It’s getting creamy
Aspen Times Staff Writer
It’s creamy. And getting creamier. The National Weather Service is calling for up to 12 inches of snow by Wednesday morning.
(Clear your schedule! Make no appointments before noon! Start complaining of wooziness, aches and pains!)
Up to 4 inches was called for last night. Today is supposed to produce another 2 to 5 inches with winds out of the southwest 20 to 30 mph. Tuesday night, look for between 1 to 3 inches.
Let’s see, 4 inches last night, 5 today and 3 tonight. Yep, that’s 12. OK, we’ll take it. And snow is also likely on Wednesday.
Snowmass now has a 67-inch base on top and has gotten 18 inches of snow in the last week. Highlands is up to a 50-inch base and has gotten 16 inches in the last week.
And the backcountry continues to prove deadly. According to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, three skiers on a southeast aspect on Mount Belford Sunday were caught in a slide and buried. One was killed (see page 5). The slide started about 12,800 feet and ran for 300 feet. The victim was buried about 3 feet deep. He was revived but never regained consciousness.
Near Arapahoe Base, a skier in the 4th Steep Gully west of the ski area was caught in a slide and broke his arm.
Tip toe. Or don’t go.
On another note, up in Highland Bowl over the weekend, patroller Jimmy Newman proved that he is still, “Inhuman Newman.”
The 41-year-old won his third straight Inferno race, which requires hauling buns up the ridge to the summit of the Bowl and then skiing down Ozone.
His time was 28 minutes, 12 seconds, which was slower than his first two victories. He attributes the “slow” speed to the fresh snow on the course.
“Even Temerity Road was soft and mushy,” Newman said. “It was like walking on the beach in your ski boots.”
On Newman’s heels the whole way up was Brad Yule. And while Newman was the first person of the 118 people in the race to start sliding down Ozone, his victory was not a sure thing.
“Yule actually passed me down near the bottom of Ozone, but then he kind of wiped out and missed a gate,” said Newman. “He had to walk back up to get the gate.”
That delay let Andre Wille, who came in third, also pass Yule.
The fastest woman in the race was Jill Pisani, who finished in 35:50. She was followed by Karen Sahn and Lori Spence.
Now that he has “three-peated,” Newman said he’s reached the pinnacle of the event. “I’m retired, but that doesn’t mean I can’t come out of retirement,” he said.
