No kidding, it is spring, again! I have lost track of how many springs there have been in Girdwood this winter. However, considering it is April now, this could be the real spring. Where do you think the above photo was taken? The Yukon? Tanana? Nenana? Campbell Creek? No, none of the above, its a road!
Though the day began cool and overcast. break-up was happening on all the roads. This side street in Girdwood could have been mistaken for a small river when viewed up close. As I was walking home, I could see the gravel on top of the ice thinking “wow, thats the road surface already.” Not so fast, once I turned the corner and saw this vast crevasse, I was stunned at how thick the ice had built up over the months.
There is plowing all winter, not on a regular schedule, but enough. And as referenced many times, spring has come upon Glacier Valley enough to melt the ice on the creeks, but this ice road would not let us forget our valley is the snowiest in the state.
Some other ice and snow features I find fascinating are the waves that roll off roofs in this community. Just looking at it, my monkey brain processes that as snow on the roof, and my simple brain thinks I could just go up there are knock that wave off. Fat chance, that snow is packed to a mini-glacier state. And it flows of the roof at a glacial pace. Very cool looking, and, very dangerous, never stand under one of these.
Here is another cool snow phenomenon, the ripple snow blanket sliding down the roof. This snow blanket has a large pile of snow already built up below the roof line so the snow does not have space to form a wave. The snow at the base of the roof stops moving and the rest of the snow ripples up against the pile. I find it fascinating how it looks like fabric.
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