Conditions and crowds at Steamboat in late March

Hello.

Does anyone have any feedback on what sort of snow conditions there will be at Steamboat from 3/20 -
3/27? We've never been there and my concern is that with its mostly western exposure and lower altitude
than most Colorado resorts, it will be too slushy.

Also, this is apparently spring-break time. Any ideas on how bad the lift lines and crowded slopes will
be there?

Thanks in advance for any help and advice.

Mark

In rec.skiing.alpine Mark wrote:
:
: Does anyone have any feedback on what sort of snow conditions there
: will be at Steamboat from 3/20 - 3/27? We've never been there and my
: concern is that with its mostly western exposure and lower altitude
: than most Colorado resorts, it will be too slushy.
:
: Also, this is apparently spring-break time. Any ideas on how bad the
: lift lines and crowded slopes will be there?

Those are valid concerns with Steamboat, but I still think you'll be
fine - in general. Of course, no one can predict the actual snowfall
that far in advance - it could be weak, but that's not very likely in
March. Steamboat suffers more when there are warm spells than higher
elevation, more north-facing resorts. Personally, I'd much rather have
the slush than some of the baked, then refrozen rutted bumps that
sometimes appear at the 'boat. Usually, the top is still good even if
the bottom is patchy - it tops out at about 10.4K with 3600' vertical.
By the second week of April, you want slush - because the alternative is
refrozen stuff: hard and chattery.

Crowds? ... spring break crowds are starting to wind down that week.
There's a lot of lift capacity. I would expect it to be crowded, but
not unreasonably so.

Steamboat is a fun place with big wide long runs and some nice bump
runs. Those looking for challenging, steep skiing can find a bit there,
but that's not its strong point. Tree runs down Shadows, etc. are what
Steamboat is all about for me, plus some big high-speed sweeping runs
on High Noon (when it's not too crowded). The Flying-Z area is also
fun.

-Paul C.