Snowed: Mountain towns get handle on snow

OURAY — Piles of chest-high snow lined streets and filled front yards in Ouray. Some residents shoveling their driveways on Friday afternoon referred to the piles as “small ones.”

The snow mounds were striking reminders of severe winter weather handed in the past few months to the Western Slope’s mountain towns, and the amount of work that has gone into clearing roads and planning for spring runoff.

“Yesterday I shoveled about six times,” said Franki Schafrik, an engineering consultant who has a home in Denver but sometimes stays in Ouray between work travels. “But mounds of snow like that,” she said as she pointed to a 5-foot-high pile sitting at the street corner, “you can’t shovel that away.”

One of the toughest parts about this winter, at least in Schafrik’s neighborhood, is making sure elderly neighbors have their sidewalks and driveways cleared, she said.

The constant snowfall in Ouray has had snow removal drivers logging 12 to 14-hour days beginning at about 2 a.m., said snow remover Jeff Bearden. During a six-day storm he worked 20-hour days.

The resources needed to keep up with clearing the roads have put the city over its budget for the year, but city administrator Patrick Rondinelli said he’s not too concerned.

“We’ve got a lot of time to make up for the difference,” said Rondinelli.

Keeping up with the volume of snow brought in by ceaseless storms is a challenge, as is finding places to store the snow.

“We’re just trying to keep up and keep the equipment serviced ... before the next storm or event,” he said.

The city is planning for spring runoff and possible flooding. It is identifying areas where flooding may occur, including the flumes, rivers and drainage areas such as Bridal Veil, Rondinelli said. Officials are also beginning to put together flood plans to respond in crisis situations, should they occur.

City government is not the only entity struggling to deal with constant snowfall. Rondinelli said Ouray’s waste management providers have also had a hard winter, as many dumpsters and trash cans are put in alleyways.

Other nearby mountain towns are having similar weather-related problems. On Friday, Telluride’s ski patrol reported 6 inches of snow and a local report in Ridgway noted 4.5 inches with a total of 23 inches on the ground, according to the National Weather Service.

Telluride has had one of its heaviest winters with more than 100 inches in January, said Mayor Stu Fraser. Like Ouray, the town has spent more on snow removal and storage than it planned.

“As far as snow removal, the most difficult thing is that we haven’t had sun, just snow,” said Fraser. “We haven’t had some of the roads cleared as much as we want.”

For the most part, high priority roads such as those to the schools, medical center and downtown area are in good shape. With recent temperatures in the 30s and 40s, moving the snow is workable, he said.

Officials expect a break from the weather with mostly sunny days through the President’s Day weekend. The NWS is forecasting sunnier, warmer and drier weather for both the Uncompahgre Plateau/Dallas Divide area and the San Juans.

Contact Lisa Huynh via email at lisah@montrosepress.com