Ski Steamboat For Pete's Sake

4: Steamboat Ski Run Names - There's No S!

In this episode, Pete (and Barbi!) share the stories behind those famous Steamboat ski run names and highlight a few that Pete coined himself.  Join us as we walk thru the resort via a trail map and cover what was built when, and rare stories of the reason behind the monikers.  Some of the stories are a bit inappropriate and some are just downright sad.  But as always, Pete is a great story teller and remembers more than most.

3: Steamboat Gondola Rescue of 1972

In the winter of 1972, a descending unoccupied gondola car fell 200+ feet to the ground on a windy day above Heavenly Daze at Steamboat Ski Resort.  You'll be hard pressed to find any coverage of the event other than a brief mention.  Back then, Twitter wasn't a thing and the press wasn't always privy to near-catastrophe.    A few brave ski patrol members worked into the night to safely belay all of the stranded skiers down to the ground. Pete was one of them.   Three towers supported the bi-cable system, which carried 90 six-passenger  cabins.  That means the gondola cars were much higher up in the air than they are today.   Pete went from one gondola car to the next between his assigned two towers using a hand-powered bicycle type apparatus that latched on to the swinging cable above.  Not one person was injured.

2: Archibald & the General Store

Pete tells the story of how his forefathers got to Steamboat in the late 1800s and walks us thru their journey from Scotland to Hahn's Peak to Steamboat plus the crush of the depression even in a little Northwest Colorado town.

1: Steamboat Ski Resort - How It Began

Introducing Pete Wither, an icon of the Steamboat Springs, Colorado community.  We start with "Speaking of the 60s...", the story from Pete's eyes of how Steamboat created a ski resort, attracted hippies from all over, and inspired many to try the sport of downhill skiing.   Pete covers the families who got it going, his stories of working on the tree removal and lift installation, early real estate boom, and how he wishes he had taken a different payment than cash for his work.  Enjoy the stories from a local legend.