Snow talk

Snow is important to us. It’s predicted and monitored by everyone who lives here, and celebrated or tolerated once it hits the ground – depending on the size of your walkway or enjoyment of winter recreation. 

Local industries are built around snow. The city and county spend thousands each year to remove it from the streets; Ski Cooper employs dozens to maintain it on their slopes; and Colorado Mountain College prepares countless students for careers working with the white stuff. 

None of these things have necessarily changed just because the snowpack is behind this year – although they could be impacted in the long term – but there’s still something dissatisfying about seeing the ground in February. Winter comes and we’re ready for something nasty here at 10,200 feet. Don’t you feel a bit let down when that doesn’t happen?

This isn’t the first time residents of the High Country have been disappointed by snowfall. 

In December 1943, 10th Mountain Division soldiers stationed at Camp Hale just north of Leadville longed for snow they could start skiing on, according to the Camp Hale Ski-Zette, which was published by the Herald at the time. They even dreamt of being back East where the snow was. Can you imagine?

“Still the outstanding question in the minds of the men in E Company is ‘Where is the snow and how soon do we start skiing?,’” one Ski-Zette article reads. “When the boys read about the 2 to 4-foot blizzard they had in New England a couple of weeks ago, they began to think that we should be in New England, and that isn’t such a bad idea!”

The only difference now is that the snow did eventually come that winter. In fact, it snowed in droves after that article ran in 1943, and certainly the soldiers were satisfied with the skiing. 

According to an April, 1944 edition of the Carbonate Chronicle, “a great increase in both the snow readings and water content of a month ago was noted by District Forest Ranger John P. Burke when he took the readings on Friday, the last day of March.”

Skiers who embarked on an expedition between Leadville and Aspen earlier that month also reported good snow, according the Carbonate Chronicle. 

We have yet to see if March will bring any snow this year, but if the last few winters are any indication, we probably won’t see the late-winter storms of old, like the ones you hear about around town when it’s not that bad out. (Wherein lies a conversation about climate change).

Then again, there’s always a lot to be said about the snow in Leadville, but it’s either going to come or it won’t. Hopefully it does, and lots of it – if not for the skiers, then for the early retirement of the leaf blower this winter. The convenience is unmatched, we know, but the household broom remains the far stealthier option for light dustings and lame winters. 

Patrick Bilow

Herald Editor