Who knew, but Colorado’s entire winter sports season rests on the outcome of a sibling rivalry between one boy and one girl.
The house that wrought us a fine early season of snowfall is brewing some disorder.
SolVista Basin in Granby this week became the last major resort to open its runs. Every recreational mountain is open and ready for skiing, riding, running, shoeing, marking and skating.
And jonesing – bums have been waiting months now for snowpack to accumulate.
But the season is hardly set in stone.
According to the National Weather Service, the current snowpack is at 100 percent and snowfall is close to normal. Good news. Never mind that new powder over the past 48 hours has been slim across the board.
Bad news is El Niño may be on his way. Or, it might be La Niña that sets her course.
It’s all up in the air.
“We seem to be headed toward an El Niño year,” said Kyle Fredin, a meteorologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration outpost in Boulder. If we do head that way, the southern part of the state will see the most action, weather-wise, as warm air moves up from Mexico.
“But if we miss out on that pattern and move toward a La Niña year, it will be different,” Fredin added. In that case, Colorado’s northern mountains will see more snow.
Meantime, resorts continue to move forward. For instance, Steamboat today unleashes its new chairlift, Sunshine Express, a quad lift powered entirely by solar and wind power.
Whether there’s more sun, wind or snow to come is what we must wait to discover.
THE WEAK IN REVIEW
The Rockies traded their best-ever pitcher, Jason Jennings, for three ho-hummers. But what’s worse is the revelation, now made perfectly clear, that Rockies management is completely content with losing. When Willy Taveras is their marquee offseason acquisition, prepare to watch an also-ran for years to come.
AROUND TOWN
So the Avalanche is struggling through what we in the business call “a down period.” And the NHL still hasn’t recovered from its lockout (we can’t argue enough against the embarrassingly stupid weighted schedule). But despite all the negatives, the Avs remain one of the coolest tickets in town. Hockey, as even casual fans can attest, is that entertaining. And the Avs are on a two-game winning streak. Plus, as if local puckheads need to be reminded, Joe Sakic still plays half of his games in Denver, including one tonight when the Edmonton Oilers visit the Pepsi Center for a 7 p.m. game. Sakic, now in his 18th NHL season, is one of the top vote-getters for the NHL All-Star Game, trailing only San Jose’s Joe Thornton among Western Conference forwards.
THE COUCH
On: Four good television options Saturday highlight the early part of one college season and the end of another. For football, check out the Division II championship at 10 a.m. on ESPN2 between Northwest Missouri State and Grand Valley State in Florence, Ala., or the D-III title game, a.k.a. the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl in Salem, Va., between Mount Union and Wisconsin-Whitewater at 2 p.m. on ESPN. For basketball fans, try the always heated Kentucky-Louisville game at 11:30 a.m. on KCNC-4 or the Gonzaga-Georgia matchup on ESPN2 at 3 p.m.
Off: Gee, it’s the middle of December, a perfect time for a race, and there are plenty of opportunities this weekend. On Saturday, check Rudolph’s Revenge 5K/10K at Chatfield State Park (winterdistanceseries.com) or the Salomon Ranch Creek Opener, with 15K classic and 15K skate snowshoe races in Tabernash (devilsthumbranch.com). On Sunday, find the Christmas Classic 4-Mile with Santa Claus in Fort Collins (970-377-8005) or Steve’s Rudolph Ramble 5K at Washington Park in Denver (bkbltd.com).
WHAT WE’D LIKE TO SEE
There are two kinds of people who think it would be a mistake for the Nuggets to trade for Allen Iverson: 1) Old people who still believe George Mikan is the greatest player who ever lived and can’t see Iverson’s talent past the tattoos, and 2) The Nuggets player who might end up playing for the dreadful 76ers, a team whose management is giving away an all-time top-three shooting guard.
