Winter 2008:

Town Quirks: Winter 2008

In honor of the magazine’s 30th anniversary, here are 30 signs the times have changed. 1. The Class of 1978 didn’t knowhat a cell phone was.2. In 1979, Arrowhead Lift took skiers to the top of Thunderhead (It was torn down in 1997). 3. In 1980, many Steamboat residents still had party lines, rather than private phone numbers. 4. In 1981, the first snowmaking guns were installed on Mount Werner, because the area had suffered its second drought in five years. 5. In-Season Bakery opened in 1982, making Nancy Kramer famous for coconut macaroons and cheesecakes. 6. Michael Jackson was in the news in 1983 – for his numerous top-10 hits. 7. In 1984, people scoffed that George Orwell’s ominous predictions of Big Brother would never come true. 8. Ski Time Square was built in 1985. 9. The ne“Silver Bullet Gondola” was installed in 1986. 10. In 1987, snowboarding was not permitted at the Steamboat Ski Area. 11. In 1988, freestyle skiing was granted demonstration status at the Calgary Olympics. 12. In 1989, there was only one Chute open. 13. The first mountain bike trails were opened on Mount Werner in 1990. 14. The ski area gave skiers a chance to sample the goods one day before it opened to the general public. Anyone willing to make a $5 contribution to the Winter Sports Club could ski on the first Scholarship Day in 1991. 15. Nelson Carmichael won Steamboat’s first Olympic medal at the 1992 Games in Albertville, France. Four Points Lift-Line was renamed Nelson’s Run in his honor. 16. A mudslide in spring 1993 created Mother Nature, from Betwixt to Concentration. 17. Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Joey, Chandler and Ross became household names when Friends   debuted in 1994. 18. The skateboard park at Howelsen Hill was installed in 1995, and was considered state-of-the-art. 19. In January 1996, 216 inches of snofell at mid-mountain on Mount Werner. 20. The first trails were cleared on Pioneer Ridge in 1997. 21. Brittany Speaks released her debut single in 1998. She is touted as being “sweet 16.” 22. In 1999, the Chute Bump-Off was still legal and attracted more than 1,000 people to the base of Chute One on St. Patty’s Day. 23. In 2000, The Steamboat Pilot still came out on Wednesdays. 24. The old Routt Memorial Hospital on Park Avenue in Old Town was razed in 2001. 25. In February 2002, Tim and Diane Mueller announced their purchase of the Steamboat Ski Area In March 2002, American Skiing Company failed to shoup at the closing table. In April,  the Muellers file suit; it was not settled for more than two years. 26. Johnny Spillane, a Steamboat native, won America’s first Nordic Combined World  Championship in 2003. 27. In 2004, people could legally smoke cigarettes in local bars. 28. KRAI radio personality Mike Fuller lived for 100 hours in the storefront windoat F.M. Light & Sons, in honor of the store’s 100th anniversary. 29. The Steamboat Grand held a “grand” auction in 2006, to sell its remaining time-share units. 30. Ski Time Square’s long since abandoned “octagon buildings” came tumbling down in Summer  2007, in preparation for redevelopment of the base-side neighborhood. To read about additional Town Quirks, subscribe to Steamboat Magazine today! Subscribe