Newsgroups: rec.skiing

Charles, let me apologize for this up front, since I don't usually post
responses to e-mail.  However, I though this might explain (once again!)
my thoughts on these types of questions to more people.

Any flames you send me are deserved (really).

John

**********************************************************

> >
> >I'd tell you, but then you'd want to know what the snow conditions are
> >going to be in February, how long it'll take to drive there from Reno,
> >what runs you should be sure not to miss, what kind of skis you should
> >use, what kind of foam to stuff in you crotch (er, boots), whether
> >there's man-made snow on top of the natural stuff even though it's all
> >water anyway.
>
> I already know or don't care to know all of this.

Oh.  But aren't you the guy who wanted to know when "tumbleweed season"
was?  And whether there was a Burger King (?) in Vail?  And how far it 
was to Glenwood from Vail?  Or am I just getting senile?

> >
> It's not fun wasting precious vacation time trying to figure out where to
> go to have fun.  I did hear the Strawberry Park Hot Springs is a good place
> to go.  It is a little ways out of town.  I have only been to Steamboat
> twice, so I don't know about places like Strawberry Park.  If you know of
> any places to go (hot springs, restaurants, museums, anything...) in and
> around Steamboat, could you please let me know.  Thanks.

Well I have always thought that a little adventure was fun.  If you want
everything gift-wrapped, that's your choice.

Everything you might want to know the Steamboat Chamber of Commerce will
send you for free.  Maps, things-to-do, places-to-stay, everything.  Or
a phone call to Central Reservations will let you talk to someone who's
job it is to answer your questions.  Why do you think that computer
weenies know more than the people that work there?  This suspicion that
ski area employees lie to people is absurd.

Strawberry Park?  You want to know about Strawberry Park?  Okay.  My
experiences there have varied.  First of all, you'll need a Real (tm)
vehicle to get there.  In the best of conditions you'll need studded
snows and front wheel drive.  That's with the road plowed well.  Get
a map from somewhere, they're all over town.

In the old days, before they plowed the road every day, you needed 4WD
and good tires to get there.  It was deserted and intimate.  A great place
to take your S.O. to get nekked and look at the stars.

Nowdays there's a shitload of people there all the time.  They're loud and
3/4 of them are drunk.  They smoke and throw their butts on the snow next
to the spring.  They take flashlights and shine them on women getting
undressed to get into the water.   I don't go there anymore.

Concerning resturants, places to stay, etc:  Now don't take this wrong,
it's just the facts (ma'am).  Many of the people on rec.skiing are
students, including you (I would guess).  Where I like to stay and eat in
Steamboat would break your budget.  So why bother posting these things?
If you send someone to a resturant where they're gonna spend $40+ per
person, they're gonna hate you.  Besides, my tastes in food aren't yours.

"Fun" places (i.e. bars): I can party with the best of them, but when I'm
skiing, I'm skiing.  If the snow is poor, we go home.  If there's gonna be
a powder day tomorrow we ain't out getting drunk!  We're the guys who're
first in line for the gondola at 8:00.

Another thing:  I've been to most of the bars in the Boat.  The local bars
(bars for locals) don't cotton to tourists (aka tourons), and you'll figure
this out after about 5 minutes.  The tourist bars are obvious, on the maps,
and advertise like crazy at the area.  So what do you want to know?


The LONG answer.

John

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