Aspen Students Enjoy Snow Day – Now We Want One

The Joneses up in Aspen are enjoying a snow day. When can we get one?

Aspen students rejoice! According to the Aspen Daily News, the area expects eight to 14 inches of snow today at local ski areas. In the last 24 hours, Snowmass Ski area reported ten inches of snow.

A message from Pitkin Alert was transmitted at 5:20 this morning. Locals received word of a snow day for all schools including:

• Aspen School District
• Wildwood School
• Basalt schools
• Aspen Community School
• Aspen Country Day School.

This message was the definition of concise. They didn't waste a word. It read:

School is cancelled today.

Not exactly "War and Peace," is it? When can we get a snow day here in the valley? Do they happen? Speaking as a life-long resident of the valley, I can assure you they have happened in the past.

Looking back on my lackluster academic career, I can recall two snow days involving Grand Junction area schools. One was in the late 1970s, and the other in the early 1980s.

Looking back at the snow day circa 1983, the closure was limited to one school, namely West Jr. High. That's not a typo. West was a Jr. High back then, not a middle school.

The closure really didn't have anything to do with the snow. It hadn't snowed that hard. Rather, a pipe froze overnight, and the school had to be closed for cleaning and repairs.

The snow day back in the late 70s was the real deal. It was still snowing in the early morning, so streets were not plowed and visibility was terrible. Bus drivers don't enjoy operating under those conditions.

Congrats to you, Aspen students. We're jealous, but not really. Please enjoy your snow day. Perhaps, if things get crazy, the current generation of Grand Valley students may one day discover the wonders of a snow day, too.