For Our Friends Who Visit Gunnison Crested Butte

To: Our Friends Who Visit Gunnison-Crested Butte

From: Us

We are devastated by Covid 19. Some of our neighbors have tested positive. Almost 300 are self-quarantined with symptoms. Our favorite ski mountain is closed. Our restaurants are closed. Our retailers are closed. Those most economically fragile are taking a beating.

Proving that we are part of the real world, there is no toilet paper anywhere.

Taking the long view, we are closed to visitation. More than just our economic lifeblood. Our lifeblood.

We don’t know what’s next any more than you do. Will we be able to invite you back for Memorial Day? June? July?

Right now, the back-country skiing is good. The Nordic Center is grooming its tracks not for all of us, but for just us locals. Helping keep us sane.

Fishing is hit or miss.

Hartman’s will melt out in April. Trails for us? Or for all of us?

The rivers will rise and we’ll go boating. The Green Drake hatch will hit. The North Valley trails like Cement Creek, the Lupines and Tony’s will open. The flowers will bloom.

We’ve quarantined the valley and most of us are self-isolating, a term two weeks ago we’d never heard of. Most of us agree that if we had to be stuck somewhere, we are lucky to be stuck here. Our almost painfully beautiful valley is intact, and the season is changing.

When can we invite you back? We just don’t know. But we’ll let you know when we can.

Peace to all of you and good health, too.

-John Norton, Executive Director, Tourism and Prosperity Partnership