Guest blogger: Court Allen, Steamboat visitor, avid skier & family man
Family time, mountain time, and ski time... as the years have gone by, Thanksgiving week has ushered in the holiday season for our family. Having traveled the country and world as a military family, the mountains and skiing on Thanksgiving have not always been an option, but have certainly been the objective.
Having passed through Steamboat Springs in fall ’76 on a quest to the West and subsequently a number of times in the summer, amazingly this week is my first time skiing Steamboat . After canvassing the mountain for Ski Time Square we soon realized it had succumbed to the base area renovations. So much for dinner at the old Mexican restaurant but cheers to looking forward to the future.
Withstanding the 35 years of skiing, stepping into my skis for the first run of the season, has always been met with some anxiety…why didn’t I train more, should I have tuned my skis, is my trick knee going to last another year, can I still “turn and burn” like days gone by? I was excited to board the “six pack’ and take in the mountain air. After hitting the mountain “top”, of course we are talking the top of Christie, taking in the view, and buckling in, I felt the familiar sensation as I made those first turns down Sitz and See Me.
Fittingly as my son and I clicked out of our skis there was the iconic Billy Kidd posing for a picture as he helps a young potential Olympian with his first steps on his skis. It was a great start to another ski season…can’t wait for many more days of the famous Steamboat powder.
