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To know what life in Kremmling is about, one must spend winters here

Larry Ebersole / Kremmling Crossroads
Kremmling, Colorado

The first snows have started to melt away but the intention of winter to make its presence known is clear. I really believe a person needs to live here through all the seasons in the mountains to fully understand what life in the Rockies is all about.

There is nothing wrong with maintaining a part-time residence up here, but most often the part-time resident will be here in the summer, which only makes sense if that is all you want out of the experience.

I am not ashamed to admit that the warmer seasons are my favorite times of year here in Kremmling. This is mostly because I love hiking and the best hiking I believe takes place in the summer. I am not a skier, though my wife and son are really talented on the slopes. I wouldn’t know which way to point a snowboard any more than I would a surfboard. I have been afraid to wade too far from the beach since the original “Jaws” film was in the theater. I used to cross country ski until I realized I was working way too hard to be having any fun.



So what is there for someone like me to do around Kremmling in the wintertime? Sledding of course. I find just the right amount of pretend danger and exhilaration in rushing down that slight incline in my plastic chariot. I may not make the next Warren Miller film, but the fact I have to walk back up the hill on my own is extreme enough for me. A true sledder doesn’t need a fancy helicopter. I probably won’t have to be hauled from the bottom of the hill by an ambulance either.

While I am on the subject of ambulances, Grand County EMS will have an ambulance for touring purposes available at the next Kremmling Chamber after Hours mixer. The mixer will be on Thursday from 5:30 to 7 p.m. This event is hosted by the Mountain Valley Medical Clinic and Memorial Hospital and will take place at the clinic. Please contact the Kremmling Chamber of Commerce with any questions.



I find building a fire and staying warm inside to be another of my favorite winter activities. Taking this into account, why would I propose winter to be a necessary experience of mountain life? I think it is because something changes when a person first hears the lonely sound of winter’s first cold wind carrying the thoughts of the isolation winter can often bring up here. I am sure it is a different experience in resort towns such as Winter Park than here in the Kremmling area.

Here winter can bring feelings of isolation and loneliness strong enough to make a person pack up and leave. I think if a person resists or despairs the coming of the snows, winter can be a frigid experience indeed. If an individual is able to embrace this time of year for its inherent beauty, this same experience can be transformed into a winter wonderland.

So much of the history of these mountains is intertwined with our winter experiences. I recently visited a home on Gore Pass that is built out of and old stagecoach depot. I can only imagine traversing the mountains by those means. Let me know how you approach the winters here. I hope everyone remembered that Tuesday was Veteran’s Day and though this column runs on Wednesday I would like to extend a belated Thank You to all veterans, but especially our local Patriots.

” Please contact Larry Ebersole with items of local interest by e-mail at Amentalengineer@cs.com or P.O Box 564, Kremmling,CO 80549.


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