Aspen Journalism is compiling a data dashboard highlighting metrics of local public interest, updated weekly.
Summer occupancy down from past years
Paid occupancy in Aspen reached 48.8% in October, down from 51% last year. Snowmass recorded 25% paid occupancy, down from 2022’s 30.8%, according to the October 2023 occupancy report for Aspen and Snowmass lodges, compiled by local tourism officials and reservations tracking firm Destimetrics. October occupancy reached 37.5% for the two towns combined this year, down from 41.4% last year.
October occupancy in Aspen peaked in 2021 after the 2020’s slow down due to the pandemic as the October occupancy reached 54.4% that year.
It’s worth nothing that only commercial occupancy is counted in the report. It doesn’t reflect the occupancy of short-term rentals.
Overall summer occupancy is down from last year with 49.3% of rooms booked for May through October for Aspen and Snowmass combined, down from 2022’s 52.3%, 2021’s 60.3% and from 2019’s 56.5% before COVID hit.
November paid occupancy as of Oct. 31 was at 15.4% for Aspen and Snowmass, down from 16% last year.
As of Oct. 31, winter occupancy was reaching 33.7% for both towns, down from 36.3% last year. Occupancy in January and March is down 11.6% and 17.1%, respectively, from last year.
The summary noted that they are expecting fewer Australian visitors due to challenges with airfares and inflation. “In addition, Japan opening fully for the first time in years gives visitors another highly desired option,” according to the report. “With an early Easter and many promotions in place, we are working diligently to close this gap and bring March back to a healthy pace.”
Most local streamflows are running at 70-90% of average
Transbasin diversion resumed around Oct. 28 and shut down on Nov. 4 before starting again on Nov. 5.
At Stillwater, located upstream of Aspen, the Roaring Fork River ran at 15.4 cfs on Nov. 26, or 51.3% of average, which is up from last week when the river ran at 17.6 cfs and 56.8% of average.
Water through the tunnel that sends Roaring Fork flows east of the Continental Divide went from 1.6 cfs on Oct. 22 to 15.2 cfs on Oct. 29 and then to 21.4 cfs on Nov. 5. On Nov. 26, water was flowing at 11.3 cfs.
The USGS sensor below Maroon Creek recorded the Fork running at 91 cfs on Nov. 26, or 91.5% of average. On Nov. 19, the river was running at 117 cfs.
At Emma, below the confluence with the dam-controlled Fryingpan, the Nov. 26 streamflow of 252 cfs represented about 87.2% of average. That’s up from 315 cfs on Nov 19 and 105.4% of average.
Meanwhile, the Crystal River above Avalanche Creek, which is not impacted by dams or transbasin diversions, flowed at 47 cfs or 72.8% of average. Last week, the river ran at 61 cfs, or 88% of average.
The Colorado River ran at 1,510 cfs at Glenwood Springs, or 88.3% of average, on Nov. 26, up from 1,650 cfs last week, while the Colorado flowed at 3,010 cfs near the Colorado-Utah stateline, or 81.1% of average.
Aspen Journalism is compiling real time streamflow data. You can find all the featured stations from the dashboard with their real-time streamflow on this webpage.
Lake Powell’s water levels keep slowly declining
Lake Powell‘s water levels peaked in early July and are now decreasing. On Nov. 26, the reservoir was 37.09% full (based on updated 2017-18 sedimentation data). That’s down from Nov. 19, when the nation’s second-largest reservoir was at 37.18%.
Last year, on July 1, 2022, the Bureau of Reclamation revised its data on the amount of water stored in Lake Powell, with a new, lower tally taking into account a 4% drop in the reservoir’s total available capacity between 1986 and 2018 due to sedimentation. Aspen Journalism in July published a story explaining the that drop in storage due to sedimentation. We will be now using the 2017-18 sedimentation data only.
On Nov. 26, 2022, the reservoir was 24.61% full.
On Nov. 26, Lake Powell’s elevation reached 3,571.7 feet, or 128.3 feet from full pool, which is down from 3,572 feet on Nov. 19. Last year, on Nov. 26 the reservoir reached 3,528.23 feet in elevation, or 171.77 feet from full pool.
The “minimum power pool” for turbines generating hydropower at the Glen Canyon Dam is 3,490 feet, and 3,525 feet has been set as a buffer to ensure that the reservoir and the turbines can continue to function properly.
High air temperatures dropped at ASE
High air temperatures at the Aspen airport dropped from 55°F on Nov. 15 to 38°F on Nov. 20, which is about 0.9 degrees below normal. Meanwhile, low temperatures went from 20°F on Nov. 15 to 29°F on Nov. 20.
Clean air in Aspen
The air quality in Aspen was “good.” The air quality index for ozone ranged from 29 on Nov. 25 to 36 on Nov. 22.
