Too much snow? If you ice skate

Too much snow can be a bad thing if ice skating is your winter sport of choice.The town of Silverthorne has determined it will not open its ice rink at the North Pond this year because of heavy snowfall, according to Public Works Director Bill Linfield.The staff has not been able to clear the ice and prepare the rink’s surface this year because of early and frequent snowfall, Linfield said.The ice rink historically needs to be closed in late February or early March because of temperatures and runoff that makes the surface unsafe, so trying to get the ice ready this late in the season doesn’t make much sense, he said.The town, which focuses its maintenance efforts primarily on streets and sidewalks, hopes to offer the free ice rink next winter.It’s also unlikely that the Meadow Creek Pond in Frisco will open this season for similar reasons, according to Frisco’s public works department.The town issued a news release in late December saying the ice rink would remain closed until a later date because the high volume of early season snow had created unsafe conditions for employees to bring snow removal equipment onto the ice. Those conditions have not improved, said town spokesperson Julie Sutor.Summit County does have some alternatives.Copper Mountain, Keystone and Breckenridge all have ice rinks at or near the ski resorts and the Stephen C. West Ice Arena in Breckenridge is open daily and offers public skate times.