Roof Snow Shoveling & Snow Load Removal in Aspen, CO

Getting weight off the structure before the next storm stacks on it — without a tool ever touching your roofing.

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Storm-season scheduling across Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley
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Flat & Low-Slope Roofs
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Storm-Season Scheduling

Book Roof Snow Shoveling in Aspen

Tell us the roof type and roughly how deep it is up there. Call (970) 236-7078.

  • Worked in lifts — wear layer always left in place
  • Plastic-edged tools on membrane and metal
  • Vents, flues and egress cleared too
  • Seasonal contracts available

Roof Snow Shoveling and Snow Load Removal in Aspen

Roof snow shoveling in Aspen is about weight, not appearance. The job is to take load off the structure before the next storm stacks more on top of it — and to do that without a tool ever touching the roofing. Crews work in lifts, removing snow in layers and leaving an inch or two behind as a wear layer.

Aspen's roofs are engineered for serious weight. The City of Aspen's amended climatic design table sets a ground snow load of 100 pounds per square foot — three to five times what much of the country designs to. In unincorporated Pitkin County the roof snow load is set by the 2016 Snow Load Design Data for Colorado published by the Structural Engineers Association of Colorado, and the required value varies by site and elevation. If you want the number for a specific down-valley address, the Building Division is the place to get it — it is not a figure to guess at.

Why a Well-Built Roof Still Needs Snow Removed

The design number describes a roof as drawn, engineered and inspected. Real winters do not distribute snow the way a drawing does:

Warning Signs of an Overloaded Roof

Structures give notice before they fail. Interior doors and windows that suddenly stick or will not latch. Fresh cracks in drywall or plaster, especially above door frames. Creaking or popping under load. A ridgeline that has developed a visible dip. Sagging between rafters. Any of these on a snow-loaded roof means get the weight off now, and get eyes on the framing afterward.

Low-Slope and Flat Roofs

Aspen has a lot of contemporary architecture, and low-slope and flat roof sections are where roof snow removal earns its keep. A steep roof sheds most of what lands on it. A flat roof holds every inch until somebody takes it off, and drifting against parapets concentrates it further. Membrane roofs also want a specific approach — plastic tools only, no chopping at frozen drains, and a wear layer left in place.

Clearing Vents, Flues and Egress

Roof snow removal is not only structural. Buried plumbing vents, blocked furnace and water-heater flues, and snow-blocked egress windows are safety problems that arrive with deep snow. Pitkin County's code requires plumbing vents to terminate at least 12 inches above the roof or six inches above anticipated snow accumulation, whichever is greater — which tells you how routinely snow buries them here. A blocked flue is a carbon monoxide question, not a housekeeping one.

Roof Snow Shoveling Across the Valley

Roof snow shoveling in Aspen, Snowmass Village, Woody Creek, Old Snowmass, Basalt, El Jebel, Carbondale and Glenwood Springs. Storm-season scheduling fills quickly — seasonal contracts exist mostly so that regulars are not competing for the same 48 hours after a big cycle.

Snow Stacking Up on Your Roof?

Get a free estimate for roof snow shoveling anywhere in Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley.

(970) 236-7078

Roof Snow Shoveling & Snow Load Removal — Common Questions

How much snow is too much on an Aspen roof?

There is no single inch number, because what matters is weight, not depth. Fresh powder can run about 3 pounds per square foot per foot of depth; old settled or rain-soaked snow can be three to five times that. Two feet of spring snow can outweigh four feet of January powder. Watch behavior instead of depth: interior doors that suddenly stick, new cracks in drywall or plaster, creaking under load, a visibly sagging ridge, or drifts stacked well above the surrounding roof.

Why leave snow on the roof instead of clearing it down to the shingles?

Because scraping to a bare surface is how roofing gets damaged. Crews work in lifts and deliberately leave an inch or two as a wear layer, so no tool ever contacts the roof itself. It looks unfinished and it is exactly right — the goal is removing weight, not producing a clean-looking roof.

Do you shovel flat and low-slope roofs?

Yes, and in Aspen those are usually the ones that need it. A steep pitch sheds on its own. A flat or low-slope roof accumulates everything that falls on it and holds it until someone removes it, which is why low-slope sections, decks over living space, and lower roofs beneath a larger roof are the first places we look.

Can't I just use a roof rake?

For the first three or four feet of eave from the ground, absolutely — a roof rake is a genuinely useful tool and in a light winter it may be all you need. It stops being the answer once the snow is deep, has drifted, contains an ice layer, or sits on a roof you cannot reach from the ground. And never use one near overhead power.

Will shoveling my roof damage it?

Not when it is done properly — plastic-edged tools, work in lifts, snow removed in the direction the roofing runs, and a wear layer left behind. Damage comes from metal shovels, from scraping down to the surface, and from people who have never worked on a roof deciding to try it in February.

Is it safe for me to get on my own roof?

In Aspen, generally no. Snow-covered pitched roofs are one of the more reliable ways people get badly hurt in this valley — you cannot see the edge, you cannot see what is ice, and a slab can release under you without warning. Crews doing this work are roped and anchored.

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