Aspen Journalism is compiling a data dashboard highlighting metrics of local public interest, updated weekly.
Winter occupancy still behind from past years
Paid occupancy in Aspen reached 77.5% in February, down from 79% last year. Snowmass recorded 74.3% paid occupancy, down from 2023’s 74.9%, according to the February 2024 occupancy report for Aspen and Snowmass lodges, compiled by local tourism officials and reservations tracking firm Destimetrics. February occupancy reached 75.9% for the two towns combined this year, down from 76.9% last year.
The report noted that these percentages may be misleading because new inventory has been added, such as the Mollie on Main St. and Electric Pass Lodge in Snowmass Base Village, making the available February inventory higher than last year. The report noted that Aspen and Snowmass actually had 7% more rooms booked in February 2024 than last year, which is also a result of adding Leap Day into the count.
After the 2021’s slow down due to the pandemic, February occupancy in Aspen peaked in 2022 as the it reached 79.8% that year while remaining lower than 2020’s 79.2%.
It’s worth nothing that only commercial occupancy is counted in the report. It doesn’t reflect the occupancy of short-term rentals.
March paid occupancy as of Feb. 29 was at 64.9% for Aspen and Snowmass, down from 70.8% last year.
“When Easter is as early as March 31, spring break demand is compressed into fewer weeks which can cause a dip in visitation mid-March,” the report noted.
Overall winter occupancy is down from last year with 53.8% of rooms booked for November through April for Aspen and Snowmass combined, down from 2022-23’s 56.7%, 2021-22’s 57.5% and from 2019-20’s 57.9% before COVID hit.
Snowpack at Indy Pass reaches 100% of normal
Snowpack in the Roaring Fork basin reached an average of 15.8 inches of snow-water equivalent per site on March 17, or 110% of median. That’s up from 15.1 inches on March 10 and from 109% of median, according to NRCS.
SNOTEL sites that monitor snowfall throughout the winter measured the snowpack at Independence Pass at 100% of median on March 17 with a “snow water equivalent” (SWE) of 14.2 inches, up from 13.1 inches and from 94.9% of normal on March 10. Last year on March 17, the SNOTEL station up the pass (located at elevation 10,600 feet) recorded an SWE of 15.1 inches.
The monitoring station at McClure Pass, located at elevation 8,770 feet, recorded a SWE of 12.9 inches on March 17 or 87% of median. That’s up from a SWE of 12.4 inches on March 10. Last year, on March 17, the station measured a snowpack holding 24.2 inches of water.
On the northeast side of the Roaring Fork Basin, snowpack at Ivanhoe, which sits at an elevation of 10,400 feet, reached 16.3 inches of SWE on March 17, or 132.3% of median.
Snowpack at North Lost Trail, which sits at an elevation of 9,219 feet, has reached 16.1 inches of SWE on March 17, which is up from 15.3 inches on March 10.
Snowpack at Schofield Pass reached 27.1 inches on March 17, which represents 103% of median. That’s up from 26 inches on March 10. Schofield Pass sits at an elevation of 10,700 feet between Marble and Crested Butte.
Snow water equivalent — the metric used to track snowpack — is the amount of water contained within the snowpack, which will become our future water supply running in local rivers and streams.
Lake Powell’s water levels down
Lake Powell‘s water levels peaked in early July and are now decreasing. On March 17, the reservoir was 33.53% full (based on updated 2017-18 sedimentation data). That’s down from March 10 when the nation’s second-largest reservoir was at 33.7%.
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 2022 published a story explaining the that drop in storage due to sedimentation. We will be now using the 2017-18 sedimentation data only.
On March 10, 2023, the reservoir was 22.74% full.
On March 17, Lake Powell’s elevation reached 3,560.4 feet, or 139.6 feet from full pool, which is down from 3,561 feet on March 10. Last year, on March 17 the reservoir reached 3,520.72 feet in elevation, or 179.28 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.
Air temperatures keep swinging
High air temperatures at the Aspen airport went from 36°F on March 8 to 50°F on March 11 before going down to 38°F on March 14, which is about 7 degrees below normal. Meanwhile, low temperatures went from 9°F on March 9 to 26°F on March 13 and 24°F on March 14.
