Traditions have been hard to come by up here in snow country since the statewide drought season of 2002. Transitions, on the other hand, are another case entirely.
While some may consider the three letters distinguishing those two concepts in the same light as the famous Twain-ism differentiating the lightning bug from the lightning, both words seem right at the moment, inexplicably intertwined as perhaps the paramount ski season in Colorado history comes to a snowcapped close this month.
For the better part of the new millennium, it has been downright difficult to form many snow-centric habits in the high country, much less maintain them. Several ski areas were forced to push back their opening dates last November, remember? The inconsistencies of when, where and how much snow might fall — not to mention how long it would last under the sun’s unrelenting stare — left many of us wondering if a full winter ever might return in earnest.
Well, we have our answer now, don’t we? And those who genuinely love the cold-weather recreational opportunities of skiing, skating, snowboarding, snowshoeing, snowmobiling or any associated crystal-covered pastime were richly rewarded for keeping the faith right up until the bitter end.
I believe it was our friends in Aspen who coined the term DEEPcember as the town came to terms with the snowiest year-ending month in its history. By the time the endless powder day came to a halt in Vail last Saturday, locals were referring to the date as Jan. 112.
Even those warm-winter traditions of recent seasons were put on ice this year. Let’s just say there hasn’t been a lot of bikini skiing on the slopes so far in 2008, one of many reasons the transition into a bona fide summer season is going to be so simple in the mountains.
Check that. While the mental transition from winter to spring and spring to summer is already well underway, just about everywhere west of Evergreen is staring eye to eye at the mother of all mud seasons. Physically, mountain dwellers are looking at more than a few outdoor challenges for another month or more.
Realistically there are still some likely snow days in our future, and opportunities galore to explore the stabilizing backcountry snowpack or ski The Beach at A-Basin, Loveland and a handful of other areas planning to keep the lifts cranking into May. Of course, a Mexican surf trip is always an excellent option as well, because it could take awhile for all this white to turn green again. Frankly, I’m ready to turn the page.
Among the few ski season traditions I’ve managed to maintain through the years is an annual raft/kayak trip through Utah’s Westwater Canyon with a crew from the Vail Ski Patrol shortly after the mountain closes. This year will be no different, aside from the fact that the Colorado River could have an extra 3,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) of juice squeezing through the canyon than it typically does come put-in later this week.
The pending transition from snow to snowmelt should soon offer ample opportunity to start up (or possibly revive) a few new traditions for fellow floaters, since rivers from the Utah desert to the dammed-up Colorado tailwaters are predicted to spill from the slopes and run at higher flows than they have in years. Synchronize your clock with Mother Nature’s watering schedule and you just might snag the ride of a lifetime.
If none of those options strikes your fancy, well, you’re in luck. Because spring is Denver’s time to shine. Bike helmets and hiking boots are always de rigueur in the Mile High City, and for the moment there may be no better place to be.
For the next eight months, no one will care if Vail Pass closes for the 20th time, sleeping in on Saturday won’t be considered a sin and everyone will save about $3.50 a cheeseburger. And for the next eight weeks, spring will transition into summer as it always does in Denver — nice and easy. Fortunately, that’s one tradition that will likely never die.
