Ski resorts to get their wish for more snow

Ski resorts to get their wish for more snow
By Robert Weller
The Associated Press
     DENVER (AP) - The balmy weather that had bears cavorting on Durango streets, elk thumbing their antlers at hunters and daisies popping up on Aspen Mountain this month will be gone by week's end.
     ``We are undergoing a pretty significant change in the weather pattern over the U.S. during the next several days, '' said National Weather Service forecaster Dave Barjenbruch.
     Snow-hungry ski resorts should receive substantial amounts from two storms expected to pass through Colorado this week. Several resorts, including Aspen, Vail and Steamboat Springs, have delayed their openings because of unseasonably warm weather.
     ``That is a wonderful Thanksgiving present,'' said Joan Christensen, spokeswoman for Winter Park, which was able to open last week because its base is above 9,000 feet.
     ``We've got our fingers crossed,'' said Suzanne Silverthorn, spokeswoman for the town of Vail. ``The industry had been facing a challenge after Sept. 11 that made us even more anxious than usual about getting early snow,'' she said.
     Some workers have been furloughed as resorts, fearing a downtown because of the Sept. 11 attacks and economic downtown, cut costs. Two World Cup women's races were moved from Aspen to Copper Mountain, whose base is 2,000 feet higher.
     Reservation calls, which had virtually stopped after the terrorist attacks, rebounded substantially by mid-October. Then an unusually long Indian summer threatened to take back those gains.
     ``The first storm for the mountains is a quick shot on Wednesday. More significant snow is expected Thursday and Friday,'' Barjenbruch said. ``We are looking at pretty decent shot at some accumulating snowfall in the mountains. That may help them get the ski season going the way it should be. By late in the weekend we might even see some snow down on the plains. I think we will get quite a bit of natural snow.''
     It also is good news for wheat farmers. The snow will provide much-needed moisture and a layer of insulation for their winter wheat crops.

Copyright 2001 the Coloradoan.
Use of this site signifies your agreement to the Terms of Service.
(updated August 1, 2001).
Send us your questions and comments.