Beginning high in the Elk Mountains, the Crystal River flows 40 miles through three counties, cutting a canyon under the flanks of Mount Sopris and winding past the towns of Marble, Redstone and Carbondale before joining with the Roaring Fork River. Along the way, its waters turn mesa hayfields, acres of alfalfa and Carbondale parks […]
Author Archives: Laurine Lassalle
Laurine Lassalle is Aspen Journalism’s data desk editor, where she works to catalog and analyze local public data. She has a master’s degree in data and investigative journalism from UC Berkeley with an emphasis on environmental reporting.
Posted inLocal Public Data
Data dashboard: Lake Powell’s water levels down, Roaring Fork snowpack is up
• Snowpack in the Roaring Fork basin reached an average of 13.4 inches of snow-water equivalent per site on March 3, or 100% of median. That’s up from 12.2 inches on Feb. 25 and from 96% of median.
• Lake Powell’s elevation reached 3,561.7 feet on March 3, down from 3,562.6 feet on Feb. 25.
• Air temperatures at ASE kept swinging and dropped as low as 2°F on Feb. 27.
Posted inLocal Public Data
Data dashboard: Swinging air temperatures
• Snowpack in the Roaring Fork basin reached an average of 12.2 inches of snow-water equivalent per site on Feb. 25, or 96% of median.
• Lake Powell was 34.2% full on Feb. 25, down from 34.4% last week.
• High air temperatures at the Aspen airport went from 48°F on Feb. 6 to 29°F on Feb. 11 before going up to 47°F on Feb. 19 and dropping to 36°F on Feb. 22.
Posted inLocal Public Data
Data dashboard: January occupancy influenced by global economy
Paid occupancy in Aspen reached 69.3% in January, down from 79.3% last year. Meanwhile, Snowmass recorded 72% paid occupancy, down from 2023’s 73.1%.
Snowpack at Schofield Pass reached 19.5 inches of snow-water equivalent on Feb. 18, up from 17.6 inches last week.
Lake Powell was 34.4% full on Feb. 18, down from 34.6% last week but up from 23% a year ago.
Posted inLocal Public Data
Data dashboard: Roaring Fork basin snowpack still close to normal
• Snowpack at Schofield Pass reached 17.6 inches of snow-water equivalent, or 89% of median on Feb. 11.
• Lake Powell was 34.6% full on Feb. 11, down from 34.8% last week.
• High air temperatures at ASE went as high as 48°F on Jan. 31 and as low as 30°F on Feb. 3.
Posted inLocal Public Data
Data dashboard: Weekend winter storm boosts snowpack
• Snowpack at Indy Pass increased from 7.8 inches of snow-water equivalent on Feb. 2 to 9.1 inches on Feb. 4 after a snowstorm hit the mountains over the weekend.
• Lake Powell was 34.8% full on Feb. 4, down from 35% last week.
• High temperatures at ASE went from 34°F on Jan. 26 to 42°F on Jan. 28.
Posted inEnvironment
Pitkin County moving to place a cap on exterior energy use
The Pitkin County Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) on Dec. 6 approved on first reading a package of code amendments that place a cap on exterior energy use at 200 million British thermal units (Btu) per year and per parcel and implement new “electric-ready” requirements.
Posted inLocal Public Data
Data dashboard: Lake Powell’s water levels are slowing dropping but remain higher than last year
• Snowpack in the Roaring Fork basin reached an average of 9 inches of snow-water equivalent per site on Jan. 28, or 100% of median. That’s the same as last week.
• Lake Powell was 35% full on Jan. 28, down from 35.25% last week but up from last year’s 23.46%.
• High air temperatures at the Aspen airport went from 26°F on Jan. 17 to 42°F on Jan 21 before going down to 39°F on Jan. 24, which is about 4 degrees above normal.
Posted inLocal Public Data
Data dashboard: Snowstorms boost snowpack
• The monitoring station at McClure Pass, located at elevation 8,770 feet, recorded a SWE of 7.2 inches on Jan. 21 or 84% of median. That’s up from a SWE of 6.1 inches on Jan. 14.
• Lake Powell was 35.25% full on Jan. 21, down from 35.54% last week.
• High air temperatures at ASE went from 21°F on Jan. 8 to 38°F on Jan. 18.
Posted inLocal Public Data
Data dashboard: December occupancy rate in Aspen on par with last year
• December occupancy reached 55.2% for Aspen and Snowmass combined this year, down from 55.7% last year, but 5.2% more rooms were sold in December than last year.
• Recent snowstorms boosted snowpack in the Roaring Fork basin, reaching an average of 7.3 inches of snow-water equivalent per site on Jan. 14, or 92% of median.
• High air temperatures at ASE went from 40°F on Jan. 1 to 21°F on Jan. 8, or about 13 degrees below normal. Meanwhile, low temperatures went from 20°F on Jan. 4 to -5°F on Jan. 9.