Snowmobiling in the Routt National Forest

Here are a few pics from our February 2013 skiing trip to Steamboat Springs, Colorado: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1O1FqNyifRinQHBONcJ8iivoPGG0DAXdf?usp=sharing

Looks like 2013 is turning into a great year for lots of beautiful white powdery snow 🙂 Couldn’t quite believe our luck that – after record snow in Santa Fe in December – we arrived in Denver to news of even more hideous unrelenting snowstorms for the week in the Rockies – yippeeeeee!!

Of course, in reality, that actually meant that although we did get to play in some of Steamboat’s world famous “champagne” powder it also had one or 2 drawbacks  😉

I was all primed and ready to go with 3 layers of highly attractive thermal underwear, 2 pairs of socks, 3 scarves etc etc……AND my new highly prized ultra-cool goggles (as my old beloved pair died of the cold frozen to my face in Santa Fe ). However, when I stuck them on and hot-footed it off down the mountain I hadn’t gone more than 15′ before I turned to Geoff complaining how utterly rubbish they were and I was going to have to take them back as I couldn’t see a SINGLE thing in front of me – misery 😦

I don’t know if I was relieved that I hadn’t wasted all that money on really crap goggles after all ….or horrified…. as it became blatantly obvious that this was skiing for nutters – not MY type of skiing at all – which is more – blue sky – gentle gliding – some elegant photo-posing etc etc 😉

THIS was skiing blindfolded in lumpy marshmallow ….. with no idea where your skis were as they were also invisible, buried under 2′ of powder…but…. I have to say….it was THE best skiing EVER ! 🙂 🙂

The hilly parts were challenging in areas and it was a little weird skiing into oblivion and suddenly discovering moving body shapes popping up in front of you out of nowhere – a bit like those paper body targets that shoot up out of nowhere at the firing range – only in this instance mutual survival depends more on avoiding them rather than aiming for them 😉

Geoff viewed it all rather differently, of course, as, firstly, he’s a man, and, by definition, a nutter anyway….and, secondly, he seemed completely unable to read, digest and  assimilate the warning signs all over the mountain that going into the tree glades may result in early and unanticipated death (the kind which might ruin your vacation etc etc..). Clearly – like road speed limits – they were advisory only…not intended for people like him…. and there to be entirely ignored 😉

Hence, I spent some considerable time staring into the white wondering where Geoff had got to and what kind of wild creature was big enough to be shaking an entire tree in the glade beside me – something very big and scary judging by the grunting and the disconcerting shaking of the giant tree – or maybe just a beaver gnawing at the tree bark in the hope of damming up some 6′ snowdrifts – nope…naturally it was Mr Clever…stuck in a 4′ tree well with his snowboard jammed into the higher branches of the pine trees trying to disentangle AND pull himself out of the very VERY soft squishy marshmallow all at the same time…sigh….

He obviously thinks I’m more stupid than I look because, time and again, he would try to get me to follow into the glades (maybe he was trying to “lose” me and cash in the life insurance??)..and as I would glide past on the correct side of the tree line I would frequently glance over to see him slowly sink into oblivion again up to his thighs still exclaiming what brilliant fun it was in the glades this year …..ummmm….. 😉

He enthusiastically rented skis again – at an exorbitant cost – but then everything at Steamboat Springs is exorbitant – telling me skiing is soooooo much easier than boarding (basically skiing is for “girls” and boarding is for “real” men) and then amused me all day by spending most of it skidding on his butt with his skis stuck in an orifice – his or another tree well – it didn’t make much difference really . So…..back to boarding…briefly….but at least he didn’t waste a pot of money buying new skis and boots and retiring his board for a whole day before deciding skiing was for “girls” after all 😉

So..briefly back to the snowboard….the only 3 photo shots of the last (unintended) day were of Geoff flying down a (very) small jump, launching into the air, doing a double somersault and landing with his board stuck head first down in the snow…an interesting pose.

I was momentarily concerned until the maniacal hoots of hysteria started (I think he had actually enjoyed the unusual ride 😉 ). I was very pleased I got the photo evidence or I would have been in deep trouble…..the upshot of this undeniably spectacular wipe-out was that he ripped the sole clean off the base of his snowboarding boot (the guys in the repair shop had, apparently,never seen anything like it …which didn’t greatly surprise me!)

There was no option but for Geoff to walk down the mountain whilst I skied off ahead for assistance and poor humiliated bootless Geoffrey had to take the rescue service’s snowmobile-of-shame down the mountain whilst I had to navigate down hill alone in the total white-out without a map – I can never read them anyway (and it was impossible to see the trail names in any event unless you actually skied face-first into one of the notice boards) but it might have given me some sense of hope of survival at least….. 😉

So…last day … change of plan…the sun came out in all its glory….a Florida blue sky…but still 3 layers of thermals etc….and we headed off to go snowmobiling in the mountains outside of Steamboat. We did the “adult only” version which comprised an all day 65 mile excursion 0f roller coaster hills, tree glades and spinning wildly round meadows……freezing snow throwing up in your face at 65 mph (at times)..hence some of the more wobbly photos as I was trying to capture the spirit of the day whilst simultaneously endeavoring not to die impaled on a pine tree or hurled down a mountain side at speed 😉

It was brilliant – obviously 🙂 ……well…maybe except for the part where Geoff went to help another rider in our group who had got lodged in a large drift and Geoff ended up getting stuck in exactly the same drift….men….sigh….

So….. a fab trip as usual (we do LOVE Steamboat Springs ) …exhausted broken bodies most days – but nothing the hot springs up in the hills couldn’t iron out  and a large water bottle filled with G and T…alcohol being verboten at the springs, obviously!!…tee hee….

x