I haven't looked out yet, but Weather.com says it's -13 F in Ouray this morning, with a 9-mph wind producing a temperature that feels like -31 degrees. It gets cold in Ouray!
We saw they were preparing the ice-climbing cliffs; what a wild sport! And I gotta admire the Chicks with Picks ... female ice-climbers who are offering ice-climbing clinics in January and February.
Anyway, the pics above are, from the bottom, the serpentine curves coming down (northward) from Red Mountain Pass at the Idarado Mine area. Then there's the light beckoning me around the corner on a mountain road past the ice-climbing area ... a beckon I should have ignored. The old fool realized further up that the road ahead looked questionable, at which point there was ice ahead, ice underneath and ice behind on a one-lane road with no guardrails and a 100-foot dropoff. There's no fool like an old fool! We got out okay, but I haven't been so scared in a long time.
The upper picture is the main reason why, though I'm coming to like Ouray, I couldn't live there. It was about 3 p.m. when I took this picture of the town, already starting to be covered by evening shadows.
Wednesday nights in early December are not the swingiest time to be in Ouray ... business after business was closed and there were only a few places to eat. However, we did enjoy a soak in the hot tub at the Box Canyon Motel, which may be why I was out like a light early in the evening. tv
3 comments:
We have lived in Ouray for 24 years and, believe it or not, it does not get that cold during the winter months. Because of the steepness of the mountains surrounding Ouray, the cold temperatures RARELY settle down into the town like it does in towns with broader basins. People are surprised that the temperatures can be so mild.
Good to hear from you! We live four miles north of Mancos and, like you, enjoy the high altitude sunshine during the day. However, the nights are another matter and, actually, downtown Mancos (along the river) may have nighttime temperatures 10 degrees colder than ours.
Your town is growing on us; we get through there every three months distributing Arts Perspective Magazine and always look forward to staying in Ouray.
I do enjoy your photos , Tom and Sandy. I don't always leave messages, my bad, but do come to view.....Hope all is well with you both. I still will visit one day.....Merry Christmas.
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