Plus we’re a little partial to Steamworks. We parked our RV across the street from them for three days and not only did they not care, they let us throw a sticker on the bar.

It’s a beautiful thing when our dual passions — snow and music festivals — collide each winter. This year, the crew is looking forward to the New Year’s Eve bash called the SnowGlobe Music Festival. Pretty Lights, Bassnectar, The Glitch Mob, and Thievery Corporation Pretty Lights, Bassnectar, The Glitch Mob, and Thievery Corporation are headlining. See the full lineup over on our sister website.

The festivities take place in South Lake Tahoe, California from December 29-31st. At $195/pop this isn’t exactly Snow Junkie discount pricing, but what the hell, the end of the year only comes once a year so why not treat yourself?

Make sure to swing by the Lakeside Casino poker room for cheap tournaments. That’s right — it’s been three years and I’m still feeling from the high from winning a prime rib dinner for snagging a third place finish.

via Music Festival Junkies

I’ve worked most ski town jobs, but the worst one was the season I spent as a front desk agent. I’ve never been yelled at so many times for things that weren’t my fault. For instance:

Guest: Where’s the concierge?
Me: I think he stepped away from his desk.
Guest: I need to buy tickets.
Me: The main ticket window is right outside those doors.
Guest: I’m not going outside to get lift tickets. This is unacceptable! Where’s the manager? Huff! Huff! Huff!

Here are just a few of the front desk secrets that you don’t know.

1. We know what you watch on Spankavision
Everyone at the front desk pretends that you rented Shrek 3, but we know not only which movie you watched, but at what time and for how long you watched it. So I know that your kid didn’t “accidentally” order Hot Chicks Doing Hot Chicks because I saw him and your wife leave to go skiing that morning at 11:17 at which point you watched porn for 34 minutes. Interesting side note — the most popular movie rented is Do My Wife.

2. We have a fake front desk voice
It takes years to develop the perfect simpering tone to appease grumpy hotel guests. And it disgusts me to hear it come out of my mouth how interested I am in your vacation when really I would rather be at the bar downing PBRs and chasing the one single girl in town.

3. We hate your questions
There’s something about a ski vacation that turns tourists into gibbering three year olds. I usually don’t know the answer, so I just make up the quickest response to make you go away. Then I go back to Solitaire.

4. We hate your questions even more over the phone
There’s this thing that’s been invented recently. It’s called the Internet. It’s like a front desk person that doesn’t lie to you.

5. We are thinking about something else while you scream at us
I make $7.50/hr which means that I’m qualified to check you in, give you another room key when you lose it, and attempt to answer your million fucking questions. When you yell at me, who you really want is my manager as I can’t do anything to fix your problem. To get there, I first space out about my awesome day on the hill while you vent. Then I give an unsatisfactory answer, at which point you ask for the manager.

6. We understand why you don’t tip us
But we don’t understand is why you tip the shuttle driver, the bellboy, the valet, the waiter, the concierge, the ski instructor, the bartender, and then stiff us, the people who answer the phone at two in the morning so that you can get a personal weather report. From your home in Texas. Two months before your trip.

7. We have all heard the phrase: “This is Unacceptable” more times that you can imagine
It’s played out. It does make me chuckle though.

And one last thing, the guy on the graveyard shift isn’t weird, he’s probably just drunk.

Enjoy your stay!

Like a winter squall, the Local Lange Girl Contest blows across the wind-swept mountains of the Internet and…oh, who am I kidding. Scantily clad girls throw saucy photos of themselves online in hopes of winning a contest. If you’re averse to girls in bikinis then you’re probably not going to want to click on this link.

Sam Bush
March 4, 2011 at 3pm in Gondola Square

Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real
March 19, 2011 at 3pm in Gondola Square

John Popper and the Duskray Troubadors
March 26, 2011 at 3pm in Gondola Square

Los Lonely Boys
April 2, 2011 at 3pm in Gondola Square

via Steamboat Springs Resort
Katchafire
April 10, 2011 at 2:30pm in Gondola Square

The Wailers
April 10, 2011 in Gondola Square

The three day party goes from March 4-6. Three day tickets are still available at around $168, and for you ballers out there, check out the VIP options. See the official site for more info.

Thanks to the tip from our kickass sister site, Music Festival Junkies, for sending this over.

2011 Lineup for The Snow Ball Music Fest

• Okemo,VT March 19, 2011
• Crested Butte March 26, 2011
• Mount Sunapee, NH April 2, 2011

Ticket packages including lodging are available right now. You can also sign up for a giveaway to the Crested Butte stop.

More Info: festEVOL.com

A $350/nt Salt Lake condo scored on Craigslist for $100/nt

I’m not sure how I live anymore without Craigslist when trying to plan a ski vacation — actually I’m not sure how I live period without Craigslist, but that’s another story. You can find everything from a cheap place to crash to a pickup from the airport. Like most things in life, keep an eye out for scams (although I’ve never run into one). But hey, doesn’t a little risk for a big reward sound familiar? It happens every time you trust a dangling chunk of frozen metal to transport you up the hill.

Here’s some of the things a snow junkie can find on Craigslist:

• Outdoor Gear
• Lodging
• Carpool Rides
• Lift Ticket Vouchers/Coupons
• Lift Tickets
• Awesome Barter Trades

About Lift Tickets
This is generally considered illegal as most ski areas explicitly state that you can’t buy or sell tickets so be especially careful purchasing passes. Same goes for vouchers, coupons, etc… I heard if you get caught an executive from the ski area chops off your hand, usually a guy from marketing.

About Lodging
Lodging is my favorite place to find a deal. You can usually find somebody who has extra room in their condo and will let you sleep for cheap. If you have a large group of people, check for last minute deals on houses and condos. The big bonus is not paying the heavy hotel taxes (state,county,town,resort) that ski towns levy on tourists. These can be as high as 16-18%! There’s probably something illegal about not paying resort tax, so I’d keep that on the down low as well.

About Carpooling
If you’ve got room in your car, grab a passenger. Split gas costs, save Mother Earth, you know the drill. Carpooling can you even save you gobs of cash off a lift ticket.

About Bartering
If you get really ambitious with Craigslist, try out the Barter section. We dabbled with this on 100 Days of Winter. I got a ride from the Sacramento airport to Lake Tahoe for a lift ticket. We traded a 2 for 1 voucher for a shower and a pot (the cooking implement, stoner). We even offered up our services as “Mystery Solvers” in exchange for dinner.

That last ad got swiftly yanked. I’m still not sure why.

The Overview: Valley View Hot Springs located in central Colorado has a bit of everything for everyone. From heated pools and hot tubs to more remote locations with no man-made features, this rustic spot is especially quiet during the winter. There’s overnight camping either in your car or in a variety of cabins.

Where: Valley View HS is not on the beaten track to anywhere. The closest town is Salida/Monarch Mountain (about 45 minutes away). Head south on 285 to County Road GG and follow the signs to the Orient Land Trust. The road is fairly flat and very easy to get to the springs — no serious mountain driving.

Who Owns It: The springs are managed by the Orient Land Trust, an interesting non-profit land trust that’s dedicated to the preservation of natural and biological resources, agricultural lands, wildlife habitat, open space, and historic and geologic features of the northern San Luis Valle.

The Pools: Right at the parking lot is an 80 foot swimming pool and a hot tub. There’s also a sauna, showers, water fountains, and bathrooms located nearby. The “Soaking Pool” is a short walk up the from the swimming pool and one of the warmest at Valley Views. There are three more pools located on the grounds that require some hiking.

Hours: It’s open year round. Day visitors can access the pools from 9AM to 10PM. Overnight folks can go anytime.

The Rate: At $12 per person, it’s not exactly a budget soak. Go early in the day as the daily pass lasts from 9AM to 10PM. We had planned on staying overnight in our RV, but the price for two people ($53!) was just too steep.

Our Take: We headed straight for the “Top Pond”, the most remote of the pools. It was a fairly slippery hike during a cool February evening. Wear sturdy boots, bring a headlamp, and watch your step on the icy lower part of the trail. The people at the check-in desk can provide info on the trail conditions.

We’re partial to the pools that have the least amount of man-made features and the Top Pond didn’t disappoint. It was a quiet, enjoyable place to throw back a couple of beers under the gorgeous Colorado night sky. Then we soaked for a bit in the much warmer Waterfall Pool. A trip to the hot tub and the extremely comfortable sauna rounded out our three hour trip.

Go midweek and during the winter to avoid the crowds. We saw four people total in our evening adventure.

Oh yeah, the entire grounds are clothing optional.

More Info: Orient Land Trust

The Capital Rail Jam
Location: The LC Pavilion 405 Neil Avenue Columbus, OH 43215
Date: November 6, 2010
Time: 1pm-?
Cost: $20

The new standard for Pre-Season events is set. November 6, 2010, over 25 tons of ice will be delivered to Downtown Columbus transforming the LC Pavilion into a ski and snowboard freestyle arena. The event will be showcased with a guest appearance by local Snowboard Olympian and Dancing with the Stars contestant, Louie Vito. Live entertainment will be provided by two time snowboard half-pipe Olympian Trevor Andrews’ band Trouble Andrew, Professional Snowboarder/Turntablist, DJ Marc Frank Montoya, and from Dayton, Ohio, The Skratchmatik Krew.