Crested Butte lacks snow but not ways to have fun
C RESTED BUTTE» That audible sigh of relief from up high, evoked by long-awaited snowfall last week, was loudest in this end-of-the-road ski town.
A year ago, Crested Butte was buried. Several feet of snow blanketed the valley, crushing shovelers and thrilling skiers with what would become the snowiest January ever recorded at Crested Butte Mountain Resort.
This season’s feast-or-famine scenario has left Crested Butte pining for even a few flakes. Before the recent storm dumped about a foot of fresh snow, Crested Butte and its surrounding hills were pacing alongside the worst winter ever recorded — even worse than the famously arid winter of 1976-77, during which Colorado resorts closed in January due to a lack of snow.
“Maybe this is the new normal,” said Billy Barr, the researcher who has tallied daily weather data from his remote cabin in the East River Valley above Crested Butte for 44 years. Flipping through yellowed notebooks, Barr says the 26 inches of snow in his weather station marks the lowest for mid-January since 1974, when he started charting snowfall, water equivalency and daily temperatures. The average for this time of year is around 40 inches.
The snow is starting later and ending earlier. And it’s warmer, Barr said.
“We have had one winter in 44 years where the average low in December was above freezing. This winter, the average low was 35,” said the 67-year-old. “Still, it’s not time to panic yet. We have the rest of January, February and March where we can get a lot of snow. But right now, we’ve got a lot to make up. As of (Jan. 6), we had the least amount of snowfall for the winter in 44 years.”
A ski town in January without snow is a gloomy place. When the skiing stinks, skiers in ski towns start to question their life choices. But a single storm —
Hess’ property, seen Tuesday, has far less snow than it did this time last year. Local researcher Billy Barr, however, says “it’s not time to panic yet. We have the rest of January, February and March where we can get a lot of snow.”
like the snowy dumps that hammered Crested Butte late last week — buoys spirits and swings the collective toward the light. As of Wednesday, the Heartbreak Ridge — the persistent wall of high pressure that has kept the West warm and dry for most of this winter — was breaking up and the snow was blowing sideways in Crested Butte.
Every day for the past couple of weeks, dozens of hardy skiers traversed Crested Butte Mountain Resort’s steepest slopes, punching holes in the weakly bonded snow on the ground to lessen avalanche danger. The boot-packing crew is the quintessential example of ski-town optimism that pulses with each snowstorm: Work now because it’s going to get better.
Last year at this time, Crested Butte’s ski patrollers were hurling record numbers of explosives into a snowpack that was swell- ing by as much as a foot a day.
“On this date last year, I had 22 inches of snow in 24 hours,” said Frank Coffey, the longtime director of snow safety at the famously steep ski area.
The 137 inches at Crested Butte Mountain Resort this month in 2017 made it the snowiest January in the history of the resort. By Jan. 10 last year, the ski area had received 179.5 inches of snow. On Jan. 10 this year, the resort had counted 59 inches of snowfall. The ski area’s snowpack was 82 inches in mid-January last year and now it’s around 32 inches, with most of the resort’s steep terrain still closed.
“Yeah, we are behind the mark,” Coffey said. “But a change is coming. Our fingers are crossed, and we are keeping the faith.”
Down in town, the holiday crowds are gone. Last year, Front Range skiers with the Rocky Mountain Super Pass Plus swarmed the super snowy Crested Butte in the quiet weeks that follow the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. This year, those snow-savvy skiers are waiting before using their limited days at Crested Butte.
“Just fewer tourists overall. Much different and slower than last year,” said Karl Plambeck, the owner of the storied Eldo Brewpub.
But that’s not entirely bad news.
When the snow is good, more visitors come to town, and locals are busy catering to the crowds while shoveling their own driveways and roofs. That leaves little time for play.
“This year, the locals don’t have to spend as much time removing snow, and we have an adequate snowpack to ski so, on a powder day, people take advantage of it,” Crested Butte chief marshal Mike Reily said, noting that snowy weather tends to dominate his office. “When we get snow like last year, we end up spending an inordinate amount of time towing and releasing vehicles for snow removal and dealing with weather-related crashes. When the snow isn’t as plentiful, those duties take up less time.”
Crested Butte businesses rang up record sales last winter, with taxable spending reaching an all-time high of $30.7 million from December through March. Taxable sales in January, February and March set records for each month. While spending in Crested Butte has been climbing steadily — as have sales in every Colorado ski town — since 2010, last January’s “Snowpocalypse” certainly didn’t hurt business. But don’t expect the lack of early-season snow in Crested Butte this year to be reflected in slumping sales. Visitors and locals seem to be out and about, and spending.
“Thankfully everyone is still drinking, and that hasn’t changed,” said Aaron Tomcak, who owns Mountain Spirits Liquors on Crested Butte’s downtown Elk Avenue. “But, really, for some of our vacationers, snow isn’t that big of a deal. They are going to come for their holiday regardless. So when it’s really good snow, we see a slight uptick and when it’s really bad, we see a slight downturn. It’s not some roller-coaster ride.”
Construction crews are celebrating the delayed arrival of snow. Scott Bogart has workers building and working on roofs across the valley. But the snow removal crews that work for his Pinnacle Construction and Roofing firm haven’t been too busy. Yet.
“I’ve been here for (nearly) 30 years, and this is definitely not typical,” he said. “Yeah, we’ve got a bunch more construction going on than we typically would. So in some regards, things are great. And in some ways, they are not so good.”
Ali Fuchs keeps her Big Al’s Bicycle Heaven bike shop open six days a week all winter in Crested Butte. Rentals of her fleet of fattired bikes have soared in recent weeks as visitors seek fun beyond the ski hill.
“Fat biking is perfect right now. It’s been a really good season for us so far,” said Fuchs, who has been renting as many as 50 bikes every weekend this winter. “It’s poor ski conditions, but it’s really good for fat biking right now.”
The guides at Crested Butte Angler have been busy too, offering wading fishing trips on the Gunnison River outside town. That’s yet another example of the surging summer business in Colorado’s high country lingering deep into winter, especially when the snow is paltry. These erratic weather trends — like the slow start this season — allow for a wider array of winter activities in the Colorado mountains that are not snow dependent.
“Mother Nature is always going to dictate snow, and we can’t control that. You just have to adapt,” said veteran Crested Butte ski patroller Eric Baumm, who this winter has begun ice skating on the frozen Blue Mesa Reservoir outside Gunnison. “Last year was some of the best skiing ever, and this year I’ve had some of my best-ever days ice skating. I’m still having a great winter. I’m living life here in Crested Butte.”