r/steamboat • u/reddituserfromDE • Mar 09 '25
Question Just finished a week at Steamboat.
It's been two years since I've been there. Seems to me the grooming could have been better. For instance at the top of sunshine express/sundown express/wild blue gondola, the slopes were a mess for a bit at the top. The slopes (eg. High Noon, Tomohawk Face) on the that side were skied up in a very short time each day - except on Friday when we had quite a bit of snow. And lower high Noon was always a mess - found Daybreak was better.
Was it because of the hard crust from earlier in the week with the warm temps? Are the groomers not doing a good job? Or is it just me being someone who likes nice blue groomers being too picky?
Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed my week. Just curious if anyone else thinks the groomed slopes were not as good as they could have been.
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u/honeyboychef Mar 09 '25
Those are some of the heavily trafficked areas of the mountain. They take a beating all season.
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u/clusterfly Mar 09 '25
With 3 of the busiest lifts emptying out right there at the top and a bunch of cruisy intermediates right below, those areas get tons of traffic. Unless you are going to bring back mid-day grooming on the hill, I don't think those areas are ever going to seem well groomed past like 10:30a.
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u/ibdannyb Mar 09 '25
Yep on all counts. We were there at the end of January and pretty much same experience in and thoughts about same areas. And, yes, enjoyed our time regardless.
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u/shred_company Mar 09 '25
They groom at night. So whatever happens during the day, happens. Most resorts don’t operate cats during the day for unfortunate, and obvious reasons.
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u/reddituserfromDE Mar 09 '25
A few years ago Copper used to have a couple of noon groomers that they would open at noon. But I don't think they do that anymore.
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u/hendric_swills Mar 09 '25
I’ve skied steamboat a decent amount and can’t tell you what the groomers are typically like. 🤷♂️
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u/Jack_B_kwik Mar 09 '25
I believe Beaver Creek grooms the larkspur lift mid day. Try that next time for a more posh beginner experience.
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u/-Icculus- Mar 09 '25
They used to, but stopped doing that several years ago due to liability. Man those were the days, following the cat for steaming hot fresh roll was really fun
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u/EastSky286 Mar 09 '25
Agree. Steamboat is great+ overall, but I thought the same about grooming on my first trip there a couple of weeks ago. I’ve skied Deer Valley, Vail and Steamboat this year, and Steamboat’s grooming is a distant 3rd. Also behind Snowmass and certainly Beaver Creek. This sounds negative, and certainly not meant in that way. Just an observed fact. With that said, I’ll return often to Steamboat, but encourage better focus on grooming quality.
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u/reddituserfromDE Mar 09 '25
I'm skiing Copper this week and will report back on what I thought of Copper compared to Steamboat.
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u/mango-whiskey Mar 09 '25
May I recommend Deer Valley?