![Hosting the SCLA Casptone Mentor Dinner outside allowed for more attendees on September 27, 2021 at Silver Creek. This event would’ve usually been held inside. According to Lauren Kohn, a SCLA 12 teacher, “If we have a higher number of people, as long as we can host the event outside, then that seems to be keeping every[one] safe”.](https://schsnews.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/sxMAIGbSYGodZkqmrvTi5YWcJ1ssWA08ApkeMLpp-900x675.jpeg)
This year’s ski season has been put on ice for many local Coloradans. In the St. Vrain Valley School District (SVVSD), students and staff are feeling the impact of this record-breaking dry spell.
“This has been the most challenging winter across the Rockies that we have ever experienced with the lowest snowfall in more than 30 years for our Colorado resorts,” Rob Katz, CEO of Vail Resorts, stated.
The closed trails and struggling ski resorts make many locals disappointed.
”[This season] has been very difficult,” Ryder Call, a freshman at Silver Creek, states.
Skiing and snowboarding are staple activities among high school students and staff. The inability to enjoy these sports has caused significant frustration, especially regarding the high cost of passes.
“I think, financially, it’s hard, because you put a lot of money down, and then you just hope that it will be great. And it wasn’t,” Cara Luchies, an 8th-grade teacher in SVVSD, said.
The numbers back up the frustration. As of this March, major resorts, including Winter Park, Steamboat, Vail, and Breckenridge, have had less than 15% of their trails open, according to On the Snow.
”Finding days where there is even snow is challenging,” Call said.
The weather is not only disheartening but also very hazardous. Sparse snowfall melts quickly on sunny days and then refreezes overnight. This cycle creates a layer of ice that makes skiing and snowboarding incredibly dangerous.
A senior at Silver Creek, Addison Bachrach, works as a ski patroller at Eldora. She has had lots of firsthand experience with the dangers of ice and snow on the mountainside.
“With the way the weather’s been acting this season, it’s not safe for people to be out there skiing and snowboarding,” Bachrach said.
The lack of precipitation and snowfall also raises alarm for the upcoming warmer months.
“I’m really worried that it’s just going to be so dry this summer that we’re going to get lots and lots of wildfires,” says Luchies.
According to the Denver Gazette, Colorado’s drought situation has worsened “with 98 percent of the state now experiencing drought.”
Colorado has always been a state susceptible to wildfires because of our dry climate, but with such meager snow and overall precipitation recently, everyone should be on high alert.
This ski and snowboard season has clearly provided plenty of challenges for students and staff alike here in SVVSD, but everyone is still grateful to have the opportunity to get up into the high country. For many, the mountains are an enjoyable and bucket-filling sanctuary.
“Skiing is just such a great way for me to get away from everyday life and get outside,” Bachrach said.
Even though the lack of snow is frustrating and even dangerous, it is still so valuable for Coloradans to go skiing or snowboarding. Many have been raised up in the mountains, and it’s such a core part of their lives.
“There’s never a bad day on the mountain,” Luchies said.
