The Steamboat Ski Area celebrates its 50th birthday with special celebrations including birthday cake! Jim Temple, son of a local ranching family, spearheaded the development of the Steamboat Ski Area in response to the growing popularity of the sport. After a brief start, Storm Mountain officially reopened in January 12, 1963 with a double chairlift and an A-frame warming house. The day's cash receipts were $13.75 and the temperature hovered at -25°F. Since that January day in 1963, the Steamboat Ski Area has been treating powderhounds to heaps of Champagne Powder® snow and an experience unlike another other.