Mountain glaciers are disappearing

Before and after photographs always leave a stark impression about the passage of time. I recently compared two photos taken decades apart. They told the story of a glacier, Rocky Mountain National Park’s Taylor Glacier, then and now. 

I once ascended that glacier nearly 50 years ago on my way to a nearby peak. I had just moved to Colorado and was eager to explore the landscape so beautifully described in the book Land Above the Trees. As I crested the ridge, I began to see what Ann Zwinger and Beatrice Willard had written about with words that blurred the line between prose and poetry.

That fond “before” memory remains etched in my mind, a lasting reward for spending time in a magical place, Colorado’s alpine tundra. Comparing that image with the tragic “after” photo of the Taylor Glacier was a stunning reminder of the span of time we are living in. Natural history violated by human history. 

By continuing to pump carbon into our atmosphere, we are depleting our ice world, the cryosphere. When viewing the starving remnants of its former self, the future of the Taylor, and thousands of such melting glaciers, looks bleak. Many, like the Taylor, no longer meet the definition of a glacier.

The shrinking Taylor Glacier is just one small-scale example of disappearing mountain glaciers around the globe, half of which are predicted to be gone by 2100. The meltwater from Rocky Mountain National Park’s ice and snow is a microcosm of the bigger picture. It feeds the Poudre, Colorado and Big Thompson Rivers. 

On a global scale, meltwater pours from seemingly countless glaciers that function as frozen reservoirs. This aspect of the hydrologic cycle provides a reliable water supply for nearly two billion people and the ecosystems on which they depend. The dire state of the world’s mountain ice has prompted the United Nations to declare 2025 as the Year of Glaciers’ Preservation. March 21 will be the U.N.’s first annual World Day for Glaciers. (Visit un-glaciers.org and unwater.org to learn more.)

In a world filled with people yelling “Drill, baby, drill!” I struggle to stay hopeful. We were too late to save the Taylor. What will become of this alpine world where “the sky is the size of forever and the flowers the size of a millisecond?”

— Doug Yohn, Boulder

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Keep local restaurants alive

Downtown Boulder Partnership, the Boulder Chamber and Visit Boulder are proud partners in supporting our community’s economic vitality. We work together behind the scenes and in the public realm to ensure that the people who live, work, play and visit here enjoy a high quality of life. We recognize that, in Boulder, most business is small business, and that’s why we take special pride in lifting up our friends and neighbors who work in and run them. 

It’s no secret that the restaurant industry is suffering. In our work, we have daily conversations with restaurant operators who are struggling to make payroll — stepping out of their kitchens and their comfort zones to engage in coalition-building, as well as coming up with creative strategies and marketing ideas to increase their customer base so they can continue to operate. Many operate on razor-thin margins, and the minimum wage increases adopted by Boulder County, the City of Boulder and in Denver have increased costs further. 

Visitation numbers are up in downtown Boulder, and crime is down, but restaurants say they're still struggling. Credit: Tyler Hickman

In Denver, where the number of restaurant licenses has dropped by 24% in two years, a steadfast group of operators initiated HB-1208 — a restaurant relief bill. This bill would help restaurants stay open by giving local control to municipalities to set their own tip offset credit (the minimum wage tipped workers are paid; a certain amount or percent lower than non-tipped minimum wage) and ensure that pay is more equitably distributed among front-of-house and back-of-house workers. 

A lively and lovely restaurant scene is vital to our community’s wellbeing. Unfortunately, this bill has been politicized, and the rhetoric has abandoned civility. Hurtful flyers depicting bill sponsors have been circulated at the Capitol, and restaurant owners have been doxxed after testifying in support of the bill.

As the lead champions for small businesses in Boulder, we support HB-1208 because we want to continue sharing meals and celebrations, exploring cuisine from other cultures and countries, and gathering in our local restaurants. Our restaurants are a huge part of the culture that makes Boulder attractive to residents and visitors alike. 

The folks who started restaurants didn’t get into this business to be politicians, but for many of them, the circumstances are desperate. HB-1208 presents a reasonable, localized solution that might help them make it through this strange economic time. 

We encourage you to help ensure the long-term survival of our locally owned restaurants by supporting HB-1208. 

— Bettina Swigger, CEO, Downtown Boulder Partnership; John Tayer, CEO and President, Boulder Chamber; Charlene Hoffman, CEO, Visit Boulder

Want another take? Read "Oppose pay cuts for Colorado workers" by Alejandra Beatty

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Smug-glasses cloud your vision

In his recent Weekly Why article (“Why is Longmont hosting the Ice Climbing World Cup?” Feb. 19), Tyler Hickman questions why Longmont (which he references as Longtucky) would get an ice climbing world competition, instead of “Boulder, a climber’s playground, painted against the unmistakable Flatiron skyline...”

To answer that, let me start with an observation: Some people wear sunglasses, while others seem to wear smug-glasses. Mr. Hickman’s smug-glasses let him see the Flatirons, but he can’t see the beautiful snow-capped Front Range from Boulder. 

What he can’t see is something that Longmont has, that Boulder only talks about: a thriving diversity that makes Longmont the “reality” that exists outside of Boulder’s sometimes stifling “bubble.” Too many in Boulder think they embrace diversity because their dentist is Jewish, their house cleaner speaks Spanish and they drive a German car.

Smug-glasses can’t see through diversity. The diversity that Longmont embraces includes climbers and some of Boulder’s house cleaners; climbing gyms and fun thrift stores; a renewed old town, and more affordable housing. 

A cover story and photos about Longmont's Dia de los Muertos celebration by Tyler Hickman.

Yes, there are those in Longmont who also know a thing or two about running, backcountry skiing, biking and other outdoor activities. Longmont hosts several triathlons and sprint tri’s every year, but isn’t just a bunch of white upper-class folks training for their next event. 

Longmont hosts Colorado’s longest-running Dia de los Muertos celebration — something for everybody. And while Longmont might not have one restaurant for every 3.5 residents, like it seems down the Diagonal Highway, there’s some good eats in town. 

Yes, come see the ice climbing competition. But first — take off those glasses.

— Rick Jacobi, Longmont

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An illustration of Buddy from a Boulder Lampoon satirical Q and A with a retired mascot. Courtesy: John Neiley/Jaime Elliot The prairie dogs did it

The story of Buddy Boulder (“Have you seen this rock?” March 6) was marvelous and deliciously funny. 

While Buddy Boulder was before my time, we all know it was the prairie dogs that put the kibosh on this mascot. They couldn’t have anyone or anything take their spotlight or remove them being the patron saint of Boulder. 

I bet he’s buried in some old abandoned prairie dog hole — maybe on the South Boulder trail. Thanks for the giggles on this cold and dreary morning. 

— Rebecca Johnson, Longmont