Ski for the Pass canceled due to low snow

The 14th annual Ski for the Pass, which was slated for Sunday, Feb. 15, on Independence Pass, has been canceled due to lack of snow.

Independence Pass Foundation Executive Director Karin Teague told The Aspen Times that this is the first time the event has been canceled.

“The first time in its history,” Teague said. “What’s happened is that with these warm temperatures, the lower part of the pass melted out and hit asphalt. As soon as you hit the asphalt, it’s really hard to get enough snow back.”

Even with the moisture in the past few days, she said at lower elevations it came in the form of rain rather than snow.

“We don’t want someone coming down and hitting pavement and taking a bad crash,” she said. “Out of caution and unfortunately out of realism, we are canceling.”

Full refunds will be issued to everyone who registered.

“I do want to give a big shout out to the city of Aspen’s Nordic crew, who tried heroically to preserve the snow by rolling it and packing it down this week,” Teague said. “We did everything we could to pull off this ski.”

Conditions higher up the pass, however, are “quite good,” she said, with plenty of snow from the Weller Lake trail pullout up toward the top.