Blizzard and Whiteout

This storm did not disappoint. As of 11 pm Wednesday night, we had at least 10 inches on our deck and it was still coming down and blowing like crazy. Christian and Clint went out mid-afternoon to start clearing some of the lower elevations, and plan to start again at about 4 am Thursday morning. We ask you to be patient as we clear the route. It’s going to take time but we will get to you, don’t worry.

This storm is, frankly, very bad. The county is still working shorthanded to clear the roads, CDOT spent most of today trying to help a semi get over Hoosier Pass so 9 was not plowed very thoroughly, and everywhere it was whiteout conditions, blowing snow and creating drifts. A friend out in Indian Mountain said they were clocking 66 mph winds at their house! My honest recommendation is that nobody tries to go anywhere if they can help it for the next couple of days. The roads are bad, and help is limited.

As always, we ask that you do NOT contact Christian or Clint while they are out plowing. They have to be sharp and pay attention, otherwise they could get seriously hurt, and distractions like texts, emails, and phone calls increase the likelihood that that could happen. Please call the main CaveBuug line at 970-406-2724 or call Carey or Christin if you have any questions or concerns.

Stay safe, stay warm, and if you can, stay home. :)

First significant storm of February!

We woke up this morning to over a foot of fresh snow on our deck! While it inevitably causes traffic headaches and school delays, there’s nothing better or more beautiful up here than that fresh powder.

Christian and Clint headed out this morning after sunrise to start the route. With this volume of snow, be prepared that it is going to take awhile to clear everyone out. Per our contract, we guarantee that we will get to you within 48 hours of the end of the storm. As technically it is still snowing, we are starting a bit early, since it’s only forecast to drop another inch or so throughout today. Please make sure any vehicles are out of the way so that our guys can get in and get out and get going onto the next house on the route. If you have renters, please relay this information to them. We can honk and wait a few minutes, but if no one comes out, we will have to move on and catch you next time.

As always, we ask respectfully that you do NOT contact Christian or Clint directly while they are plowing. This can delay the route or distract them and cause accidents. We don’t want that and we know that you don’t either. If you have any questions or concerns, or if it has reached 48 hours and you are still not plowed, please contact Carey Bjornnes or Christin Lander and we will do our best to assist you.

Holy Moly Let it SNOW!!!

Well, after weeks of storm warnings for storms that missed us and buried Northern Colorado, we finally got a good one! Yesterday’s storm dumped well over 6 inches on our little gulch in Valley of the Sun, with even more up at the higher elevations. It was a beautiful, snowy day at last.

Christian and Clint left to start their routes at about 2 am, starting in Valley of the Sun before they head up to Placer. Just to give you a heads up, it might take us the full 48 hours to clear this storm. With this kind of accumulation, it always takes a bit longer, and additionally, we are 2 trucks down at the moment, so it’s all going to be done in equipment, which is more efficient but also much slower. Please be patient with us as we dig you out. We are coming, don’t worry.

As always, we ask you not to contact either Christian or Clint directly. We want them to finish up as quickly and safely as possible, and the best way to do that is to leave them alone and just let them do their thing. If you have any questions, please call the main line, Carey, or Christin. We are happy to help if we can.

That Mountain Life

Nothing quite prepares you for life up here. It’s breathless, both literally and figuratively, and I don’t think I’ve ever lived anywhere with crazier weather. You can be having a blizzard in town, and up at our house in Valley of the Sun, it’s barely a dusting, and vice versa. Yesterday was no exception! As I made my way home, it was snowing, blowing, and at times, whiteout and then a hundred feet further it was clear(ish) and eerily calm. Some roads were icy, thanks to the warm weather we’ve had over the last few days, some were powder, and some were slush. There was no steady consistency to it at all, and it was perfect example of how you really need to be prepared for anything up here, especially in the dead of winter.

Christian and Clint left around 4 pm to start the route up in Blue River and Placer, where it was dumping all afternoon. Thankfully, we were spared the worst of it here in Fairplay, but we still got a decent dump- when all said and done, we’ve probably received just about the trigger of 4 inches. Clint had some mechanical issues with one of our trucks, so he’s going to head back out early this morning in the skid steer, while Christian was out late into the night in the loader clearing the Valley.

As always, we ask you not to contact either Christian or Clint directly. We want them to finish up as quickly and safely as possible, and the best way to do that is to leave them alone and just let them do their thing. If you have any questions, please call the main line, Carey, or Christin. We are happy to help if we can. :)

Stay warm and safe!

Not-So-Dry January

Woooooohooooooo! More snow! Praise Ullr!

This morning we woke up to another 4 inches on our deck in Valley of the Sun, and so Clint and Christian headed straight out after breakfast to get a head start. Those of you who didn’t hit the trigger in the last storm, expect to see them today. If you want to help move things along, make sure to have your cars out of the way so that they can get in and get out quickly.

As always, we ask you not to contact either Christian or Clint directly. We want them to finish up as quickly and safely as possible, and the best way to do that is to leave them alone and just let them do their thing. If you have any questions, please call the main line, Carey, or Christin. We are happy to help if we can. :)

Stay warm and safe!

New Year, Fresh Snow!

Yesterday started strong with 2 inches already on our deck in Valley of the Sun when we woke up, with the promise of more to come. The storm continued through the day and by sundown, some pockets of the Valley had 4 inches, while others merely had a dusting. That’s that weird mountain weather for you- tons of microclimates all coexisting in one valley! Christian and Clint headed out in the early afternoon to start the route in Blue River (where they got a FOOT!) before making their way back through the upper parts of Placer and lower VOS, and called it for the night just shy of midnight (yay!) They both headed out early this morning, and finally finished clearing everyone just before sundown. If you had 4” in your driveway, they cleared you.

With this storm being over New Years, it was no surprise that we got a lot of calls from renters wondering if they were going to get plowed. As such, it’s probably a good time to review some information for renters.

First, make sure you educate your guests on how to measure fallen snow. A good trick is to tell your renters to measure the driveway with their credit card, starting in the middle of driveway, not on the edges where roll-off accumulates. Credit cards are just about 4” long, so it gives them a good idea as to how much snow they actually have. I can’t tell you the number of times we have received a panicked call from a client saying their renters are telling them there’s 8” in the driveway, only to discover that in reality, it’s not quite 3”. Some of our clients have been great about communicating this to their renters, and include a clause in their rental agreement that places the financial burden of plows outside our contract firmly on the renters. I’d strongly suggest following suit, as you can easily run through all your monthly plows with pushes that are below trigger.

Second, as it says throughout the neighborhood, snow chains or adequate snow tires are required to drive around our mountain roads. It’s not a suggestion or an opinion, it is a fact. Most rental companies are not going to equip their cars with expensive studded snow tires, but there are a number of places locally where you can purchase chains or AutoSocks. Al-Mart and Napa both carry these items and are less than five minutes from both Valley of the Sun and Placer Valley. Plowing cannot remedy being unprepared for this environment, and ultimately it will be a lot cheaper to buy chains than it will be to have their car towed from a ditch.

Finally, you know that we always ask that you do not call Christian or Clint directly during their route to inquire as to when your driveway will be plowed. We are going to take this one step further and ask that you also remove their contact information from your House Information Booklets, and instead provide your guests with Carey’s information or Christin’s information. We are both more than happy to speak to them and assist if we can. As we tell you with each storm, stopping to answer calls can put our men’s lives and your property at risk, and it delays the route, which means it will take longer for everyone to get plowed. We don’t want that, and we know you don’t either. Please make a point to update your information packets with the following-

Carey Bjornnes
469-396-4601
carey@cavebuug.com

Christin Lander
469-396-6141
christin@cavebuug.com

Main CaveBuug line
970-406-2724

If we work together on this, we can make sure that the rest of the season runs smoothly for all of us, including your guests.

Happy New Year! :)

The Weather Outside is FRIGHTFUL

Holy moly is it cold outside or what?!?! This morning we woke up to a fresh 5 inches on our deck (yay!) and a windchill of -28! I hope you all have plenty of wood and warm, cozy blankets!

Christian and Clint started their routes around 4 am, starting with Valley of the Sun, before moving on up to Placer. If you haven’t seen them yet, you surely will soon. As always, we ask you not to contact either Christian or Clint directly. We want them to finish up as quickly and safely as possible, and the best way to do that is to leave them alone and just let them do their thing. If you have any questions, please call the main line, Carey, or Christin. We are happy to help if we can. :)

Stay warm out there today!

Ullr, bring us snow!

Ullr Fest is kicking off this weekend in Breck and to get it started, Summit certainly got a good dump, but unfortunately most of it missed us on the other side of Hoosier. This most recent storm dropped about 3-4 inches on Valley of the Sun and Placer, with most of it concentrated up top near the peaks. Christian and Clint started their route at 1:30 am and managed to clear almost everyone by noon. If there was 4 inches or more in your driveway, they plowed it. If not, you’ll just have tracks.

Sorry for the delay in this post, we are juggling a couple of sick kiddos between us. :) Stay warm out there, and feel free to contact Carey or Christin if you have any questions.

The Storm that Wasn't

Boy, oh boy, the way it looked in the forecast, you’d have thought we were going to get buried under 3 feet of snow, with avalanches every few minutes. In reality, the latest storm spent most of Friday snowing lightly on the Mosquito Range and blowing around the falling snow, with total accumulations somewhere around 3-4 inches for most of our little corner of Park County. The boys set out at 2 am to start the route, and should finish sometime this afternoon. They’re knocking ‘em out quickly, so if you have plans to get out today, you should be good to go.

As always, we ask that you direct any questions to Carey or Christin or you can call the main line to speak to one of us. Stay warm and enjoy this gorgeous snowy Saturday!

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!

Well I feel like this is a word I’ve used all month, but it is FRIGID outside today! And we finally have a decent snowfall for show for it! The storm passing over the Mosquito Range right now hasn’t quite dropped the 4” trigger, but the boys are out regardless, checking driveways and pushing where needed. If you have 4” in your driveway, they will clear it. If not, you’ll see tracks.

As always, we ask respectfully that you do not call Christian or Clint directly. They will get to you as they make their way through the route, and interrupting them to ask when they’re coming will cause delays and could put them at risk. If you need immediate assistance or have any questions about your service, please call the main CaveBuug line at 970-406-2724 or call Carey Bjornnes at 469-396-4601 or Christin Lander at 469-396-6141. We will be happy to assist you in any way we can.

Have a spectacular day and LET IT SNOW!!! Woohoo!!!