Royal Gorge in February — no ice, no excuses, just 320 cfs and sunshine

In mid-February, Royal Gorge should have been locked in ice — frozen ledges, brittle air, the river choked with winter. Instead, winter never showed up. Not a shard of ice clung to the canyon walls. The sun poured down in an almost defiant 56-degree warmth, the river sliding through at roughly 320 cfs, alive and unrestrained. Blue skies overhead, good friends beside me — it felt less like surviving winter and more like stealing a day from spring. February 14, 2025. Flow: approx. 320 cfs.