WINTER IN CREEDE, CO

Across the Fence 



By Arvord Abernethy 

I ran across Lester and Emily Roberts downtown the other day and they were telling of a trip they had just taken back to their summer home at Creede, Colorado. 

Their children had often spoken of how they would like to go up there in the dead of winter; so this year it worked out for most of them to go. Their daughter, Nancy, with her husband, Zack Pannell, their two children and a friend, plus their son, Bobby, made the trip. 

Since they were looking for winter conditions, they certainly were not disappointed in what they found. Creede has missed the heavy snow storm that hit Denver about that time, but there was over a foot of snow on the ground everywhere. There was plenty for skiing. Lester said that the scenery was beautiful like you often see on Christmas cards. 

The temperature was wintry also; the night before they got there it was down to 31 below zero. One night while they were there it got to 19 degrees below zero. Creede is just over the Continental Divide, so is at a pretty high altitude. Most of the peaks around that section are over 14,000 feet high, having some snow on them the year round so it should be a cold place. Lester said they were lucky to have running water at their house, as most of the water lines in Creede were frozen and they are from four to five feet under the ground. 

Lester and Bobby tried their luck ice fishing in Road Canyon reservoir, but didn’t have much luck this year. He said that he has ice fished before and would sometimes catch his limit within 30 minutes. He has more luck catching brook trout in the winter than he does the rainbow trout. The ice was about 12 inches thick this time. Some of the fishermen have a gasoline powered saw that cuts about an eight inch hole in the ice. He usually uses an axe and crowbar to cut a hole. 

Zack, Nancy and the children went to the Wolf Creek Pass Ski Resort for their skiing. They all found the winter conditions they were looking for, but were glad to get back to a milder place.

Shared by Roy Ables