December 18, 2009

We have been experiencing winter.  Last week was one of the longest stretches of fog in memory for most of the workers in Cook Inlet.  Some of my coworkers got stuck for over a week.  I tried twice to get out to facilities, but planes and helicopters were not flying.

The fog brought beautiful ice to the trees.  It is a winter wonderland now.  This week the ice was topped with snow.  It is an unusual snow.  The cold temperatures kept the snow light and dry, but the tiny snowflakes caused it to accumulate densely.  We probably got 8” of this dense light snow.  It brushes and blows off the car really easily, but the density is unusual.  I really want to ski it, but today is just too cold with an expected high of one. 

We skied again last weekend.  The conditions were getting a little firm without much new snow.  We were feeling oddly energetic on Saturday.  Either our legs are getting stronger or we are returning to more efficient skiing techniques.  We took our last run top to bottom nonstop.  This was our first nonstop run of the season and we didn’t even detour around the bumps.  It was an exhilarating run.  We didn’t seem to have the same energy on Sunday.

We cross country skied on Tuesday with a friend.  We had new snow on top of last week’s frost crystals.  A low cloud deck reflected the city lights back into the wooded greenbelt giving it a bright glow.  I love being out in the snow in the dark because a little light goes along way.  It was truly a scene from a Christmas card.  I really wished I had a camera and tripod with me.