Sink or Swim
06/04/2025 06:19PM ● By Steamboat Magazine Staff
Photo: While the lap pool was closed, swimmers were able to continue their practice thanks in part to tether swimming, a harness that simulates lap swimming. Photo courtesy of Lisa Palmiotto.
When the only public lap pool in Routt County was drained in order to kick off long-term reconstruction in September 2023, the swimming community at Old Town Hot Springs could have vanished with the water. Instead, they took to new waters – both literally and figuratively – finding new spots and ways to train.
More than just a place to swim, the lap pool at OTHS is a community hub, where all ages and skill levels gather. Some locals have kept up their lap lane residency for decades in nearly every kind of weather. But the renovation was a necessary evil. “The infrastructure of the old lap pool and pump house was failing, and without this reconstruction, we risked losing the pool entirely,” says OTHS marketing director Sarah Konopka.
To keep swimmers engaged during the renovation, the staff at OTHS created programs for their resident swimmers during the construction period.
For older adults, class programming, like hydropilates, was able to transition into the hot pools. Tether swimming – a harness system that simulates lap swimming – was added. Open swims at Bald Eagle Lake took place on Mondays nights. Steamboat Masters Swimming, a club that is part of a national organization for adult swimmers, still trained twice a week in an adapted setting, swapping swim caps and lap lanes for sneakers and rowing machines. And the fitness classes that are offered on a weekly basis at OTHS were full – very full.
Many swimmers took to new waters, fanning out across the state and country, picking up pool time as they went.
Local athlete and OTHS board member Karen Waeschle committed to her swimming practice by driving to Silverthorne or Winter Park twice a week. Eventually, she found that to be unsustainable and instead, searched for pools to get her strokes in while on the Front Range or visiting family in Utah and Minnesota. “The question a lot of us are asking ourselves is, wherever we go, ‘is there a pool?’” she says.
Along with her friend and fellow swimmer Heidi Hannah, Karen expanded her swimming destinations to swim trips in the Maldives and the Philippines with a UK-based swim tour company, SwimTrek. “It’s something that we’ve been doing since 2018,” Karen says, “but by continuing to sign up for those trips, it gave us a push to keep swimming. Of course we like to pick the places that have really warm and salty water!"
Now, reopening is in sight, slated for this summer. As swimmers return to the pool, one group in particular is ready: the swim team, who took a hiatus during the construction period. “Dryland training begins on May 1,” says swim team coach Joanne Orce. “I’ve spoken to a lot of the swimmers in the past few weeks and they are so hungry to come back and so excited to be with their teammates again. I think there’s a renewed energy which is really exciting for me as a coach."
Karen echoes the sentiment: “We’re all looking forward to getting back in there – that’s the thing I missed the most – the camaraderie."
When the only public lap pool in Routt County was drained in order to kick off long-term reconstruction in September 2023, the swimming community at Old Town Hot Springs could have vanished with the water. Instead, they took to new waters – both literally and figuratively – finding new spots and ways to train.
More than just a place to swim, the lap pool at OTHS is a community hub, where all ages and skill levels gather. Some locals have kept up their lap lane residency for decades in nearly every kind of weather. But the renovation was a necessary evil. “The infrastructure of the old lap pool and pump house was failing, and without this reconstruction, we risked losing the pool entirely,” says OTHS marketing director Sarah Konopka.
To keep swimmers engaged during the renovation, the staff at OTHS created programs for their resident swimmers during the construction period.
For older adults, class programming, like hydropilates, was able to transition into the hot pools. Tether swimming – a harness system that simulates lap swimming – was added. Open swims at Bald Eagle Lake took place on Mondays nights. Steamboat Masters Swimming, a club that is part of a national organization for adult swimmers, still trained twice a week in an adapted setting, swapping swim caps and lap lanes for sneakers and rowing machines. And the fitness classes that are offered on a weekly basis at OTHS were full – very full.
Many swimmers took to new waters, fanning out across the state and country, picking up pool time as they went.
Local athlete and OTHS board member Karen Waeschle committed to her swimming practice by driving to Silverthorne or Winter Park twice a week. Eventually, she found that to be unsustainable and instead, searched for pools to get her strokes in while on the Front Range or visiting family in Utah and Minnesota. “The question a lot of us are asking ourselves is, wherever we go, ‘is there a pool?’” she says.
Along with her friend and fellow swimmer Heidi Hannah, Karen expanded her swimming destinations to swim trips in the Maldives and the Philippines with a UK-based swim tour company, SwimTrek. “It’s something that we’ve been doing since 2018,” Karen says, “but by continuing to sign up for those trips, it gave us a push to keep swimming. Of course we like to pick the places that have really warm and salty water!"
Now, reopening is in sight, slated for this summer. As swimmers return to the pool, one group in particular is ready: the swim team, who took a hiatus during the construction period. “Dryland training begins on May 1,” says swim team coach Joanne Orce. “I’ve spoken to a lot of the swimmers in the past few weeks and they are so hungry to come back and so excited to be with their teammates again. I think there’s a renewed energy which is really exciting for me as a coach."
Karen echoes the sentiment: “We’re all looking forward to getting back in there – that’s the thing I missed the most – the camaraderie."