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Letter to the editor: Denver Water’s no-swimming policy doesn’t hold water

Gabriel Robinson
Silverthorne

The Denver Water “explanation” of why we can’t swim in Dillon Reservoir sounded like a tired parent who ran out of excuses to set limits: “You can’t watch any more; the TV needs to rest. Wash behind your ears or turnips will grow. If you cross your eyes and get hit in the back of the head, you’ll get stuck that way.”

Those are actually all more convincing than telling us that elevation and “the combination of low water temperatures and thin air makes it dangerous for folks to swim.” How can you even begin to compare that to virtually any winter activity at the same elevation, with low air temps, plus all of the season’s other dangers?

Search and rescue efforts on the lake’s 3,233 acres “would be difficult since it is such a large body of water,” but I was allowed to freely explore approximately 37,000 acres around Loveland Pass and 133,325 acres of the Eagles Nest Wilderness last season, and I’m an idiot! I’d be more comfortable swimming in the lake in winter than navigating some of the avalanche terrain here that is open to all. Why is water temperature the one thing we can’t be trusted to gauge for ourselves? People “from all over the country, all over the world really” come here year-round to navigate a high-Alpine environment with far greater risks than numb toes. The argument they can’t handle the lake doesn’t hold water. I 1-million percent agree that jet skis and the like would ruin the scene, but a swim-at-your-own-risk policy would just allow Summit County to enjoy an activity that fits the mountain lifestyle better than trucker hats.




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