Believe it or not, the days stop shrinking this weekend and we will start to get a tad more sunlight with each passing day. The winter solstice is this Sunday at about 8 a.m. Crested Butte time. Technically, the Earth’s northern axis is tilted away from the sun to its maximum extent, with the midday sun hanging over the Tropic of Capricorn, a line 23.5 degrees north of the equator. Earth’s axis tilts by 23.5 degrees (thank you Googles). In terms of daylight, Sunday is five hours, 31 minutes shorter than the June solstice. So, while the days begin to grow longer after Sunday, it is still winter. Short days, freezing temperatures and hopefully copious snow.
Believe it or not, spring conditions in December are not normal. This is weird. There can of course be a few anomalies when it comes to warm weather in December or the January thaw but for a January thaw we need a December deep freeze. We haven’t experienced that yet. Instead, temps in the 40s up here in the mountains and little deep precipitation has everyone on edge. Fair.
Experts note that this warm spell fits a larger trend of warming winters in the Rocky Mountains, with shorter snow seasons, a phenomenon linked to climate change. Look at the 20 Years Ago Today column. The temperatures this week two decades ago were minus 39 degrees—also an anomaly but an 80+-degree swing from then to now.
It looks like wind will bring in some flakes at the end of the week before we warm up again and then hopefully get a Christmas weekend blizzard (or even three to five would be nice).
Believe it or not, Gunnison kicks butt in terms of winter lights. Their tree lighting celebration is sort of like Crested Butte’s Vinotok. It draws people from around the region to witness a true holiday celebration. Good on ’em. Crested Butte is getting better and Elk Avenue actually looks so much better in terms of holiday lights than it did just a few winters ago. Thanks to the local citizen volunteers who care about lights in the shortest days of the year.
Believe it or not, a new private sector affordable housing template is being implemented in Steamboat Springs that depends on the benevolence of a billionaire. Hmmm.
An article in the Colorado Sun this week details how a generous billionaire couple who live near Steamboat bought the 104-unit Riverview condo complex for $95 million and is offering below-market rents for people who work in the area. Studios go for under $1,000 a month, two-bedrooms for $1,600 and three-bedrooms for $2,125. There are no income limit qualifications, just the requirement that the renters work 30 hours a week in the community. I like that loose type of community housing requirement because the vast majority of working families cannot afford a home in a mountain town these days no matter the salary.
So, kudos to Mark Stevens and his wife, Mary, who according to the Jason Blevins article in the Sun are apparently behind the project. Understanding that while preserving buildings in a classic mountain town community might be a valuable contribution and worthy investment, providing for and investing in the people who ultimately work in those buildings, is next level. Hmmm.
Believe it or not, the Broncos are playing well enough to make a run into the NFL playoffs, the Mineral Point workers are still fixing the shitshow that has come to define the affordable housing project — and they claim they will be done by the end of next month (okie dokie!), and Mark Walter has still not called me to share with the community his vision for his new downtown CB. But Gunnison County and the Crested Butte Fire Protection District collaborated to figure out a way to get water to the Whetstone community housing site on Tuesday and work will resume this winter on the valley’s biggest affordable housing project. Believe!
Believe it or not, we are heading into the busy holiday part of the ski season. The Chamber reports that visitor days will shoot up at Christmas and New Year’s. We can expect more than 6,000 people a day hanging out, hopefully all of them doing snow dances. More direct flights to the valley kick in this weekend and compared to many other mountain resort communities, we have enough snow for people to come up and experience a white Christmas.
While this isn’t one of the deepest (or coldest) seasons so far, it is what it is. I hear the mountain is skiing fun and while it can be weirdly slushy up high in the backcountry, it too is skiing well. So, take what we got and have a great holiday.
—Mark Reaman
