Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — Cowboy Downhill will get an extra shot of country culture in its 35th year, with a concert today by country rock legend Charlie Daniels and his band.

The concert acts as an introduction to the 35th annual Bud Light Cowboy Downhill, an event that puts about 100 professional cowboys on skis and sends them roaring - or tumbling - down a slalom course near the base of the Steamboat Ski Area.

The timed portion of the Cowboy Downhill starts at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday; cowboys are asked to ski through a dual slalom course, lasso a Steamboat ambassador and saddle a horse. A second race, the stampede event, is directly after the timed portion. In the stampede, cowboys speed together down a course at the base of the mountain to the finish line.

Cowboy Downhill is scheduled to take place during the National Western Stock Show in Denver each year. Cowboy Downhill participants must be registered in the stock show and must be members of either the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association or the Professional Bull Riders.

As part of the Steamboat event, an expo of Western activities will be open to the public from noon to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in Gondola Square, with contributions from the Community Agriculture Alliance and Routt County 4-H.

Proceeds from today's Charlie Daniels Band concert will go to the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund; the fund aims to ease financial stress on families of rodeo cowboys who have been seriously injured in the course of the sport. Daniels - who is best known for his feverish fiddle playing and daunting vocals on songs such as "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" - mixes Southern rock volume with country singer storytelling.

Doors to the Steamboat Music Festival Tent open at 6 p.m. today, and the show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased through Steamboat Central Reservations. Call 879-0740, or buy tickets online at www.steamboat.com/concerts. The race portions of Cowboy Downhill are free and open to the public.