I just returned from a Thursday, Friday, Saturday ski trip to steamboat before January 20th and MLK weekend. Our 1st trip since the upgrades, and 10th since 1993. The new upgrades made a HUGE difference to operations. I was worried the new Gondola was going to dump everyone up top and make it too crowded. the opposite. The Greenhorn area gets learners up off the base area removing congestion. Crowds spread out from there. We never had more than a 5 min wait for a lift over 3 days. Thank you steamboat for making a great resort better.
@@newlifelodgeagreed, was there over new years and waited in some of the longest lift lines of my life on sundown and morningside. Amazing terrain and tree skiing but other than that it kinda stinks
Getting out from the base may be easier. But the new gondola has made the summit worse. Going from a 10 person lift to 2 four person lifts has made lift lines terriable. Once people get off the lift they stand in the middle trying to figure out where to go. This has made it harder for other skiiers & snowboards to get off the lifts to go the direction they want to go, because they already have a game plan set, because the area is now blocked by to many people standing around. I've grown up on this mountain and can say that years past I was able to get a few runs in before the croweds arrived and lfit lines started forming. @newlifelodge hit it on the nail with the way Sundown and Sunshine lines are with the new set up especially on during peak season.
Something that wasn't mentioned is that Steamboat Springs is getting direct train access in the next few years, connecting to Yampa Valley Regional Airport, the town of Steamboat Springs, and Denver
I snowboard here before work like 3 days a week and there has never been more than a 5 minute wait at any lift this season, even on the busiest days. The crowd flow is exceptional here.
@@krazythekid It's tricky with low speeds or bumps. Not that hard to balance on smooth terrain. Mainly more tiresome. Turning becomes the only way to slow down.
Really like that you are doing updated videos of places you already hit in years past. Love the new format as well and I hope you continue to do this with other resorts that make significant upgrades!
Spent 5d at steamboat beginning of December, which was my first time in Colorado skiing. Absolutely loved it and yes glad to take advantage of the new gondola. Skied on the ikon base pass, all 5d and the 2 nights. While it was early season, each day more opened, and lift lines were non-existent. having 2 small powder days, and 3 bluebird skies. MY wife hadn't skied in 15y and did 2 days and loved it.
Went to steamboat this past weekend, and I gotta say I love the new upgrades. The new gondola makes hitting the expert terrain so much quicker, and the mahogany ridge trees are some of the most fun skiing I’ve ever done.
I'm a Steamboat local that's been riding here 80-90 days a season for the last 10 years, or so. The new gondola has been such a nice addition. Great mountain, and it never gets old. I continuously discover new terrain here. :)
Coming from someone who lived in Salt Lake City and has skied all the resorts in the Wasatch Range, Steamboat is an amazing resort for intermediate blue skiers. The town is also cute with great restaurants. It is well worth a visit if you have the Ikon pass.
I know you’ve still got a ton of larger and mega resorts to hit on this channel.. but I’d love to start seein some small and mid level mountains.. Mount Bohemia in northern Michigan would be epic to see on this channel.
Bohemia is such a unique, nearly mythical place. Even growing up in Denver I heard tales of this raw expert only hill on the upper peninsula that gets dumped on. Lacking only in vertical (and crowds) it gives as much as you can take. I put it up there w/Mad River Glen and Mt Baker as small areas that rock.
Been going to Steamboat multiple days per season for 20ish years. The new gondola works well. Only issue i have is the crowds it dumps out at the entrance to Biscuits. The "where do I go now?" crowd is very annoying.
I mainly ski Vail, copper, and Beaver creek Took a random trip out to steamboat for the first time a couple weekends ago (for skiing) and it has now entered my top 5 favorites The lifts are organized actually really well. Theres enough long, wide blues that are a blast bombing down Their bike park in the summer is really really good too. On par with the other colorado bike parks
As we all know the ticket prices are insane everywhere. They pretty much have you locked into purchasing either an Icon or Epic. I have an Icon and Killington pass. I pretty much only have the Icon to ski out West. I have enjoyed my time at Steamboat. As an East Coaster I found its lower elevation easier on my lungs. The tree skiing is a lot of fun and we had no issues with lift lines. It did take us a while to get to that expert area you described. I don’t think I would ski there for more than 2 or 3 days though. I prefer a more alpine mountain like A-Basin. It seems like it would be a nice family spot.
You'll love it. I hope y'all get some fresh snow while there. It's been a weird year for snow, a lot of place out west. Enjoy! I won't make it back out there till next Feb!
The main drawback of Steamboat is the Sunshine Express area. The lift is outdated and frequently overcrowded, leading to long wait times and less efficient access to the slopes
It would be helpful for people who aren't familiar with the resort to give more of a broad overview of the zones showing the map and some clips at the beginning of the video. When you launch into details talking about zones and lifts like "sunshine" and "pony express lift" it can be hard to follow or picture
You forgot to mention that if someone farts in the wind they put almost all of their lifts on wind hold. Even locals from the area will be baffled on some of the wind holds they call.
Pricing varies so much depending on when you buy, it’s hard to incorporate into the mountain score. By providing a score that specifically focuses on the experience, we’re hoping to provide guidance on whether the resort is worth the price it costs when you make your purchase!
Ive skied Breck, Vail, Aspen, Winter Park, and Steamboat. I keep going back to Steamboat because its the best resort in colorado and its not even close.
PeakRankings is always spot on, ALMOST. I do take issue with one statement: "Steamboat Springs is a real town". Actually, Steamboat WAS a real town, and now it is just an insanely dense city that is a cesspool of californians and ultra rich liberals who had mansions built on pristine farmland. Steamboat Springs is a city that has expanded far beyond its original footprint and current city limits, spoiling thousands of acres of beautiful Yampa Valley land which was previously conserved by farmers and ranchers.
I feel like your score was kinda low , I lived in Winter park for 12 years and now live in Steamboat . Just saying, we have pretty much the best tree skiing in Colorado.
Peak Rankings has a great ranking system, although it allows resorts that continue to uphold antiquated exclusionary policies banning snowboarders, whom represent a sizable portion of skiers/riders, to rank highly with no penalty. And so to me the overall ranking system is flawed, and while I would love to recommend their using Peak Rankings to others, I do not for this reason. A family of four with one or more snowboarder(s) in the group is excluded on the basis of having a snowboarder in the group, from two of the resorts that are highly ranked on it's list. That's just unfortunate and represents a flawed rating system, in my opinion.
Alpine skier here with two questions: What’s so great about tree skiing compared with varied open terrain? And why is the ticket pricing not the most fundamental part of the scoring? 🤔
Steamboat has terrible moguls. Just because it gets random bumps doesn't mean they are good or have any rhythm. Good moguls require good skiers and Steamboat has too many tourists now. Only a few places in Colorado still get good moguls, it's not Steamboat. Steamboat gets washboard on the blue runs now for the same reason, too much wedge. They used to be good.
Nah. It's pretty different than most of the other resorts. Mostly glade terrain, great little town, some direct flights to the airport from major cities now. It also sometimes gets snow when other parts get skunked.
If you enjoy tree skiing, Steamboat is premier! The choices of lines are endless. I've skied 20+ areas in CO, plus VT, MT, WY, UT, NV, ... Steamboat is my favorite for trees.
The phrase "one would have to **litigiously** study the trail map" does not make sense in this context. The word "litigiously" relates to legal action or disputes, suggesting behavior characterized by a tendency to engage in lawsuits. A more appropriate word might be **"diligently"** which means careful and persistent in work or effort: - "One would have to **diligently** study the trail map." This would imply someone needs to study the trail map thoroughly and with great attention to detail.
"Has the resort finally become competitive in the cutthroat Colorado destination market?" - Yikes, you truly have no idea how much money Steamboat brings in. It's a license to print money and has been a fierce competitor for decades.
I just returned from a Thursday, Friday, Saturday ski trip to steamboat before January 20th and MLK weekend. Our 1st trip since the upgrades, and 10th since 1993. The new upgrades made a HUGE difference to operations. I was worried the new Gondola was going to dump everyone up top and make it too crowded. the opposite. The Greenhorn area gets learners up off the base area removing congestion. Crowds spread out from there. We never had more than a 5 min wait for a lift over 3 days. Thank you steamboat for making a great resort better.
Wrong. The whole Sundown and Sunrise areas are completely overwhelmed now.
The Morningside is packed full by 10am. It's a disgrace
@@newlifelodgeagreed, was there over new years and waited in some of the longest lift lines of my life on sundown and morningside. Amazing terrain and tree skiing but other than that it kinda stinks
Morningside is definitely a big pain point now
Getting out from the base may be easier. But the new gondola has made the summit worse. Going from a 10 person lift to 2 four person lifts has made lift lines terriable. Once people get off the lift they stand in the middle trying to figure out where to go. This has made it harder for other skiiers & snowboards to get off the lifts to go the direction they want to go, because they already have a game plan set, because the area is now blocked by to many people standing around. I've grown up on this mountain and can say that years past I was able to get a few runs in before the croweds arrived and lfit lines started forming. @newlifelodge hit it on the nail with the way Sundown and Sunshine lines are with the new set up especially on during peak season.
The -20F windchill this MLK weekend kept the lines under 5min. Not an accurate lift line experience though.
Something that wasn't mentioned is that Steamboat Springs is getting direct train access in the next few years, connecting to Yampa Valley Regional Airport, the town of Steamboat Springs, and Denver
I snowboard here before work like 3 days a week and there has never been more than a 5 minute wait at any lift this season, even on the busiest days. The crowd flow is exceptional here.
Ive been to steamboat only 4 days this season and I’ve had to wait 20 minutes for lame morning side so we can hike to north saint pats lmao.
2:43 That guy has one leg! I thought I was tripping lol
same i thought his ski fell off
huge kudos to him. That must be so difficult to balance
Seems like he has two legs, but only one foot
@@krazythekid It's tricky with low speeds or bumps. Not that hard to balance on smooth terrain. Mainly more tiresome. Turning becomes the only way to slow down.
@ whenever I've skied with one ski I can turn one way just fine, but the other way is super difficult. Might be a learning curve to it though.
Really like that you are doing updated videos of places you already hit in years past. Love the new format as well and I hope you continue to do this with other resorts that make significant upgrades!
Spent 5d at steamboat beginning of December, which was my first time in Colorado skiing. Absolutely loved it and yes glad to take advantage of the new gondola. Skied on the ikon base pass, all 5d and the 2 nights. While it was early season, each day more opened, and lift lines were non-existent. having 2 small powder days, and 3 bluebird skies. MY wife hadn't skied in 15y and did 2 days and loved it.
Went to steamboat this past weekend, and I gotta say I love the new upgrades. The new gondola makes hitting the expert terrain so much quicker, and the mahogany ridge trees are some of the most fun skiing I’ve ever done.
Gondola is higher of the ground than the vert of my local hill!
I'm a Steamboat local that's been riding here 80-90 days a season for the last 10 years, or so. The new gondola has been such a nice addition. Great mountain, and it never gets old. I continuously discover new terrain here. :)
Coming from someone who lived in Salt Lake City and has skied all the resorts in the Wasatch Range, Steamboat is an amazing resort for intermediate blue skiers. The town is also cute with great restaurants. It is well worth a visit if you have the Ikon pass.
Love your reviews!
I was there just before xmas and it was such a blast. What a lovely town and a great place to get your shred on.
I know you’ve still got a ton of larger and mega resorts to hit on this channel.. but I’d love to start seein some small and mid level mountains..
Mount Bohemia in northern Michigan would be epic to see on this channel.
Bohemia is such a unique, nearly mythical place. Even growing up in Denver I heard tales of this raw expert only hill on the upper peninsula that gets dumped on. Lacking only in vertical (and crowds) it gives as much as you can take. I put it up there w/Mad River Glen and Mt Baker as small areas that rock.
Been going to Steamboat multiple days per season for 20ish years. The new gondola works well. Only issue i have is the crowds it dumps out at the entrance to Biscuits. The "where do I go now?" crowd is very annoying.
Last time I was at Steamboat was 1984. You've convinced me to go back.
Would love to see you do a series of local ski hills rather than destination resorts.
Steamboat 😊 .... where the streets are paved with (tourist) gold .... great place to ski, play, fun, live. 2003 - 2015 resident
I love you adding the Salt Lake City time to the resort, but man if I'm in Salt Lake City already why drive to steamboat haha.
Steamboat, one of my favorites. Esp in Colorado.
I love all your videos thanks
Steamboat springs is my favorite ski town in Colorado, I believe you can actually fly directly into steamboat now
Spot on! The update we needed.
I mainly ski Vail, copper, and Beaver creek
Took a random trip out to steamboat for the first time a couple weekends ago (for skiing) and it has now entered my top 5 favorites
The lifts are organized actually really well. Theres enough long, wide blues that are a blast bombing down
Their bike park in the summer is really really good too. On par with the other colorado bike parks
Morningside is an amazing place to learn how to ski powder. I have amazing memories there.
I disagree on the groooming. It has been consistent on the days i have been which is about 10 unless there is powder
Going end of February. Thanks for the videos.❤
Great video!
review the paradiski area in France, it's top 3 in size for the world!!(also nice lifts and peaks , as well as olimpics infrastructure)!!!!!
We are actually visiting this month!
Great updates. You nailed it.
Flying into Hayden makes such a difference if you can find a cheap flight! You're so much more relaxed & ready to hit the mountain.
JetBlue nonstop from Boston but airport needs expansion just like steamboat did
I was in steamboat this year! it was wonderful!
As we all know the ticket prices are insane everywhere. They pretty much have you locked into purchasing either an Icon or Epic. I have an Icon and Killington pass. I pretty much only have the Icon to ski out West. I have enjoyed my time at Steamboat. As an East Coaster I found its lower elevation easier on my lungs. The tree skiing is a lot of fun and we had no issues with lift lines. It did take us a while to get to that expert area you described. I don’t think I would ski there for more than 2 or 3 days though. I prefer a more alpine mountain like A-Basin. It seems like it would be a nice family spot.
Nice review.
Steamboat is a low key great area! Best snow of the majors in Colorado!
It wasnt that bad of a wait before the Wild Blue in my opinion but the new stuff is awesome.
Only going to get better as well.
Buddy's Run exemplifies relaxed skiing at its best blue perhaps but great smooth carving and technique available.
Do a review on saddleback maine, would be sick
And we have a good terrain park now! Steamboat on the up and up!
I'm going Feb 11th through 16th. Never been, can't wait.
You'll love it. I hope y'all get some fresh snow while there. It's been a weird year for snow, a lot of place out west. Enjoy! I won't make it back out there till next Feb!
The main drawback of Steamboat is the Sunshine Express area. The lift is outdated and frequently overcrowded, leading to long wait times and less efficient access to the slopes
How is it out dated, it's a high speed Dopplmayer. The best there is !
@@jimbodini100 it's only a 4-seater
Steamboat is definitely tied with Winter Park for the coldest resort in CO. Eldora is the windiest. Beaver Creek is the snobbiest.
Coldest? Pff A-Basin takes that. High and windy
Loveland is windier than a-basain @@coloradolivin1626
BC is good for beginners. Only place I know with a green bowl area.
As an East Coast skier I find the West generally much warmer. Yea it can get cold but not Jay Peak cold.
@@mtadams2009 Ah, I think the humidity has something to do with that. I'll take a -10F day in Colorado over a 30F day in the east.
It would be helpful for people who aren't familiar with the resort to give more of a broad overview of the zones showing the map and some clips at the beginning of the video. When you launch into details talking about zones and lifts like "sunshine" and "pony express lift" it can be hard to follow or picture
Would love to see an update on Big Sky and its new upgrades
We’re going to wait until the gondola is installed next year for that one!
Is this going to be a reoccuring theme where major investments at ski areas will get whole new rankings/review videos?
That is the hope!
@@PeakRankings cool
You forgot to mention that if someone farts in the wind they put almost all of their lifts on wind hold. Even locals from the area will be baffled on some of the wind holds they call.
@PeakRankings Just curious... You include Pricing as part of your reviews (very helpful!), but not as a category in your ranking scores. Why is that?
Pricing varies so much depending on when you buy, it’s hard to incorporate into the mountain score.
By providing a score that specifically focuses on the experience, we’re hoping to provide guidance on whether the resort is worth the price it costs when you make your purchase!
When is campgaw in Nj review?
Right now 👎🏾👎🏾👎🏾🤣
Great ski resort with major improvements
How much for the ski pass?
Been twice ,great both times
There you go spoiling the news to the masses that Fish Creek is actually quite doable and not a hard bootpack…! 😊
Ive skied Breck, Vail, Aspen, Winter Park, and Steamboat. I keep going back to Steamboat because its the best resort in colorado and its not even close.
overall maybe, but even though the mahogany ridge area is great, ajax and abasin definitely top it for expert terrain in my book still
Haha, maybe if you don't like expert and bowl terrain. Personally, I am unimpressed with steamboat. But to each their own 🫡
Vail, despite all the corporate bs, is still an amazing destination. The Back Bowls and Blue Sky Basin are to die for.
@@don_juantthe new heros terrain at Ajax is better than Merry Jane for big bumps.
Telluride???
When will you start reviewing japanese resorts?
I was expecting a rant about Vail Resorts, thanks for not going there!
PeakRankings is always spot on, ALMOST. I do take issue with one statement: "Steamboat Springs is a real town". Actually, Steamboat WAS a real town, and now it is just an insanely dense city that is a cesspool of californians and ultra rich liberals who had mansions built on pristine farmland. Steamboat Springs is a city that has expanded far beyond its original footprint and current city limits, spoiling thousands of acres of beautiful Yampa Valley land which was previously conserved by farmers and ranchers.
Shhhhh! Now everyone is gonna want to go!!
Its on the Ikon and semi close to Denver.....
But people might find out how easy it is to fly into Hayden. Then what?
It is below zero and brutally windy though so that should slow them down
It was nowhere near as bad as the i70 corridor even before the upgrades
I feel like your score was kinda low , I lived in Winter park for 12 years and now live in Steamboat . Just saying, we have pretty much the best tree skiing in Colorado.
He likes the number 8
🤣 amount of snow, "averages the same as the BIG resorts in Colorado" as if to say, size makes a difference 🤣
Peak Rankings has a great ranking system, although it allows resorts that continue to uphold antiquated exclusionary policies banning snowboarders, whom represent a sizable portion of skiers/riders, to rank highly with no penalty. And so to me the overall ranking system is flawed, and while I would love to recommend their using Peak Rankings to others, I do not for this reason. A family of four with one or more snowboarder(s) in the group is excluded on the basis of having a snowboarder in the group, from two of the resorts that are highly ranked on it's list. That's just unfortunate and represents a flawed rating system, in my opinion.
Alpine skier here with two questions: What’s so great about tree skiing compared with varied open terrain? And why is the ticket pricing not the most fundamental part of the scoring? 🤔
Been sking for 58 years, skied most areas... I don't agree with his list.
Run out of peaks to rank yet?
Steamboat sucks don’t come here!
Steamboat has terrible moguls. Just because it gets random bumps doesn't mean they are good or have any rhythm. Good moguls require good skiers and Steamboat has too many tourists now. Only a few places in Colorado still get good moguls, it's not Steamboat. Steamboat gets washboard on the blue runs now for the same reason, too much wedge. They used to be good.
steamboat isnt alpine lol
Steamboat was awesome before and is still awesome, this lift didn’t “save” anything, respectfully
Steamboat sounds a poor competitive choice to other CO resorts and Utah.
Nah. It's pretty different than most of the other resorts. Mostly glade terrain, great little town, some direct flights to the airport from major cities now. It also sometimes gets snow when other parts get skunked.
If you enjoy tree skiing, Steamboat is premier! The choices of lines are endless. I've skied 20+ areas in CO, plus VT, MT, WY, UT, NV, ... Steamboat is my favorite for trees.
Yep, go to the other resorts
About time this review was updated. Criminally low rated the first time. Still think it’s low but now at least it’s reasonable
The phrase "one would have to **litigiously** study the trail map" does not make sense in this context. The word "litigiously" relates to legal action or disputes, suggesting behavior characterized by a tendency to engage in lawsuits.
A more appropriate word might be **"diligently"** which means careful and persistent in work or effort:
- "One would have to **diligently** study the trail map."
This would imply someone needs to study the trail map thoroughly and with great attention to detail.
"Has the resort finally become competitive in the cutthroat Colorado destination market?" - Yikes, you truly have no idea how much money Steamboat brings in. It's a license to print money and has been a fierce competitor for decades.
Steamboat is not that great. Many problems and poor conditions usually. Don’t go there!
why does this video sound like an ad. sus.
Stay home
Because you don’t know what an ad sounds like? This video sounds like all other PR videos. Take your Haterade somewhere else.
first?