When you think of spring skiing, what comes to mind? You might picture corn snow, zinc-covered noses and alpine starts. Sure, but what about dust?
Dust-on-snow events have become more common, and more commonly talked about, in recent years. Storms of fine particles reaching Colorado from the Southwest are settling on the snowpack this year, impacting runoff by darkening the snow surface and warming the snowpack.
That warming has several downstream effects, according to a recent Colorado Sun article, including changes in runoff, unpredictable streamflows, plants being exposed to sun earlier in the year and changing stream levels for boating and recreation. Susan Behery, hydraulic engineer for the Bureau of Reclamation in Durango, told the Sun, “So the severity of dust just really affects things. You never knew dirt could be so interesting, did you? People are like, ‘Dirt and dust. So icky.’”
