GEORGETOWN, Colo. — It doesn't feel like February in Clear Creek County. The sun is shining, the lake is glistening, and while there's some ice, there is also water that is still flowing freely. Denver7 has covered how the warm temperatures and lack of snow are impacting outdoor recreation in Colorado's mountain communities.
Arctikhana announced all remaining ice racing events would be canceled as Georgetown Lake does not have enough ice to safely drive on. Josh Tenge, Arctikhana co-founder, pointed out where cars would normally drive on, with the lake currently not fully covered in ice.
"That little island out there represents essentially the border of where ice fishing is allowed, and then driving would be on this side, so this is worst case scenario. I've been out here about 13/14 years, and I've never seen it like this," Tenge said.
He explained the ice driving season consists of January and February, with opening day being the first of the year. During these two months, he said multiple groups can book days to drive on the lake; however, that is not possible with the current conditions.
"We're pretty much trash for the season," said Tenge. "We would have to have a miracle of, you know, the lake to freeze, and generally takes about a month."
Moving forward, he said Arctikhana will be refunding or transferring people over to next year's racing as he believes this lake will freeze again.
Over on the lagoon side of the lake, crews are busy preparing for the Colorado Pond Hockey Tournament, which brings thousands of players to the area from February 13-15. David Janowiec, owner of the Colorado Pond Hockey Tournament, was busy on the Zamboni on Wednesday morning, making sure the ice was leveled.
"We've had a little bit of everything doing the tournament," said Janowiec. "This is the 17th year of the Colorado Pond Hockey Tournament. We've had every kind of weather you can think of, except for what we have right now. We haven't had temperatures that have been getting this warm for this long, like December and January. Thank God, February's been very good so far."
Preparations for the tournament start roughly three to four weeks in advance. Janowiec said this ice is "100% safe to play on" as they need eight inches to play on, and it is 12 to 14 inches in most spots.
Mike Huggins, chairman of the town of Georgetown Business Promotion Commission, explained even with all this warm weather, people continue to visit the town and participate in other activities like hiking or ice fishing.
"I don't think it's overly concerning; it's just one off year," said Huggins. "If we had consecutive years, then we definitely, probably would have to come up with a new strategy."
He said businesses in the old town district are doing well with local traffic, and with the daytime trips people are taking from Denver.
Scott Goeringer, the owner of Georgetown Valley Candy Company, said compared to last year, sales are a little bit higher and they are seeing a "slightly larger foot traffic."
"We're seeing more like, vacationers, that rather than spending all of their vacation on the mountain because the quality is not all that great. They're venturing out for a day or two to different locations. We've seen a lot more international travelers than normal this time of year, so it's fun, you know, meet people from all over," Goeringer said.
When it comes to the warmer temperatures, Goeringer explained he is not worried, as it is out of his control, and summer is on the way.
"As far as when I talk to my neighbors, I think the sentiment is that it's nice that we don't have to shovel so much snow, but we need the water. That's the sentiment, a little concerned about forest fires and water this summer," Goeringer said.
