Ski USA

Gallery: Vancouver

jen_and_the_boys — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 07:06:00 GMT

Vancouver Travels

The way to Vancouver

jen_and_the_boys — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 07:36:00 GMT

We had an amazing journey getting to Vancouver. It started with a 5am wakeup call in Steamboat and we were all in the lobby at 5.30am for our pickup to the airport.

The Arctic freeze had hit Steamboat overnight and the shuttle bus luggage compartment door had frozen so it took the driver a while to come get us and put the luggage in. Conditions on the way to the airport where blizzardy and I have total admiration for these guys and their driving ability! Nobody does chains in Colorado - due to the regular snowy conditions they all have snow tyres and can do the runs at regular speeds (amazingly!)

We get to the airport and there are about 60-70 people standing in the queue and it isnt moving - the airport is small the flight takes 30 people so we surmise that there is a problem - yep no flights this morning and no indication of when there will be a flight due to the conditions!!! Looks like we're not going to make our 11.20 am connection from Denver to Vancouver.

Al and I see the Avis rental car lady arrive and decide to check out driving options. The Avis lady was amazing and sets us up with this big pickup truck, a navigator system and finds out what the road conditions will be along the way - we decide to drive. All the other Aussies wave us goodbye and wish us safe travels - cant decide if we are crazy or smart (or both).

There are a few pics showing our truck but nothing to really show how rotten the conditions were - Steamboat snow is powder and the finest snow I have every seen and it comes down fast - beautiful to walk in and horrible to see when driving!

Guess what - we had to drive back to Steamboat - it seems like that Indian curse works - you just cant leave the place. Anyway - Al did an amazing job, the truck was big, high and a warm ride and we were glad that after about an hour we finally hit some blue skies! Roads were icy in patches but the scenery was amazing and really glad we got to do the drive and have a little adventure on our way out - just like the old West days!

We made a later flight to Vancouver and caught up with a few of the Steamboat Aussies who all took buses and thought we were very brave driving on our own (sooks!)

What can I say about Vancouver - well it is a lovely city surrounded by water. Quite a different vibe to our Steamboat ski vibe but we have had a lot of fun. It is also regarded as one of the best skateboarding cities in the world and Jackson has been glad to make up for lost time (due to snow). He has skated everywhere and visited a lot of the skate shops to spend his cash on a new board, shoes and clothes. Even got to skate the new ramp at the ultra cool AntiSocial Skate shop (Rick McCrank's place for you skate dudes)

Vaughan has also had a ton of fun spending all his cash on the latest versions of battle games and his fave Stargate and Cowboy Be Bop movies. He loves to shop (for himself) but was over it by the time his money ran out. Vaughan is warning everyone that he will not leave his room, game console or TV for a few weeks due to all the new stuff he has acquired (going to be interesting seeing his is off to summer camp on Sunday!)

Well - that's about it! We did have a strange visitor when a very large seagull landed on the window sill of our hotel room yesterday. He didnt want to leave and was very friendly. Check the pics.

We are off to the airport in a few hours so this sojourn will be over (cant wait for the 14.5 hr flight back - groooooooooan). All good things come to an end and you just have to start planning the next one.

See you all soooooon

Jen, Al, Jackson and Vaughan

Last Day in Steamboat

jen_and_the_boys — Sat, 13 Jan 2007 09:44:00 GMT

Our fun time in Steamboat is coming to an end. It is a very cold day thanks to a front from the Arctic which has sent more snow our way. However, our fave gondola is not going today so we thought we would hit the internet cafe and have lunch in town. Highlights of our time here have been:

Skiing and snowboarding (of course)
Everything is big here (Vaughan)
Snowboarding on powder snow down black runs (Jackson & Vaughan)
Feel the serenity (Jackson)
The hot pool and the Tomahawk run (Alwyn)
The Gondala - a really nice warm way to ride up the mountain and you walk on and off (Jen)
My boots (Jen)
Watching Vaughan eat a hot jalpeno pepper at the Mexican restaurant with tears running down his face! (Everyone)

We have been told that an Indian chief placed a curse on Steamboat many, many moons ago. The curse is that if you come here you will always have to return. So guess what - we are coming back. Get ready to join us next year ski and snowboarding bunnies - the power of the Powder will take you under it's spell too.

Till Vancouver - Jen and the Boys

Powder, Powder Everywhere...& more coming!!!

jen_and_the_boys — Tue, 9 Jan 2007 10:51:00 GMT

Sorry we have been a bit slow getting the next update out but we have been totally distracted by these beautiful mountains and the incredible powder snow everywhere. Here is the latest update:

Weather

Lots of snow dumped down on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Temperatures were between -15 and -20 and there was an avalanche on one of the main roads into Denver that swept 2 cars off the road. Denver and surrounds also had winds between 70 - 120 miles (not km) per hour!! Now before you all start worrying - we have been tucked away in Steamboat - very cold but no winds and no problems with avalanches.

Skiing/Snowboarding

Jackson and Vaughan had 2 days of lessons - mainly to sharpen their skills and to get to know the mountain trails - neither have skiied anything this big before. They are now keen experts and have got to know a few kids in their class and usually meet up with us for lunch on top of the mountain.

Loretta - I have found the perfect spot for us girl! You can ski all the way down the mountain on beautiful green runs in lovely powder snow. I did a 5km run yesterday - sky was blue, no wind and most importantly I did not get out of my skis once and walk down any scary bits! Check out the pics to see how beautiful the trails are.

Fire Alarms:

We were all getting ready for bed the other night, around 11pm, when the hotel's fire alarm started blaring combined with a loud voice telling us to leave the hotel. A little daunting as it was about -20 outside and snowing. We decided to hang about in the lobby till they told us what was happening - only a busted sprinkler on one of the floors thankfully and 20 mins later back to our rooms. I have included a pic of the boy's reaction - check out Al's emergency attire.

Other Stuff:

We have the most amazing large outdoor heated pool with 2 jacuzzis - it is the weirdest feeling sitting outside in the jacuzzi with the snow coming down and the temp at about -20. On one of the coldest nights Al and Vaughan's hair froze while they were in the pool!

Boys have a joint message this update - Steamboat is Powder Cool and wanted to let their brothers, cousins and friends know that they are snowboarding all day in the best snow of their lives...(rubbing it in I think).

Al's conference has started and we all went down to the opening night last night. We have met up with some friends from Newcastle who own a property here - (they come here every year!) We are off to Mexican with them tonight to enjoy more of the local cuisine.

Four more days and then off to Vancouver - big snow predicted for Thur, Fri and Saturday so we are hoping we will be able to fly out from Denver on Saturday morning.

I have uploaded a few more pics for you to check out.

Steamboat is Alright...

jen_and_the_boys — Sat, 6 Jan 2007 14:52:00 GMT

Hi Everyone - we made it here after a long tiring journey. We missed our connection to Denver in LA mainly due to the inordinate amount of security checks we had to go through.

Did you know that you cannot take any form of liquid on board a US bound flight - yep that means no more duty free perfume or alcohol AND you get frisked before you get onto the plane!

The boys and I had to leave Al in LA as there were only 3 seats left for the next Denver flight (dont worry Al was on the one after that). I got to sit opposite Catriona Rowntree from Getaway program - she didnt say much just put her eye mask on and went off to sleep, got off the plane with a daggy akubra hat and a pink bag - I knew that girl was annoying.

After all that excitement, 3 flights and 22 hours travel we finally made it to our lovely Steamboat condo complete with great view of the mountain. We had a foot of snow last night and it made for a fantastic first day skiing/snowboarding - powder, powder everywhere.

Here a few messages from the boys:

Vaughn - I'm here, you're not - I'm cool and you're hot - I'm snowboarding and you're NOT!

Jackson - Steamboat is good and nice (yeah right!)

Alwyn - Steamboat is perfect - there is only one thing that could improve the place and that is 150 Australian lawyers!

What can I say - Al will get the improvement he wants when his lawyer's conference starts tomorrow night - boys and I will take to the mountains.

Shane - Vaughan was a real little trooper on his first big flight (or should I say first 3 flights). I had to fight to get him into bed when we got here 'cause it was 9pm and he thought it was too early (this is after 22 hours travel and about 4 hours sleep). Needless to say he slept for 13 hours straight.

I think we are doing OK - talked to a few people today who have suffered some altitude sickness - we are sitting around 9,000 feet here. Temps are a cool -10 degrees but thankfully no wind today.

Well - that's about all for now. I have added a few pics for you to check out. They are over on the right under Photo Galleries - Steamboat.

Over and out till the next instalment.

Gallery: Steamboat

jen_and_the_boys — Wed, 3 Jan 2007 14:00:00 GMT

We're off next Wednesday

jen_and_the_boys — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 21:59:00 GMT

In the meantime - check out this little YouTube video to get a tase of what it will be like!