Snow in the high country…

Amid a driving blizzard on the afternoon of May 20, Scott Nielsen, the Meeker district supervisor for the Rio Blanco County Road and Bridge Department, shows the depth of the snow still remaining about 200 yards from the summit of Ripple Creek Pass, which is a couple of miles past Ripple Creek Lodge and the turnoff to Trappers Lake. The county crew has opened a pathway through the mountains on the road that goes on into the town of Yampa, in Routt County. But while the route has been cut through to the other side, travel will not be easy until there is more of a thaw, and four-wheel drive vehicles are a necessity.

To begin commencement at Meeker High School’s Starbuck Stadium on Saturday, members of the senior class marched down the track on the way to their chairs for the graduation ceremony. There were 38 seniors who were graduated on Saturday.

This snow plow, moving forward to clear the road, is up to its windshield in snow it is pushing. Along with the blizzard going on atop Ripple Creek Pass at the time, it is just as tough to see the snow plows from in front, amid the seven- to eight-foot snow piles on the road.

Demonstrating the job that lay ahead, this Rio Blanco County snow plow shows what lies in front of it while trying to clear County Road 8 up over Ripple Creek Pass all the way over into Routt County on Wednesday. As of noon on May 20, the Rio Blanco County road crew had less than four miles to go to clear a narrow route the entire length of the closure. The crew was also battling a major blizzard on top of the pass, but were able to finish the initial path and open the road. The road will require a four-wheel-drive vehicle and a lot of caution as there is a lot of snow, melt-off and mud, making the travel treacherous for possibly a couple weeks, the county Road and Bridge Department advised on Friday.

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