{"id":70547,"date":"2019-07-19T15:00:13","date_gmt":"2019-07-19T22:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=70547"},"modified":"2025-11-21T08:32:56","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T16:32:56","slug":"how-a-historic-winter-is-impacting-colorados-summer-recreation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/news\/how-a-historic-winter-is-impacting-colorados-summer-recreation","title":{"rendered":"How A Historic Winter Is Impacting Colorado\u2019s Summer Recreation"},"content":{"rendered":"

At least two mountain ultrarunning events, including June\u2019s<\/span> San Juan Solstice 50 Mile Run<\/span><\/a> and<\/span> July\u2019s Hardrock Hundred Endurance Run<\/a><\/span>, have been canceled in Colorado this summer due to a historic winter season. For good reason: Storms producing wet, dense snow and a cold spring set the conditions for snowpack to linger, especially at high elevations across the state.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On June 24, just two days after the San Juan Solstice race was originally scheduled to place, the state\u2019s snowpack was <\/span>4,121 percent above<\/span><\/a> normal<\/a> compared with the 30-year average for the day, according to the\u00a0<\/span>Department of Agriculture<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0 Until May, the state <\/span>hadn\u2019t been drought-free<\/span><\/a> in at least 17 years, since the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) co-launched the\u00a0<\/span>North American Drought Monitor<\/span><\/a> to track periods of prolonged dryness in 2002. (Prior to 2000, the state\u2019s drought records, which reach back to the late 1800s, are inconsistent.)<\/span><\/p>\n

High-mountain snowpack and spring weather conditions play a role in year-round outdoor recreation. For skiers and snowboarders, this year\u2019s snowfall provided access to mountaineering lines and<\/span> extended lift operations<\/span> for<\/span> at least six ski resorts<\/span><\/a> into May and beyond. For paddlers, the whitewater season could stretch through Labor Day, unless there\u2019s a heat spike. The water flow is predicted to be high all summer, which bodes well for the rafting industry, noted David Costlow, executive director of the Colorado River Outfitters Association.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBookings were down a bit in May and June\u2014people don\u2019t call to go rafting when it\u2019s cold and snowy. The advantage is, the melt level was kept down. Some of the rivers will probably peak the first week of July, whereas they would have peaked around June 5 in prior years,\u201d he said<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, for some paddlers, peak baggers, and mountain bikers the rapids, trails and backcountry might be too technical, debris-ridden or muddy for access. For others, there\u2019s a huge disappointment when annual events are postponed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the 27 years since the<\/span> Hardrock Hundred Endurance Run<\/span><\/a> was founded, the event has only been canceled three times, twice for high snow levels and once for fire danger, said Dale Garland, co-founder and race director.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTo make this call was hard on us and really disappointing. People have waited years, in some cases, to run Hardrock. But when you look at the runner and volunteer safety, it was evident that was the correct decision to make,\u201d Garland said. The 100-mile ultramarathon moves through the San Juan Range at an average altitude of 11,000-plus feet. Racers cross thirteen mountain passes that are higher than 12,000 feet, and some snow on the course is normal. But by June, only three of the race\u2019s 15 aid stations were accessible due to the late spring snowfall and an<\/span> avalanche cycle<\/span><\/a> that filled slopes with dangerous piles of debris.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe avalanche damage that happened this winter was incredible \u2026 The quality and quantity of avalanches was off the charts,\u201d said Bryon Powell, a Silverton local and the editor-in-chief of iRunFar<\/a>, who was selected via Hardrock\u2019s <\/span>lottery system<\/span><\/a> to participate in this year\u2019s race.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the end of May, Powell took a winter run to Cunningham Gulch, which overlaps with the Hardrock course and is two miles from a course aid station location, and he estimated that about 70 percent of the gulch was full of avalanche debris. On his run, Powell observed and filmed an avalanche across the valley:<\/span><\/p>\n