Steamboat 2/1/12

For four years I lived in a beautiful mountain town called Steamboat Springs, Colorado and I still consider it an amazing place to live. The mountain offers up some of the best aspen riding on more mellow terrain, the town has a great relaxed vibe and everyone loves to be in the outdoors. I was really happy to be able to finally return to my former mountain for a day of riding and get to see old friends in a quick visit.

I was lucky to ride the record breaking year at Steamboat so I know how good it can be and while they haven’t had as much of a strong season, the storms have started to come in again. It was a great day for groomer laps (mostly due to knowing the trees might not have enough coverage yet) so we ended up charging some of my favorite runs from the past.

Since I moved away almost two years ago, the town and mountain has continued with new buildings, businesses and upgrades. It’s rad to be able to return as a tourist and experience the mountain from a new angle.

During my time at Steamboat, I had an amazing group of girl riders to lap the mountain with. Stacia is one of the fastest girls I know on the mountain and super fun to be around. She picked me up this morning and it was like a day hadn’t gone by (except a lot to catch up on). That’s been one of the things I missed the most was my friends in Steamboat.

I was all smiles all day long. I feel extremely lucky to live this life, have great friends and ride really fun mountains. I remember thinking today that if I died today, I’d die happy. I was thinking that because I didn’t pack a helmet and I usually always wear one.

After catching up with old co-workers, I caught the free town bus towards downtown so I could meet up with my mother (she opted for finishing schoolwork and letting me ride with friends). In typical Steamboat style, you always run into people you know and I ended up on the same bus as Rebecca for the journey. It was definitely a fun day to see old friends around town. Hoping I can make a return trip to Steamboat this season.

We hit the highway and headed down hwy 131 which is a beautiful drive right now. Loved stopping along the ride to capture how beautiful Colorado is. Tonight we’ll be in Vail at the amazing Vail Cascade Resort, tomorrow is a relaxing day around town and then riding Friday at Vail Mountain.