No Snow

My winter was upended by a lack of snow. I am in Telluride for the end of the season. This week, I would typically be logging my 40th day on the mountain, but instead, I am sitting at seven less-than-satisfying ski days. I might go out this afternoon and just ski to the mid-mountain bar to enjoy a beer in the sunshine. It might hit sixty degrees today.

This is not an ordinary “bad snow year”; we’ve had a few of those in the past couple of decades. This is apocalyptic. The snowpack is just 38% of the average over the past 40 years and possibly the lowest ever. It is not just a lack of precipitation that is driving the problem. It is extraordinarily high temperatures, creating rain rather than snow.

Fort Collins recorded 43 winter days with temperatures above 60 degrees. That is double the previous record. Nine of Colorado's eleven warmest years on record have occurred since 2012. Rather than big spring storms replenishing the snowpack, an unprecedented heat wave this month has accelerated the melting of what little snow remains. I don’t know what this portends for the future, but it is definitely not good.

Closing is scheduled for next Sunday. It is the biggest party of the year, and I’ve put a lot of work into my costume. I hope that there is enough snow left on the one run to the bar to have the party. You can’t even make snow if it doesn’t even get below freezing at night.

I love life in the tropics. Sunshine and warmth call me most days, but I am also addicted to snow skiing. I enjoy a full house in the mountains and sharing private time with friends on the lifts. We haven’t had much of that this year. So far, this is the winter that didn’t happen. We’re watching the forecast and praying for one final dump that salvages the last couple of days of the season. Maybe Wednesday. It is not expected to drop below freezing until then.

What do you do when your favorite mountain resort turns into a tropical destination? Climate change is a disaster, but at least we can get restaurant reservations.