10pm which is about 5 am UK time – a 21 hour journey.

 

Next morning we are awake early and out of the room by 7.30am.  We meet Landis, our private ski instructor on the slope at 9am.  She is a Texan who divides her time between being a ski instructor in the Winter and a fisheries biologist in the Summer.  But she is a typical American girl and says ‘cool’ a lot – that’s  ‘cooool’.  Anthony has not skied for 4 years but gets it back really quickly and is soon flying down the slopes leaving us for dead.  I will have to call him Franz from now on.  Sian is also pretty good having recently had a week skiing in Val d’Isere.  So predictably I am the dunce of the class and need special help from Landis.  But we all do pretty well and make it to the top of the mountain where the view is spectacular.  Mrs K is back at the hotel planning our activities for the week.

 

 

In the evening, to find a place to eat we have to opt for a restaurant in town which doesn’t have a TV.  Sure enough, it is quiet.  We leave our room as the Superbowl reaches half time.  By the time we have finished our meal, and are driving back to the hotel, the game is still going on. The New England Patriots level the scores in the last few seconds of normal play time and take the game into sudden death.  On the radio we hear of a catch that was probably the ‘best catch in superbowl history”.  A few minutes later, the Patriots make the winning score and win the game.  “It’s the greatest superbowl ever!” A fantastic comeback.  Brady (the winning quarter back) has his shirt stolen in the celebrations but his supermodel wife loses one of the kids too.  He is found soon after. 

 

 

 

 

Next morning we are back on the slopes.  Mrs K tries a bit of “snow shoeing” but has to brave the gondola ride for her initiation class.  She is very eager to show off her pink trousers.  On Tuesday, she is out again solo and gets a lot of attention from passing skiers as she powers up the mountain (including a high five).  Why would anyone want to walk up the mountain?

 

  

 

We have been promised a dump of snow almost every day we have been here but so far it hasn’t arrived. But they are expecting a storm at the end of the week so we might be taking the longer route back to Denver which goes around the mountain.

 

Our room couldn’t be in a better place to view the mountain especially in the evening when it is lit up for the night skiing.  We haven’t tried it yet.

 

 

As always it is difficult to fit everything in when you need recovery time from skiing and eating.

 

 

This morning (Wednesday), Sian and I decided to have a day of rest but Anthony was eager to keep at it and have a go at some of the more testing slopes.  He sets off by himself with my GoPro so we hope he comes back safely with some spectacular runs on video.  The rest of us are off to the hot springs.

 

Part 2

 

We catch the bus out to the hot springs which is a short ride into the next valley.  I was thinking “how hot can it be?”.  The answer is ‘hot!”.  Imagine running a bath to about as hot as you can possibly stand it.  We are told the main pool is 105F which is hot enough for Mrs K to start feeling a little light headed after 20 minutes or so.  There are various pools at different temperatures and, for the really brave, you can have a quick dunk in the stream which is at a normal temperature – freezing.  Sian and I lasted about 5 seconds each.  It is a really amazing experience swimming in hot water surrounded by snow.

 

 

Anthony returns from the mountain having conquered a lot of the black runs and skied nearly 30km.  The pressure is on Sian and I for Thursday.

 

Wednesday is the start of the Steamboat Winter Carnival so we make our way into town to the ski jump park where anyone can just turn up, pay $15 and have a go at the 75m jump with normal skis.  We decline the very kind offer but watch a few people having a go – some on the big slope and some on the mini jumps.  But you can only stand around watching in these temperatures for so long so we head back to the centre of town for our evening meal.  Anthony spots a footbridge which will take us back across the river a different way and after unsuccessfully trying to reach it through a 5 feet snow drift we find the right path.  Some good photo opportunities.

 

                 

 

 

We are out on the slopes early on Thursday morning and the conditions are really nice.  But the skiing proves to be eventful with Anthony losing his skis on more than one occasion.  According to him, none were his fault, though the time I saw him sliding backwards on his backside about 50 metres ahead of his skis there was no one else in sight.  I put it down to his efforts to match my top speed down the mountain of 82km/hr which I am very proud of.  Not to say I was in full control though.

 

Sian also had an incident.  She was in full flow commentating into the GoPro about my excellent skiing when she forgot to slow down and took out a ‘Slow Down’ sign.  Fortunately she and the GoPro survived the experience. 

 

You can watch it here (3m video)

https://youtu.be/xODQiGTWWWI

 

 

Last night we went to the 8th Street steakhouse where you get to cook your own steak on a grill.  You go up and choose your hunk of meat and then haul it over to the grill where they tell you how many minutes you need.  Useful instructions for me as I don’t think I have ever cooked a steak or in fact held tongs over a grill.  Mrs K says it is the first time she has cooked a steak with a handbag over her shoulder.

 

 

When we get back to the car, I find a parking ticket on the windshield.  Apparently I parked on the sidewalk.  Though how you are supposed to tell what is road and what is sidewalk I just don’t know – everything is covered in snow.  Email complaint going off to the Steamboat council.  Not holding my breath.

 

Part 3

We stop in Frisco for a lavish breakfast after a long drive across Rabbit Ears pass. As we left the hotel they were still waiting for their dump of snow and it was raining. But as we drove up to the pass the weather closed in and we were driving on snow covered roads at a modest speed. The 4x4 kept a firm grip though. In Frisco Mrs K has chosen the top breakfast joint in town which means i am writing this as we queue just inside the door getting a cold blast of air every time someone comes in.  "Shut the door!"

Last night was probably the best bit of skiing for me as we tried the night skiing. Despite a relatively warm day of about 6C in town the snow has been freshly levelled and the slopes are pretty quiet.  Sian and i even take on a black slope but the best part is taking on the red slope 'Vogue' which is nice and smooth and no one in your way.

Near the bottom of the slope is the 'Little Rodeo park' with lots of little jumps. It is populated with young men with boards, died hair, no helmets and just in t-shirts. Needless to say I fit right in. "Go for it man!". "Do a back flip!".  I am thinking of golf next week - not a good time to do something silly so I keep the hills at the side. But Anthony and Sian both take on the the jumps with just one fall between them - Anthony this time.  They have come on a lot this week.

Yesterday we filled our day with a bit of window shopping in town. I spotted a really nice leather jacket. I almost tried it on but then i saw the price tag - $2849.  Mrs K finds a fur hat and a coat she likes but somehow manages to resist. There will be more shopping on the rest of the trip.  We find the local ten pin bowling alley and have a few games. It has been a few years since we bowled regularly and when Mrs K used to work on the control desk at the Airport Bowl. "Ball return on lane 5!". We are a bit rusty but class shows through in the end.  After his excellence on the slopes, Anthony 'gutter ball' Keen is back in his place.

 

So as we sit at Denver airport, it will soon be time to say goodbye to the kids. They are coming home. University and work await on Monday morning.  We are flying on to Scottsdale, Arizona. Are we feeling guilty? I just checked with Mrs K. No.  We are meeting up with friends in Scottsdale so I will have to check on who is prepared to be part of the blog (and potentially have the p*ss taken out of) before the next excerpt.