Let’s talk about the weather….

As someone who can’t hit the hill this season thanks to a rotator cuff, I’ll say that no matter how “bad” the conditions, making turns on snow is better than not making turns. Having said that, it seems this has been a particularly “bad” season and for many, mentally and psychologically, the season has turned from visions of first chair on a powder morning to biking trails or putting greens.

So, we’ll take a second to talk a bit about what everyone else is talking about: the weather. And the weather this winter has been beyond weird — with it getting even weirder as the forecast calls for mid-March temps in Crested Butte to top the mid-60s. Seriously, 66 degrees from March 18-23!? Rain in February and even on Christmas Day? What the…? No wonder people are loading up the mountain bikes, hiking boots and golf clubs.

Then you can add in last weekend’s time change. While the mornings are a bit blearier these days, the evenings are pretty sweet with later sunsets and temperatures warm enough to hang out on the deck at 6 o’clock and listen to the returning geese. My neighbor Karey spotted his first blue heron of “the summer” last week on the Slate and said it was more than a week earlier than last year. Uh oh.

Still, it’s pretty nice…

But, while nice in the moment (except for the powder skiing), the mid and long-term ramifications can be downright frightening. As I watch the snow levels in the yards turn to water walking around town, I understand that what is normally a winter reservoir of snowpack that lasts into early summer and beyond is disappearing quickly. In a recent article in The Atlantic, Colorado Senator John Hickenlooper noted that “the West is already experiencing the worst drought we have seen in 1,200 years…The snowpack is pretty much as large as all of our reservoirs combined. That’s why winters like this one are so terrifying.” A weak La Niña pattern in the Pacific is apparently partly to blame, parking a high-pressure “heartbreak ridge” that is screwing with our weather.

For us here, if things don’t change drastically, the fishing and rafting will be impacted. Local ranchers and ag will feel the lack of water. The chance of wildfires will grow as the land dries out. It will all be too real in a few months. A friend mentioned to me last weekend that we are at the point we all should be praying for a really crappy April and May — the kind that breaks a person’s soul with consistent snow or rain through the off-season— otherwise summer will be a horror movie. True that.

In the even bigger picture, water that feeds the Colorado River from our headwaters spot high in the Rockies simply isn’t there right now (see World News). Lake Powell and Lake Mead are already on a razor’s edge of practical disaster, and that could impact Blue Mesa water levels. The fight between seven states including Colorado over already diminishing water levels can quickly become a fool’s argument.

Add to that the fact Donald hates Colorado right now and he could easily tilt any agreement toward a state like Arizona that needs tons and tons of water to grow alfalfa for other countries, and Colorado could find itself walking a tightrope, environmentally and economically. The interwebs state that in Arizona, 76% of water use goes toward agriculture. A 2020 study found 79% of Colorado River water goes to alfalfa, which in turn primarily goes to cattle farms, the most emissions-intensive form of animal farming. Saudi Arabia banned alfalfa growing in its country due to water scarcity concerns. Since then, they’ve outsourced: They grow their alfalfa in Arizona and ship the hay to Saudi Arabia to feed cattle. Saudi Arabia is planning to build a multi-billion-dollar “livestock city” project in Arizona to meet growing demands for meat. Their issue becomes our problem. Sound fair? Anyway…it seems you could solve a lot of the Colorado River issues by banning alfalfa farms in that area…That’s another story.

Back to our weather and water — the fact is we are in a weird winter stretch —more like late spring or even early summer than winter. There will still be turns made on snow for another three weeks up at CBMR and that’s a good thing. Making turns is better than not making turns. And while there is nothing you can do individually to make it snow (sacrifice another pair of skis?) we might as well enjoy the most pleasantly weird weather stretch we’ve experienced in a ski season — and begin praying for a really crappy off-season.

—Mark Reaman