Oh, Fun Day

I took the opportunity to head up to the mountains today to see first hand the snowpack levels in the state. They have been reporting on the news that they are actually just below normal in the north-central mountains, and I didn’t believe them….so I grabbed another interested party – Joe – and he and I went up for some research.

We established that the best pattern of information gathering would be on a mountain itself and after some deliberation, we came to the conclusion that we didn’t really want to hike up the hill. There aren’t too many mountains that have roads to their summits (Evans and Pikes Peak…and they are closed in the winter), so we brainstormed about alternate options. We had heard about a place near Loveland Pass that has a chair that will take you to the top without having to hike, so we pointed the car there.

We were smart enough to consider how we would get down the mountain prior to making the destination decision, and we brought along these things to strap to your feet. Once we arrived at this place, often referred to as Arapahoe Basin, we put in as much research as possible for a few hours before taking some time for hydration. Oddly enough, the only liquid that was readily available was a real hoppy substance called beer, and we made sure to include taste testing in our research. The beer didn’t hydrate us as planned, as a matter of fact, it seemed to do the opposite…but it did lead to a decision that we had in fact accomplished our mission.

Results: The snowpack is better than I thought it was, but still lower than it should be at this time of the year. Fortunately for the snowpack, it decided to snow last night and all day today, resulting in some 12-15 inches of fresh powder (and knee deep in places on the tele sticks). It made the drive to and from the mountain difficult, however it made the trips down the hill an amazing experience. I highly recommend that anyone with an interest in science and snowpack, make this journey. I think that I will continue my research one or two more time this year, then as many times as possible next year.

On a serious note, the snowfall that was in the mountains is making it’s way down here….the forecasters are calling for about 16-24 inches of snow between now and Saturday noon. Let’s hope that the snow comes, but only if Ahna gets schools cancelled tomorrow. it did start falling on cue about two hours ago, and we are up to 2 inches in the grass. Here’s to spring in Colorado!