Connect with us

Colorado

Colorado wildflowers are blooming early, with some areas peaking now

Published

on

Colorado wildflowers are blooming early, with some areas peaking now


Over the past two weeks, Maggie Gaddis has toured the state, with stops in Boulder, Estes Park, Gunnison, Durango and Chaffee County, to check on the status of wildflower blooms.

Her advice? It’s time to get out there and be amazed.

“My recommendation is that folks hurry up, go experience it now,” said Gaddis, executive director of the Colorado Native Plant Society. “The flowers are amazing. They’re just on this hyper-drive, super-track. I’ve got plants in my garden that have bloomed already that don’t typically bloom until August.”

In much of the state, where abundant spring moisture was followed by hot temperatures, wildflowers are blooming earlier than normal, Gaddis said. As for the high alpine environment where snowmelt continued into June, the peak should come in a couple of weeks.

Advertisement

“At higher elevations, we had a really strong snowpack, so the alpine plants are right on schedule,” Gaddis said. “I was on Pikes Peak a week ago and nothing was blooming. Last year on July 6, I went on the same field trip and everything was blooming. I think we’re right on schedule for alpine, high-elevation stuff, because the snow is just barely melting. So, mid-July is a great time for those alpine flowers.”

Her advice tracks with that of Nicola Ripley, director of the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens in Vail, which are located at 8,200 feet. Ripley said they are in full bloom.

“We’ve had a lot of moisture up in the high country,” Ripley said. “It’s been monsoon season here. The gardens are definitely peaking, particularly the wildflowers in the garden. We’ve had warm weather as well as rainy weather. It would appear that everything is either right on time or a little early.”

Hikers venturing into the higher elevations are apt to encounter snow and mud.

Mountain beardtongue, also known as penstemon, photographed recently in Estes Park. (Maggie Gaddis/Colorado Native Plant Society)

“If you’re looking for alpine meadows, in the next week or so I think you’d be seeing the peaks there,” Ripley said. “But if you want to get up onto the alpine ridges, if you’re going through north-facing areas that still have snow on them, you’re talking closer to the end of July or the third week in July before the little alpines are in peak. What you would call the sub-alpine meadows, the paintbrush and lupines that people like to see, anytime in the next couple of weeks would be a good time to go.”

Advertisement

If you’re interested in visiting the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens, admission is free but donations are encouraged. They’re open daily from dawn until dusk. The education center is open from 10 a.m. until 4 p,m.

In Front Range mountains, some wilderness passes are still snowed in, according to Whitney McCurry, a public affairs specialist for the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests. Those forests stretch along the Continental Divide from Mount Blue Sky to the Wyoming border.

“My understanding is that balsam root is blooming, columbine started popping off last week, larkspur and lupine already flowered out and are done,” McCurry said. “We’re seeing most blooms coming out around 10,000 feet now, 9,500, something like that.”

The Colorado Native Plant Society maintains a calendar of workshops, webinars, conferences, field trips and presentations about Colorado native plants, habitats and gardening on its website. The phenology, or seasonality, of flowers varies due to many factors including weather, location and elevation. For crowd-sourced information on the status of wildflowers, Gaddis recommends iNaturalist, which has an app and website that are to wildflower viewing what AllTrails is to hiking.

“If you are planning a trip to a place where you don’t live, the best way to prepare yourself is to look up the place you want to go on iNaturalist and see what observations are being made,” Gaddis said. “I go around the state. If I’m going to a place I don’t live in, I use the map function and look up the place. There’s all these dots on the map and you can look at all the things people have recently observed. That’s a great way to plan your trip, see what’s going on.”

Advertisement

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter, The Adventurist, to get outdoors news sent straight to your inbox.



Source link

Colorado

Colorado weather: Up to 14 inches of snow forecast for mountains

Published

on

Colorado weather: Up to 14 inches of snow forecast for mountains


Snow started Monday night in Colorado’s mountains and will continue throughout the week, likely making its way into the Denver area on Friday, according to the National Weather Service.

Colorado’s mountain roads, including Interstate 70 at the Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnel and Berthoud Pass, were already snow-covered Tuesday morning, according to the weather service.

“With more snow to come throughout the day, a Winter Weather Advisory was issued for the Front Range Mountains,” forecasters said.

That advisory will be in effect until 8 p.m. Tuesday for parts of Jackson, Larimer, Boulder, Grand, Gilpin, Clear Creek, Summit and Park counties, including Rocky Mountain National Park. Additional snow accumulations between 6 and 14 inches are possible on Tuesday, forecasters said in the alert.

Advertisement

As of Tuesday, the weather service’s snow forecasts included:

  • 2 inches on I-70’s Vail Pass, with up to 3 inches possible
  • 3 inches in Winter Park, with up to 4 inches possible
  • 4 inches in Eldora and on U.S. 6’s Loveland Pass, with up to 5 inches possible
  • 4 inches on U.S. 40’s Berthoud Pass near Winter Park, with up to 7 inches possible
  • 5 inches at Bear Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park, with up to 7 inches possible
  • 6 inches on U.S. 34’s Milner Pass in RMNP, with up to 8 inches possible
  • 7 inches on Colorado 14’s Cameron Pass near Fort Collins, with up to 8 inches possible
  • 9 inches on Mount Zirkel, the highest summit of Colorado’s Park Range of the Rocky Mountains, with up to 11 inches possible

“Travel could be very difficult,” weather service forecasters stated in the winter weather advisory. “The hazardous conditions will impact the Tuesday morning and evening commutes.”



Source link

Continue Reading

Colorado

Weiss keeps focus on job as Colorado AHL assistant, not historic promotion | NHL.com

Published

on

Weiss keeps focus on job as Colorado AHL assistant, not historic promotion | NHL.com


In NHL.com’s Q&A feature called “Sitting Down with …” we talk to key figures in the game, gaining insight into their lives on and off the ice. This week, we feature Kim Weiss, assistant coach of the Colorado Eagles, the Colorado Avalanche’s American Hockey League affiliate. Weiss was named assistant for the Eagles on Jan. 16, joining Seattle Kraken assistant Jessica Campbell as the only women in the NHL or AHL to be a full-time assistant coach.

Kim Weiss doesn’t think about the history she’s made that often.

The 36-year-old is too busy with her duties that come with being the Colorado Eagles’ assistant coach, including breaking down 5-on-5 video — she was the team’s video coach prior to her promotion — presenting it to the team, pushing pucks and running practice drills.

“When the title change happened and the promotion happened, I left the office of the general manager (Kevin McDonald), and I got back to work,” Weiss told NHL.com. “In the moment you’re not really thinking about that kind of stuff, but obviously it’s an honor.

Advertisement

“I’m especially grateful just because of my background. I didn’t play on a national team, I didn’t grow up in Minnesota or any kind of a hockey hotbed. So to get at this level and to have this legacy, for lack of a better word, from the place I’m from, a kid from Maryland that played Division III (hockey at Trinity College), it makes me even more proud to show people that you can get somewhere no matter where you start from. Then you add in being a female and all of that, I’m really proud of my journey and I’m proud of all the people who helped me along the way to get here.”

It’s been quite a ride for Weiss with the Eagles, who are second in the AHL Pacific Division. Last week, Weiss talked to NHL.com about her new duties, working with the Avalanche and more women in hockey.

So what was it like the day McDonald called you into the office to give you the news of your promotion?

“Honestly, it’s an affirmation of the work you put in. That’s what the GM said to me. Last season I had a different head coach (Aaron Schneekloth) and we had a different assistant (Dan Hinote) that both moved onto the NHL, and they both spoke highly of me to our GM in the summer and to our new head coach (Mark Letestu). Getting to know Mark this year and working for him, everything that he had heard of me got confirmed through the first few months of the year.

“I don’t exactly know how the process went about to change the title, but I think he went to Kevin, and I know Kevin said this to me, this line of, ‘You’re doing all the work that the assistant does, so why aren’t we calling you one?’ I’m already on the ice with the team and I run skill skates and scratch skates and present (video). I’m doing everything the assistant coach does; I just had a different title. So I really appreciate them just giving me the opportunity to kind of advance my career and keep doing what I love to do, which is coach hockey.”

Advertisement

Letestu also had you run one of the practices earlier in the season. How did that come about?

“Every assistant got (that chance). The big thing coming in was, he had been an assistant coach before and he wanted to make sure we all had a voice and a say, and we weren’t just coming onto the ice for practice like, ‘Oh, here we go. Push some pucks. Put my track suit on for 20 minutes, push some pucks and jump off.’ He wanted to make sure we had the platform in front of the players.

“It started with our longest-tenured assistant coach, Tim Branham. It was nothing new or scary for any of us, but just a different dynamic. Not every staff allows their assistants to take full responsibility of a full practice. Then Derek (Army) took it and then the next week I took one.”



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Colorado

How the Colorado Rockies Are Actually Building Its Opening Day Roster

Published

on

How the Colorado Rockies Are Actually Building Its Opening Day Roster


The Colorado Rockies are seeking the right balance and experimenting under their first full-year manager, Warren Schaeffer.

It’s a different Rockies roster compared to last season. There are new faces on the active roster for the start of the 2026 season. Having a team with youth and a mix of veterans can be a successful formula for the Rockies.

Knowing how the elevation affects things in Colorado, the Rockies will see which pitcher can thrive playing in Coors Field. Anything can happen this season.

Advertisement

The Rockies Must Have A Roster That Can Stay Durable 

Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Ryan Feltner | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
Advertisement

A Rotation of Veterans

Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta added several arms over 34, including Michael Lorenzen, Jose Quintana, and Tomoyuki Sugano.

The fifth starter will be a competitive battle. The Rockies have options in who will win that fifth and final spot. Here is the prediction of the Rockies’ starting rotation:

  • Kyle Freeland
  • Michael Lorenzen
  • Ryan Feltner
  • Jose Quintana
  • Chase Dollander

Ryan Feltner has battled injuries. The 29-year-old suffered back spasms and shoulder injuries, preventing him from performing in 2025. He’s determined to have a breakout season. 

He had a lot of momentum in his final 15 starts of the 2024 season. Feltner posted a 2.75 ERA and finished with a career-high 162 1/3 innings. Feltner has been building his weight-room capacity and getting himself ready for the new season. Hopefully, he can stay healthy and produce.

Flexibility on the Infield

Advertisement

The Rockies’ acquisition of Willi Castro was a smart move. We know the Rockies’ future at shortstop is Ezequel Tovar. However, the Rockies organization is being cautious. They want to make sure they have an extra body on hand in case something goes south. Castro is a former All-Star and a versatile defender. 

Eduoard Julien is known for playing second base, but he can also play first base if the Rockies need him there. It all depends on many situations and circumstances. Julien is one of the players on the Rockies roster who must prove his worth.

In terms of first base, TJ Rumfield is a front-office option to serve that position. He has the size, length, and youth to play the position. Rumfield is having an impressive start to the spring so far. 

Current Roster and Opening Day Prediction Lineup

Advertisement

Ezequiel Tovar, SS 
Tyler Freeman, 2B 
Mickey Moniak, DH 
Hunter Goodman, C 
Kyle Karros, 3B
Jordan Beck, RF 
Brenton Doyle, CF
Jake McCarthy, LF
TJ Rumfield, 1B

The lineup can change overnight, and especially in the next few weeks. If, for some reason, Freeman can’t okay second base to start the season, then Castro is the leading man to take the spot. 



Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending