I say it every year- nowhere embodies the old adage about March and lions better than Colorado. March started off with a huge storm, the same storm that has paralyzed California and made national news. Mountain life is weird for a lot of reasons but none more so than the microclimates that exist here. Some parts of our neighborhood saw a pretty decent drop (6+ inches at our house), whereas other parts didn’t even hit the trigger of 4 inches. We are still under an avalanche warning, as well as a winter storm warning (into tomorrow morning). You can expect to see us over the next 48 hours, but if you live below 11,000 feet, don’t be surprised if we come in and check without plowing. As a reminder, we do not plow under trigger because it moves around your driveway material and the exposed rocks can damage our blades. Yes, we know we are already there, but we plow this way for a reason, one based in years of experience doing this all winter long. Trust us. We know what we’re doing.
The guys have been out since the storm started to let up around noon and they will continue into the night, returning to the route tomorrow to get to those whose snowfall continues overnight. Please make sure your cars are out of the way so that they can get in and get out quickly with little disruption.
Before we sign off here, I wanted to give you a bit of a heads up. We all know that March tends to be an exceptionally busy tourist season up here. Spring Break for much of Texas starts next week, and we are already seeing an influx of out-of-state plates in town. We are slated to get another big storm on Friday which is forecast to drop at least 4 inches on Valley of the Sun, and likely more at higher elevations. If you rent your home out, please communicate with your guests and advise them to have proper snow gear in their car- this means winter tires/chains/AutoSocks, a tow strap, shovel, cat litter or sandbags for weight and traction, as well as extra food, blankets, water, and flashlights. These are the things that can make the difference between sitting in a ditch waiting hours for the tow truck and being able to get themselves out of the ditch and to their nice, warm AirBnB. This shouldn’t be news to anyone, as there are sign all throughout the neighborhoods here that tell you that snow chains are required, but unfortunately, some people still need you to hold their hands. Just be clear with your guests and let them know that this should be taken seriously. If they don’t know where to go for this stuff, direct them to Napa in Fairplay, or Al-Mart in Alma, where. you can buy traction devices. The more prepared they are, the better time they will have here.
Stay safe and warm out there folks!
UPDATE 3/4/24: CaveBuug continues its route. Please make sure your cars are out of the way so that we an get in and out quickly.