A 65 year Curse?

 No, not me damn it, at least I hope I'm not the cause, but it is a little suspicious I'll give you that...

The National Weather Service just came out with some climate info that is quite cogent if you love skiing and riding on the snow. Glancing at the chart below it's easy to see, with a few exceptions, that we have been continuously losing our snowpack for the last 65 years. All of us that that live up in the high country are quite aware that our blowers more and more sit idle for weeks or even months at a time and we can survive on just one tank or maybe two tanks of gas all winter long. That was rarely the case in the old days. Although we have had some heavy years the last few decades, (2011 and 2017 are good examples) for the most part we have witnessed within our lifetime a decrease in not only snowpack but the length of winter. Where my summer business at 7500 feet used to only open in late May and close in October we are now opening up in April and occasionally in early March and staying open into mid-November most years. It does make for much better tomatoes but doesn't do much for skiing. For all you naysayers of climate change out there... Hey, wake up, its happening right before your eyes!

All signs point to the fact that this warming of the planet will continue to have a negative impact on skiing and riding. Already some low lying areas have closed up shop and are unable to operate. Climate scientists on the whole are warning us that this will only worsen and potentially accelerate in the future. What is the takeaway? Well, thats up to you. I would say more skiing should be on your list of things to do as well as listening to the science and what we may need to do to offset the situation we have gotten ourselves into. On a positive note we do have more snow in the forecast for this last week at Rose so lets celebrate that!

Sven




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