In 1988, Crash & Burn embarked for Colorado and the country-style of Steamboat Springs. Outfitter Daman Nelson welcomed us for the first of many more trips. Snow conditions were, well a bit bumpy, but the group got there just in time to see the 49ers win the Super Bowl. Some adventurous soles climbed 50 foot frozen waterfall on their day off. The mountain held an evening party for us on top of the mountain. A few of us tried this new thing called Snowboarding.

1989 saw us return to Colorado, this time the old mining town of Telluride. Condos with hot tubs right next to the lift. Things were booming with a race featuring the Maher brothers and members of the Franz Klammer entourage parading everywhere. What we were to lear was that Klammer was being wined and dined into investing in luxury condos. This should have been a warning that Telluride was going to change. On returning just 2 years later, development had changed the town, with many Telski employees now commuting from out of town. Some of us ventured into the helicopters of Helitrax, to shred the San Juan Mountains. In '89 our heli-trip was cut short as our helicopter made strange noises up at altitude and made a speedy retreat to base camp, the last flight for the year for said helicopter. The Franz Klammer entourage, decked out head-to-toe in Franz Klammer-wear were a bit dissappointed to learn that a couple California upstarts (Hank, Mike & Jeff) had broken their helicopter. Tempting fate, Hank & Jeff returned to the San Juans again in '91 for an excellent all-day powder session. To keep things exciting the guides showed their prowess by making a mid-mountain rescue of a local Telluride woman in our heli-skiing group who blew out a knee.

1990 was the largest ever Crash & Burn with some 100 Californians trying to play cowboy in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Our stay at the Americana (the only place big enough to take all of us) was just about as far a bus ride as you could take to get to skiing every day. Luckily it was just a short, very cold walk into town to the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. This trip was one of the coldest and snowiest trips ever with big, big dumps, much to the pleasure of the powderhounds. Some storms even closed down most of the mountains. The tram tickets were worth the wait (and extra price). The steeps, coupled with deep powder meant air-time everywhere. Skiing the glades in the Hobacks meant a little extra work to get back, but well worth it.

In 1992 we found a pretty small place we hadn't heard much about-Crested Butte, with some very steep runs, many of which required some steep hikes. The place was popular with the group and we returned in '95, finding a few more lifts and a little more notoriety. Crested Butte is where Marvin and Carolee achieved "Slider" status, proving they could make it down the hill much faster by not using skis ! The resort was a little smaller and very friendly. They put on some really great funraces for us. The main town, just a few minutes by bus had more than its share of fine restaurants. We also met a guy named Jason who liked to ski real steep stuff on telemark skis. Catching the telemark bug, several members took telemark lessons.

Colorado again in 1993 ! Aspen (or Ajax, as people who think they're locals call it) is the Hollywood of ski towns, with stars like Goldie Hawn & Kurt Russell out and about. John Denver was seen quaffing a brew at the Flying Dog Brewpub, one of the older ski-town brewpubs. While we could walk right on the lifts from Lulu Condos, two other resorts, Buttermilk and Snowmass were also included in the Aspen Skiing Co. lift ticket. The place to be on powder day, however turned out to be Aspen Highlands, a smaller, homier resort in the style of Sugar Bowl or Alta. We found the powder laden terrain much to our liking, even though it was an extra ticket to buy. On a blown out last day, several of us snowboarded our way out of the beginner level and headed for the (not so) steeps of Buttermilk. Nancy managed to get a little lost, arriving more than a few minutes after closing after having skiied down the wrong side of the mountain in a white-out blizzard. Fortunately we found her trudging down the hill, frozen eyebrows & eyelashes, as we were just beginning to talk to the ski patrol. Age started to catch us with a record number of injuries, one of them serious enough to keep a snowboarder named Mike in town for an extra week to have his broken knee operated on. Needless to say Aspen's nightlife offered more places to try out than we had nights staying there, so obviously we had to go to several places per night to do them all.

For Crash & Burn, 1994 was not the year of plenty, in fact it was the year of the rock with many people damaging many skis, including a brand-new pair of top of the line Salomon demo skis. Sun Valley did have a lot of snow-making which kept the big wide open cruiser runs, however it is the only resort where employees ski down with buckets and pick up rocks off the ski slopes. It was the year and the resort to see the newest rage of Alpine snowboards. Decked out in hard boots and some with helmets the Alpine boarders made swooping carved turns with their bodies only inches from the surface of the snow. Tragedy struck as one member blew her knee out on the first run of the first day. The monicker Crash & Burn was really starting to stick. The town of Sun Valley was one of the wildest we'd ever visited. A crazy scavenger hunt had us visit nearly every establishment on the main drag. An Ice rink at the lodge proved very entertaining for those with legs remaining, however ice time for broomball was denied. The large circular hot tub was very popular, and since it was so large, no one ever had to make room for you to get in. The Lodge, one of the oldest ski places in the U.S. was lined with photos of the rich and famous visitors from today and yesterday.

Canada called us again in 1996 with a trip to Whistler/Blackcomb. Powder gods were kind to us, but the medical gods were not. A record number of illnesses swept the group, many more than Dr. Wally could even help with. Our accomodations were literally ski in/ski out with out door hot tub right by the ski entrance. The views after fresh snowfall (it was snowing down at Vancouver airport as we arrived) were the most spectacular we'd seen. Between the two mountains there was enough terrain to last for more than the week we were there. Canada called us yet again in 1999 as we returned to Whistler/Blackcomb. Our theme party included the 50's and we celebrated in various concepts of style at the Hard Rock Cafe. The powder was plenty, and enjoyed all the more with an early "Fresh Tracks" breakfast, allowing you to tram to the top of Whistler to beat the crowds to the best snow. The most significant Crash (but luckily no Burn) occurred on the bus ride back to Vancouver. Just in front of the downtown courthouse a Volvo wagon ran a light and almost cleared the front of our bus. After a quick, short 180, the insurance-less driver found himself uninjured and parked on the sidewalk. Since we were not in America, we were astonished by the total lack of ambulance-chasing lawyers swarming the scene !

1997's trip was to Montana and a place called Big Sky which had just connected the top of it's mountain with a small tram, allowing it to claim the most vertical of any resort in America, eclipsing Jackson Hole (however we've now seen Snowmass make this claim). Our first day rewarded us with some cold temp's, fresh snow and blue skies. After starting out at a nippy -13 F, it warmed up into the 20's and we had a great day with both powder and sunshine. This combination got every local to come ski on a Sunday, but there was more than enough powder for all, and we'd see some more snow before the end of the week. Locals are a bit intense in Big Sky-they all tend to wear helmets and look like they were runners-up in the Extreme Skiing Championships, probably some of them were. I'd never seen a helmet demo day at a resort, but Boeri was there with all kinds of high-fashion brain-buckets. Despite the local headgear and amount of exposed rocks near skiing, none of us managed to get too banged up, although I did get run into by a local who was in too much of a hurry traversing. Had hoped for a friendly "excuse me" as the guy skiied into me, knocking a ski loose, but instead he berated me and the 2-3 people blocking my way and shoved me down the mountain. My friends tell me his first turn was onto rocks, but I think they were trying to make me feel better. 1997 also saw a change in C'N B management as "shareholders" (where's my dividend ?) overwhelmingly endorsed Steve and Micki for the top posts.

Crash & Burn spent the second week of February 1998 sampling the powder in the legendary back bowls of Vail. Beaver Creek was just a short bus away, and we were treated to the opening of the powder glades in the Royal Elk Glades. Locals were astounded when our private "Hollywood" Costume Ball went public. Apparently Colorado's conservative attitudes are not too open to a little friendly cross-dressing. Jason headed up an impromptu Telemark seminar which ended with two broken bindings and two people one-skiing it all the way down on the last run. Vail Village was just a short walk across the freeway and provided plenty of good food and entertainment. Ski right off the mountain into a real German Beer Hall. Valentine's day made the trip a bit more romantic, with two members agreeing to tie the knot atop Vail Mountain.

In recent years we've gone Canadian with a return to Whistler/Blackcomb in 1999 where we were blessed with powder, steeps and well rain on the last day. Can you believe they gave out refunds ?? Silly Canadians. Despite what they said the world continued turning in January 2000, so we kept skiing and visited Banff and Lake Louise. Accomodations were grand-we returned to the elegant Banff Springs Hotel with million dollar views and first class service. The second half of the trip we stayed at the equally posh and gorgeous, Chateau Lake Louise. We skiied at Sunshine from Banff and Lake Louise while at the Chateau. We ate out alot-well every night. Highlights were the Roaring 20's dinner party/dance and the dinner on the mountain, followed by torch-light skiing from the top. One of the best trips this group has taken !!