Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Double Whammy!

Once again we have to re-arrange our lives around the weather. This time we should have known it was going to hammer us - the weatherman was only calling for snow showers and 3 - 5 inches of possible accumulation. The drive to work was a white-out and it did not stop all day.




Tonight we had to dig our cars out just to get home. All over town tonight employers are giving notice that a powder clause will be in effect tomorrow. 


Powder hounds at the ready...(did we say "EPIC!" - I think so)


Issued by The National Weather Service
Grand Junction, CO
2:38 pm MST, Wed., Jan. 28, 2009

... WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 PM MST THURSDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND JUNCTION HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW... WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 PM MST THURSDAY. THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

SNOW WILL CONTINUE... WITH PERIODS OF HEAVY SNOW INTO THURSDAY. TOTAL SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS BY THURSDAY EVENING WILL RANGE FROM 10 TO 20 INCHES WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS.

A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. STRONG WINDS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. THIS WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS OR IMPOSSIBLE.

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Monday, January 26, 2009

Sitting in the Storm Track


With yet another Winter Storm Warning in effect Natures Wonder continues to aim steadily for Steamboat this Winter.  Now that we have passed the 200" mark (currently 228") the question is "How quickly can we make it to 300"?".   


11" of powder fell in the last 48 hours and 10" - 20" are forecast tonight.  We are just salivating at the prospect of another big powdery week in Steamboat.  The mountain is not busy at this time of year which is just an added bonus for those that pick January as the time to be here.

Issued by The National Weather Service
Grand Junction, CO 
.. WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM MST TUESDAY...

PERIODS OF SNOW... HEAVY AT TIMES... WILL CONTINUE TONIGHT. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 10 TO 20 INCHES ARE EXPECTED BY TUESDAY MORNING.

A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW... SLEET... AND ICE ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. STRONG WINDS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. THIS WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS OR IMPOSSIBLE.


CAIC FORECAST:
There is a large low-pressure trough stretching northeast from Nevada. The trough keeps Colorado under moist southwesterly flow until it pulls east on Tuesday morning. There is a fast jet over southern and central Colorado, meaning strong, gusty winds through tonight. A cold front is edging southwards. Temperatures are inching downwards and will be on the cool side of seasonal tomorrow. Snowfall will increase this afternoon and evening as a moist air mass, the cold front, and jet collide. Snowfall intensity will decrease after midnight and taper off by mid-day Tuesday. Not to worry, because the next system of shortwaves on northwesterly flow will stack up on Wednesday. Snow will start in the Steamboat zone before dawn on Wednesday and spread south to the rest of the Northern and Central mountains by mid-day. It looks like the storms will stay north of the San Juans.

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Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Cowboys take on the Mountain


2009 is off to a flying start. With over 5 feet of snow and three weeks of country music acts playing at the Steamboat Music Fest Tent, capped off with the legendary Charlie Daniels on Monday night, it was only fitting that we should continue the Western party theme with the wildest event of all - the Cowboy Downhill.

70 Cowboys participating in the National Western Stock Show traveled to Steamboat to take part in a crazy day of events on the mountain. The first race required a range of skills as they negotiated a slalom course, lassoed a Steamboat Ambassador and showed off their horsemanship skills by saddling a horse before crossing the line. The main event is the infamous mass-start Cowboy Downhill which takes a straight-line course down Headwall over two huge drops. Needless to say, with many of the participants taking their first turns on skis, few reach the finish without a tumble and several crossed the line without one or both skis.

With much laughter and a few beers the event is a true celebration of Western Spirit. There is less emphasis on who crossed the line first and more on getting cheer and a laugh from the crowd of bemused spectators. This 35 year old tradition lives on and celebrates Steamboat's ranching heritage and status as a World Class ski destination all in one day.

Yee- haa!

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Thursday, January 15, 2009

Forbes Magazine gives Moving Mountains the nod

The December Edition of Forbes magazine included a story highlighting the Billion dollar transformation of Steamboat Springs from down-home ski town to International ski destination since the resort was taken over by Intrawest in 2007.

The concluding paragraph highlighted Moving Mountains Chalets as the best lodging option available in Steamboat: 

"A better idea is Moving Mountains Chalets, which offers the classic European-style catered chalet experience at a handful of private luxury ski homes."

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Thursday, January 8, 2009

Our Favorite Recipes..


Mango Spiced Prawn Cakes with Tomato-Basil Salsa
Serves 16

A delicious and easy appetizer to add pizazz to your next dinner party. This was created by our Executive Chef, Anthony Kresge, and was the winning entry in a an Hors d'oeuvres competition during his Master Certification at the Advanced Culinary Institute of Italy.

Ingredients
1 lb of de-stemmed, tail off prawns
3 tablespoon of mango spiced chutney
¼ cup of finely diced red bell peppers
¼ cup of finely diced corn kernels
2 tablespoons of finely diced shallots
1 tablespoon of grated ginger
¼ cup or a pinch more if needed of panko bread crumbs
1 tablespoon of orange zest
1 egg
Pinch of Salt, chili powder and black pepper

Procedure
Rinse and De-stem(if needed) raw shrimp, set aside.

In separate bowl mix mango chutney, corn, diced bell peppers, fresh ginger, shallots, chili powder, orange zest, bread crumbs, egg, salt and pepper.

Take one third of the mixture and combine with shrimp in Cuisinart. Pulse Chop until blended...DO NOT BLEND TOO MUCH OR YOU WILL HAVE PASTE. IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE A FINE MINCE.

Return blended shrimp back into the bowl with other ingredients.

Mix well and form into 1 oz balls to be flattened.

Let stand in refridgerator for about an hour to set. Overnight would be ideal. Meanwhile. Mix into Cuisinart Tomatoes, Basil, Salt and Pepper.

Pulse lightly until it looks like a fine mince. Place into mesh strainer and let juices sit over bowl to strain for about 30 minutes.

When Finished, drizzle in Extra Virgin Olive Oil and finely chopped Chives.

For the Aioli:
Take Lemon juice and stir into 1.5 cups of mayo. Crack fresh ground pepper and season to taste.

When Shrimp are set:
Heat up skillet to 320 or flattop with 1tbl spoon of Olive Oil. Place molds into pan and reduce heat to medium. Cook evenly on both sides until golden brown.

To Serve:
Place Crispy Mango Cake on plate or platter.
Top off with Tomato-Basil Salsa and lighty drizzle a ribbon of Aioli over the salsa. You can take extra basil leaves and slice length wise to make a ribbon for garnish.

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An Epic WInter in the making?

ep⋅ic [ep-ik] –adjective
1. heroic; majestic; impressively great: an epic winter
2. of unusually great size or extent

Latest reports indicate over 4 feet of ultra-light Champagne Powder snow in the past five days at the summit of the Steamboat Ski Area. With 100 inches in December and all the new snow this past week, Steamboat hit the 175-inch (14.58 feet) snow milestone for the season today.

Once again Steamboat dominates the snow stats with the largest mid-mountain base of the major Colorado destination resorts, and a summit base that’s topping out at 70 inches. So far 2008-09 is on track for legendary status. We use another word for this kind of winter - EPIC!

Since the resort opened on November 26th, snow has fallen 30 out of 43 days (69.7%) with 20 of those days recording four or more inches. So far this season the resort is just inches behind its record setting 2007/2008 snow season pace, when 489 inches blanketed the resort. Current forecasts call for additional snow throughout the upcoming weekend.

A "product testing" session yesterday revealed that the snow reports are indeed true. Our observations are as follows:

- There is a lot of fresh snow up there.
- "Bottomless" is not a hypothetical concept.
- 30 year old evergreens weighed down with powder really do look like they have been dipped in white chocolate.
- Lift operators looking for their equipment are advised to start digging.
- Those snow-tires were a good investment.
- There is a reason that Steamboat visitors and locals look tired but seem happy.

So, in light of this ask yourself seriously...

"Do I want to experience an Epic Winter or just read about it afterwards?"

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Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Winter Storm Hits Steamboat


Powder hounds are drooling as the mountains are being slathered in another layer of whispy light Champagne Powder. We will test the product for you tomorrow and report back on natures latest wonder (well someone has to...).

Travel is difficult today but no-one is complaining based on what they will see when they get here!

From The National Weather Service Grand Junction, CO 12:15 pm MST, Tue., Jan. 6, 2009 A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM MST WEDNESDAY. PERIODS OF SNOW WILL CONTINUE OVER THE AREA THROUGH WEDNESDAY. STORM TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS OF 6 TO 14 INCHES ARE EXPECTED BY LATE WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW WILL CAUSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SLIPPERY ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES... AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING. More Information ... WINTER STORM WILL CONTINUE OVER THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS THROUGH WEDNESDAY... .ANOTHER PACIFIC STORM WILL MOVE ACROSS WESTERN COLORADO TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY. DEEP PACIFIC MOISTURE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SYSTEM WILL ALLOW WIDESPREAD SNOW TO INTENSIFY OVER THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL MOUNTAINS. GUSTY WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS WILL ALSO DEVELOP OVER THE REGION... RESULTING IN AREAS OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW OVER THE HIGHER MOUNTAIN PASSES. EXPECT HAZARDOUS WINTER DRIVING CONDITIONS IN THE MOUNTAINS THROUGH WEDNESDAY. FOR THE LATEST INFORMATION ON THIS WINTER STORM...

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