Aspen mayor proclaims it an 'epic day'

Once again proving that Aspen is a city with its priorities straight, Mayor Mick Ireland took a moment out of his busy schedule to declare that today is truly “epic.”

“I’m asking for locals and tourists alike to help celebrate our town and skiing/snowboarding by getting out on the slopes and enjoying one of the first true epic storms of 2011,” Aspen Mayor Mick Ireland said in a prepared statement.

“By proclaiming today ‘Aspen Epic Day,’ I hope it will encourage families, friends, employers and everyone to enable themselves and others to head to the slopes," he said.

This reporter did just that, starting the morning off in Snowmass where more than a foot of fresh snow graced the slopes with nary a track on several of the runs off of Sam's Knob and Campground. The biggest ski area in the Roaring Fork Valley did not disappoint and should have powder for days.

The epic day continued this afternoon at Aspen Mountain, where flocks of local ski vultures had chewed up most of Bell Mountain but there was still plenty of powder to be had in the Dumps. The glades on either side of S1 were particularly steep and deep, as were Walsh's and Kristi's.

The stars aligned just right in the Roaring Fork Valley over the last 48 hours.

First, a few inches fell Saturday night and early Sunday in Aspen and Sunlight reported a half a foot. About a foot more of fresh fell in Aspen and Snowmass on Sunday and early Monday morning, leaving the slopes white and fluffy. With the sun and blue skies hovering overhead, there were several hours of sheer awesomeness.

The sequence of events met the mayor's “epic” definition: A great storm followed by a blue bird day.

“These are the days we live for,” Ireland said in his prepared statement. “THIS is Aspen.”

Mayor Ireland plans to read an “Aspen Epic Day” proclamation at tonight's city council meeting.
 
While this was the first official epic day of 2011, the mayor promised there would be more. He encourages you to find out when by following him on Twitter — @MickTheMayor — or on Facebook.
 

River Name / Location	Stream flow, ft3/s	Gage height ft
Gore Creek
At Upper Station, Near I-70 Twin Bridges	n/a	4 ft
Booth Creek	n/a	4 ft
Abv Red Sandstone Creek At Vail	190	6 ft
At Mouth Near Minturn	223	7 ft
Beaver Creek
At Avon	21	2 ft
Lake Creek
Near Edwards	79	1 ft
Cross Creek
Near Minturn	100	4 ft
Homestake Creek
At Gold Park	127	5 ft
Eagle River
East Fork Eagle River Near Climax	n/a	2 ft
At Red Cliff	30	3 ft
Near Minturn	234	4 ft
Wastewater Treatment Plant At Avon	671	5 ft
Below Gypsum	826	5 ft
Colorado River
Near Kremmling	404	4 ft
Near Dotsero	1,630	3 ft
Below Glenwood Springs	3,140	5 ft
Near Cameo	3,740	6 ft
Below Grand Valley Div Nr Palisade	2,080	5 ft
Near Colorado-utah State Line	4,120	4 ft
Near Cisco, Ut	4,060	3 ft
At Lees Ferry, Az	12,100	9 ft
Near Grand Canyon, Az	12,200	9 ft
Yuma Main Canal Ww At Yuma, Az	987	10 ft
Roaring Fork River
Abv Lost Man Cr Near Aspen	n/a	n/a ft
Ab Difficult C Nr Aspen	53	1 ft
Near Aspen	78	1 ft
Near Emma	476	6 ft
At Glenwood Springs	1,160	3 ft
Hunter Creek
Near Aspen	56	2 ft
At Aspen	47	4 ft
Frying Pan River
Near Ruedi	113	2 ft
Crystal River
Abv Avalanche Crk, Near Redstone	540	2 ft
Arkansas River
Ef Arkansas R At Us Highway 24, Nr Leadville	47	3 ft
Near Leadville	86	5 ft
Below Empire Gulch Near Malta	156	3 ft
Below Granite	453	4 ft
Near Nathrop	451	4 ft
At Parkdale	464	3 ft