Passholder since 1995, never seen any of this. Heard it happened on 2 -3 days of the year, St. Pats, April 1st and closing day, and if you rode here, you would see why it needed to be done on those days.

I wonder if Kelley was so appauled by these invasions of privacy, that she has stopped skiing @ Steamboat?

Keep up the strong writing and deceitfulness Kelley, I am sure you will sore to the top while stepping on and over whomever you need to succeed.

I have lived and skied in Steamboat for more than 10 years and have NEVER been "searched" or even looked at sideways boarding a lift of any kind.  I also own a bar, and spend night after night trying to figure out how to cut down on brought in liquor, which is not only against the law, but can get the bar owner in trouble for not catching it at the door.  No, we don't search people at the door of the bar, and neither does Steamboat Ski area.  But they do at a Bronco game... and no one seems to complain.   The real problem here is that someone who has lived in Steamboat for some time experienced one "search" on gaper day and decided it was an opportunity to further her career by slandering the ski area and screwing the very town that provides a home for her.  Kelly, this is just wrong.  You know this only happens 1 or 2 days a season.  For anyone who knows Steamboat, it doesn't even make a very good story... BECAUSE IT'S NOT TRUE.   It is disappointing that the article was picked up by 5280 and the Denver Post who obviously didn't do any fact checking.  I have not only lost respect for Kelly, but these 2 rags as well.  How about a little research before printing damaging articles about Colorado Businesses?  Do we really need the negative press?  How about this for a headline: STEAMBOAT SKI RESORT AT THE TOP OF THE SNOWFALL CHAIN THIS WINTER WITH OVER 120" SO FAR, AND COUNTING!  That's the Truth.

I've posted a response to the comments surrounding this article here: 

http://www.5280.com/blogs/2010/12/05/steamboat-springs-and-long-arm-law

http://www.steamboatpilot.com/news/2010/dec/03/ski-area-officials-refute-pat-down-stories/

Well I came to this site to refute all the lies the Steamboat Ski area has been saying about this story. They are searching packs and pockets and patting down people. The big lie is it is only this one day,"gaper day", wrong, it's basically all of the spring season now. If I am traveling to ski and paying top dollar Steamboat is not the place I will go. If They are serious about on the hill antics, hire more Patrolers, which have had to endure huge cutbacks in the last years, not because of the economy, but because realtor corporations keep using operating revenue to finance all their speculation. Lets get the ski industry back to skiing and bring the fourth amendment back to The United States of America!

While I can't vouch for the other parts of this article, I can 100% say that Kelly's portrayal of Steamboat is very inaccurate. While it's true that on closing day there were police searching packs and bulky jackets, that is the only time anyone's seen police at/on the slopes of Steamboat. By painting the picture that officers are on and around the mountain on a daily basis is misleading  and sheds an incorrect light on how it is to ski/ride in Steamboat. I hope that this article doesn't deter people from coming to visit a great place to ride because of its false reporting.

Shame on you Kelly. Have you ever skied Steamboat except on gapper day? I have skied there 5 times this year already and have yet to see any police and have never been frisked or had my pockets turned out. Last season they did check backpacks on April 1st due to some very bad bvehaviour from a few unruly youths. That was the ONLY day they checked to my knowledge and I ski in Steamboat 30 to 50 day a season.

Seems like you were going for sensationalism rather than truth.  The only good thing to come out of this nonsense article is that I will have much smaller lift lines this season!

Wow.  First DIA, now the SKI SLOPES??  I know I'll be spending my money at A-Basin this year instead of Steamboat.  No groping while skiing for me!  (What am I going to do - try to steal someone's skis by hiding them in my jacket??)  What a dumb new policy on Steamboat's part.

The article "Long Arm of the Law" would probably have been better served in the Westword than 5280.  Kelly Bastone complains about the presence of security at some ski resorts and complains about how people should be able to "evade the everyday routine".  This article is so one-sided, I picture Kelly wearing horse blinds as she typed it out, with 5 empty cans of PBR on her desk.  Skiing is indeed a sport "born out of a need for speed" which makes it the perfect reason to have some rules.  Kelly has obviously not been railroaded by an inebriated skiier that told her to watch where she is going.  This article would have been more appropriate in a different setting.  Picture a movie theater where people are trying to cut loose, and they are not allowed to bring in alcohol!  Forget that it is against the policies of the theater, it is really about the man stealing your rights!  Well personally, I say let people get drunk at the movie theater.  Let them get stoned at the concerts!  But when you have thousands of people firing downhill with ski poles, a like the majority of them to be sober.  Using her logic, I better get hammered at the next Sunrise Century at Boulder (the 75 mile bike ride) so I can "experience something just a bit out of bounds".