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For ski lovers, this summer has already been a crazy, stormy one. Last week saw not one, but two brutal and blowing snowstorms, followed by a strong windstorm on Thursday.
And this morning’s snowfall of up to two inches per hour at the resort of Silverton, home to a new “pit wave” of guests now resorting to the lower slopes to escape the wind, was not even the most severe challenge. Earlier in the week, the resort was knocked out for five days by a storm that dumped seven feet of snow in only 24 hours.
An estimated 350,000 visitors turned up last weekend to see the storm. The biggest wave this year? International visitors from France, the United Kingdom and New Zealand, according to Ellen Coyote, the president of the Silverton Resort.
Speaking to The Denver Post, she said, “It’s amazing how many business cards we’ve had printed and papered all over town since Monday.” The storm also left many in the resort town looking forward to Friday, when it is anticipated snowfall will drop down to an average depth of about six inches.
The storm has had some positive effects on the economy. It has resulted in the preservation of more than 400 jobs at resorts in Colorado. But beyond the resorts, the closings have had far reaching consequences.