Kidd stuff learning to ski with Billy
Billy Kidd is holding court at the top of Sunshine Peak.
The sun is shining and the mountain at Steamboat Springs has unveiled itself to us for the first time in two days.
Billy points out where Vail is. He looks back over his shoulder and says that Utah is somewhere off in that direction.
As he talks, and talks, my bulky ski boots are squeezing the life out of my feet. Ski boots are never comfortable but today I’m paying the price for putting my socks on inside out. No reason, it just happened that way. I adjust my stance and without knowing it, rest on my poles.
“That’s not how Olympic skiers stand when they are waiting in lift lines,’’ says Billy.
“You don’t win Olympic medals standing like that. You might get to keep the jacket, but you won’t come home with a medal.’’
Lessons from a legend
Both Billy and I are acutely aware that an Olympic ski medal is never going to come my way. But it doesn’t seem to matter to the slalom silver medallist from the 1964 Olympics in Innsbruck. He’s talking to me, but he has another person in the group who hangs on his every word.
“Always stand with your poles apart. You have to look like a good skier. You don’t want to look like a beginner.’’
William Winston Kidd is one of the star attractions at Steamboat Springs. And with very good reason. He was America’s first Winter Olympic alpine medallist. Now nearing 70, he has discarded his famous cowboy hat for a helmet when skiing, but he has lost none of his passion for the sport, or the mountain where he is director of skiing.
“When I finished skiing in 1970, I had a jacket full of medals and was offered the chance to come to Steamboat Springs,’’ he says.
“I’ve been all round the world. But I can’t think of any place that is better than this.’’
Kidd is part Native American, from the Abenaki tribe, and with us today is another Native American, eight-year-old Delaney Tyon. Delaney is already a national champion for his age and just as he is doing for me, Kidd is teaching him to be an Olympian. The difference is Delaney has a chance.
Driven by Olympic success
Olympic success helps to define Billy Kidd. It got him his job. It brought him to Steamboat Springs and now he is king of the mountain. And that is a mountain which produces more Olympic skiers than any other in America.
Steamboat Springs, population 9815, is about a four-hour drive from Denver, Colorado. It was originally home to the Yampatikas Utes and unlike a lot of purpose-built ski areas, it was a town long before it was a ski resort.
At least one store, F.M. Light, has been selling cowboy boots in the main street for more than 100 years. It is a typical small American town which just happens to be at the base of a snow mountain. If you need proof just flick through the pages of Steamboat Today, the local newspaper.
Here are a few snippets from the what’s on section for the Saturday I was there. The men’s breakfast and Bible study group was meeting from 7 to 8.30am; The Knights of Columbus 15th annual pancake breakfast was on; and the Steamboat over the Hill Gang was meeting for its weekly snowshoe outing at 10am at the northwest corner of the Safeway parking lot.
The pancakes were great, by the way.
The town is a short shuttle ride from where I am staying at the Steamboat Grand, just across the road from the ski area’s central focus point, Gondola Square.
A lure for ski lovers
Colorado attracts about 11.85 million ski visits each year. Steamboat is not the biggest player, but it is a place that appeals to Australians. In fact, Australians rank the highest of its international visitors.
The mountain is known for its champagne powder and tree skiing especially in the gladed areas of Pioneer Ridge, Sunshine and Storm Peak.
The ski season lasts from November to April. Late January or early February is the perfect time to visit, as it doesn’t clash with any American holidays and the slopes are relatively quiet.
The mountain base is at 2103 metres with the summit, on Mt Werner, at 3224 metres. This means it can take a little while to adjust to the altitude. I spent two nights in the mile-high city of Denver before coming to Steamboat and still felt a little short of breath dehydrated on the first day.
With an annual snowfall of 859 centimetres you can pretty much rely of there always being plenty of white stuff on the ground. And with 165 named trails there’s never a need to ski the same trail twice. About two thirds of the mountain terrain is rated either beginner or intermediate, and because most of the runs are wide and groomed, even some of the tougher black runs are worth challenging yourself on.
The longest run on the mountain is Why Not, at just over 4.8 kilometres.
I spent three hours exploring the mountain with Billy Kidd and only got to see a fraction of it. As the great man says his goodbyes, he turns and asks if I’d like a photo with him.
“Say skiing,’’ he says as the camera snaps into action. “That’s a cover shot. And you were standing like an Olympian, poles and feet apart, ready for action.’’
With that, Billy the Kidd skies off into the distance to ride the wild mountain, sun on his back.