S T E A M B O AT
TODAY
FRIDAY MAY 24, 2013
Steamboat Springs, Colorado
®
Vol. 25, No. 124 SteamboatToday.com
RO U T T
C O U N T Y ’ S
DA I LY
N E W S PA P E R
INSIDE: Find entertainment events and stories in the Explore Steamboat section • page 13
‘Let’s be careful out there’
In bloom
D
uring the first several seasons, the opening scene of every weekly episode of “Hill Street Blues” — a popular 1980s TV police drama – invariably centered on Sgt. Phil Esterhaus conducting roll call. Esterhaus, played by the late Michael Conrad, The View always confrom Here cluded roll ROB DOUGLAS call with the same command to his police officers before they hit the streets: “Let’s be careful out there.” As we kick off Memorial Day weekend — with a segment of our summer visitors preparing to cross Rabbit Ears Pass in the coming months to join local bikers who ride the roads of Bike Town USA — those words should come to mind every time we climb behind the wheel or clip into pedals. Realistically, given the too-frequent clashes between motor vehicle drivers and road biking enthusiasts, that sage reminder could save a life. As existing summer tourism is augmented by bicycle tourism here in the ’Boat, common sense dictates that the growing number of drivers and cyclists on our roads will increase the risk of potentially deadly accidents. For that reason, Steamboat must encourage a culture where drivers and riders respect one another on the roads we share. See Douglas, page 2
■ INDEX Briefs . . . . . . . . . 10 Classifieds . . . . . 41 Comics . . . . . . . 36 Directory . . . . . . 39 Happenings . . . . . 6 Lotto . . . . . . . . . 38
Movies . . . . . . . . 19 Outdoors . . . . . . 31 The Record . . . . 12 Scoreboard . . . . 38 Sports . . . . . . . . 33 ViewPoints . . . . . 8
Steamboat Springs residents Bryan and Julie Alkema ride their bikes past flowers on the Yampa River Core Trail on Thursday afternoon.
JOHN F. RUSSELL/STAFF
Rivers regroup for last push Elk flow has peaked but Yampa refuses to give up Tom Ross
Memorial Day Weekend will turn up the late spring heat in Steamboat Springs with temperatures in the high 70s, and area rivers will respond with rebounding flows. However, the Elk River just above the confluence with the Yampa River east of Milner has peaked for the season, and it’s probable the Yampa River has also peaked where it flows beneath the Fifth Street
Bridge in downtown Steamboat. “The Elk, I think, has definitely peaked,” hydrologist Ashley Nielson said Thursday afternoon. The Yampa at “Steamboat looks to have a better chance to return to last week’s flows. There’s still high-elevation snow around, but probably not enough to get to the levels of last week. I think the flows will stay sustained for the next week or two.” Nielson works for the Colorado Basin River Forecast Center in Salt Lake City, where she used computer models to gen-
■ WEATHER
■ RIVER REPORT
STEAMBOAT TODAY
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS
Sunny. High of 81.
Page 37
Yampa River flow Thursday Noon 1,680 cfs 10 p.m. 2,180 cfs Average for this date 2,140 cfs Highest for this date 4,720 cfs, 1984 Lowest for this date 388 cfs, 1934 Streamflow reported in cubic feet per second at the Fifth Street Bridge as provided by the U.S. Geological Survey.
erate 10-day forecasts of future streamflows. The Yampa was flowing at 1,770 cubic feet per second in Steamboat late Thursday afternoon, down from the apparent peak of 2,610 cfs on May 18. The River Forecast Center expects the warm weekend to boost the Yampa just past the 2,500 cfs threshold today, Saturday and Sunday, so a new peak is a possibility. The Elk is another story. It was flowing at 1,479 cfs Thursday afternoon dropping all the
way from a peak of 3,580 cfs on June 17. It too should climb above 2,500 cfs during the next three days, but is not expected to come close to exceeding 3,000 cfs. The National Weather Service expects sunny skies in Steamboat all the way through Sunday with a high of 81 degrees today followed by 78 and 77 on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Overnight lows could be in the low 40s. Temperatures above 9,700 feet at Steamboat Ski Area, See Rivers, page 2 See details on Page 2
Buy One Get One Day Passes to Amaze’n Steamboat, that’s 2 passes for $27 (a $54.00 value)!