Over Christmas break, I skied at Steamboat, Jackson Hole and Snowy Range. I didn’t enjoy the claustrophobic feeling of being crammed in the red tram at Jackson, but I loved hiking the Headwall and taking runs less traveled. Steamboat is a great all-around mountain. The runs are long, there are lots of bumps, pockets of powder and wide blue runs. Snowy Range is not a world-class ski area, but in its own way it feels like home.
Snowy Range is one of the smaller ski areas in the region. It has 26 runs and not many of them are great for fans of bumps or tree skiing. Although it may not have challenging terrain, it makes up for it in its convenient location.
Snowy Range is the ideal ski area for a quick Saturday trip. It is only an hour away from Laramie on highway 130, and the runs are easy enough that those new to skiing can enjoy a full day. The lodge is never far away if you need to escape the cold for a while.
“The Range” has always felt like my home ski area. I learned to ski there as a kid, and as a teenager I switched to the smooth turns of snowboarding. When I was little, I thought the Virginian run was the steepest ski run in the world (later on I realized that it is comparable to a green at other larger ski areas). It is easy to spend the day riding at Snowy Range and not feel tired at the bottom of the lift. It is easy to meet up with friends and take a run, or to have a long lunch break in the lodge.
The range has enough bumps, jumps and patches of powder that even as an adult I still find it an enjoyable area. And, at the end of the day, it is not the size of the mountain that matters, but the memories that will linger after a day well spent.
