Tale of the Trails
So how did the resort come up with all the names for the trails and lifts at the resort? Many are named after various themes, local ranch brands, resort pioneers as well as by employees during various naming contests.
Themes
Many of the trails on the mountain are arranged with common themes making it easier to remember where you have been. Storm Peak, for example, contains runs named after weather occurrences such as Twister, Hurricane, Rainbow, Cyclone and Tornado. Those on Sunshine Peak are named after time references. For example, High Noon, One O'Clock, Two O'Clock & Three O'Clock are trails named for the hour at which they are hit by the sun. Rolex, because of its northern exposure made it a premium run in an area of "time themes", Loris Werner approached Rolex Watches to use the name and logo in 1985. Pioneer Ridge® trail names feature early settlers and resort pioneers (Fetcher, Perry, Nash). While Morningside Park has an early morning theme. In 2001, the resort installed the longest superpipe on the continent, Mavericks. It was named after Steamboat’s Western Heritage, the culture of freeriding, and a legendary big-wave break in California. Mother Nature was named after a natural event, a mudslide, that ran from Betwixt to Lower Concentration.
Pioneers
Bashor Bowl is named for pioneer Carl Bashor (1886-1963), who was 17 years old when his parents homesteaded 160 acres now bisected by Giggle Gulch. He spent the next 60 years exploring Storm Mountain (a.k.a. Mt. Werner) on skis or on an Arabian horse. In addition, early named trails-Bear Claw, Club Claw and Bear Park-were named by area founder Jim Temple, who found trees scuffed by bear marks between the Christie and Thunderhead lifts. Gordy Wren thought the best run on the mountain, Buddy's Run, should be named for Steamboat Olympian Buddy Werner, killed in an avalanche in Switzerland in 1964. Main Drag, Vogue, VooDoo, See Me, Vagabond, Heavenly Daze, Christie and Drop Out were named by the Fetchers, Wrens and Crawfords in 1965 during dinner at the Stuart Robinson's Gallery restaurant. Marvin Crawford and Ken Maul pulled Vertigo, Oops and Yoo Hoo out of the blue. Four Points was named when John Fetcher and Gordy Wren spotted a four-point buck while searching for an upper terminal site. Elkhead was named when Loris Werner, Dick Randolph and John Fetcher found the head of an elk while exploring sites in the Priest Creek area in 1971. The resort's premier dining experience, Hazie's, is named after Hazie Werner, mother of three Olympians (Buddy, Loris and Skeeter). Ragnar's, which opened in 1984, is named for Ragnar Omtvedt, Carl Howelsen's skiing companion, who set the first National Jumping Distance record in the west in 1916. Valley View was named for an early course at Rabbit Ears Pass, which was the site of the first downhill race in Routt County in 1939. Priest Creek takes it name after Chester F. Priest, the first settler on the creek. Gordy Wren, who thought it would be amusing and unique to compare a beginner's area to a precipice rising above the floor of a glacial basin, named Headwall. Temple's, where Rainbow, Moonlight, Skyline, and Duster intersect, was named after Jim Temple.
Resort Employees
Ted's Ridge is named for veteran snow groomer Ted Cordova, who started with slope maintenance in 1965. Rudi's Run, called Central Park from 1970-1986, was renamed in honor of long-time ski school supervisor Rudi Schnackenberg (father of ski patrol supervisor Larry Schnackenberg and former Ski School Administrative Supervisor, Ruth McClelland). Ski Patrol Director, John Kohnke, then a lift operator, named Daybreak in a 1974 contest. Nearly ten years later, another patroller, Matt Newman named Between in 1983. Huffman's was named for ski patroller Garry Huffman, killed in a snowmaking construction accident in 1981. Merle Nash named Jess' Cutoff for Jess Brenton, a heavy equipment operator who cut the first runs on the mountain while in his seventies. Nelson's Run is named for Nelson Carmichael, six-time US champion and Steamboat Springs' native, after he won the bronze medal at the 1992 Winter Olympic Games in Albertville, France. Nelson was the first Steamboat Olympian to medal in the Olympics. Ski patroller and trail crewmember, Wes Richey, who helped cut the line, named Sundown. Spike was named when Loris Werner ran into a spike elk while searching for a trail location in 1982. Burgess Creek is named after Perry A. Burgess, 1875 homesteader and one of the early founders of Steamboat Springs.
Ranch Brands
WJW and Bar-UE Lift are named after two ranches in the Werner Family, which played a significant role in the development of the ski area. William Jerold Werner, a Nebraska farmer, came to Steamboat Springs in 1912 and ranched the mesa four miles south of town under the WJW brand. Edward "Pop" Werner, son of William and father of Loris, Buddy and Skeeter, later started his own ranch with wife Hazie up the Elk River under the Bar-UE brand. Flying Z was named after South Routt rancher, cutter racer and County Commissioner, J. Frank Stetson's brand. Triangle 3 is named after Delbert Heid's ranch brand that his son Ray, an Olympian and cousin of Buddy, Loris and Skeeter Werner now operates. Since 1965 Brand Inspector and Oak Creek rancher Raymond Pedersen has used the Crowtrack Quarter Circle brand where Crowtrack receives it name. This brand was registered before Colorado became a state.
Nicknames
You might not find all of these on the trail map, but long-time locals might only know these areas by the following names: Dead Man's Curve, Squid, Spilt Rocks, Sun Dog, Art's Stash, Castles, Killer, Muskrat Alley, Twistercane and West High Noon, LA Freeway, Land of the Little People, Seven Turns, 1:30, 2:30 and Sideburn.
