What is it like in the morning, before the crowds of skiers?

Everyone who lives in Girdwood knows it exists for a reason–skiing (present day). Those who work at the Resort are here to serve that purpose. Sometimes there are wonderful days when all the guests are nice, happy to be here, and loving the outdoors. Sometimes, unfortunately many times, the guests are whiney, ask for more than their share, rude, dangerous, and demanding. Because of those guests, I  myself enjoy this moment, the quiet before the storm. This morning the sun bursts between Mount Alyeska and Max’s Mountain as if it was shot forth by a giant slingshot between the two mountains. The billions of groomed crystals on the ground sparkle under the bright sun, fresh, un-carved terrain. All that riotous color belies the quiet in the air. The calm snow, the trees still, the sun warm, I could just lie down and take a nap. 

That is not to be, as its a great day for everyone to drive into Glacier Valley to hit the slopes. The afternoon will be filled with bull wheels being turned by closet-sized motors, skis and snowboards slipping over the firm snow pack, kids laughing and having a good time, and lots of requests for lift tickets accompanied by beeping computers and printers grinding out the tickets. Throw in three, four, or five dogs romping around the base, parents pulling little ones in plastic sleighs, boots and binding clamping down and clicking off, and the random mix of music in the daylodge and you have a wild mix of audible waves. The evening will be closed out with hundreds of cars crunching in the gravel on the way down Alyeska Highway back to the Seward Highway. By 9 pm, the town settles back down to one or two cars humming up or down the road, being a Friday, maybe they just returned from a night out in the big city. 

Heavy spring blizzard lays it down on Girdwood

Well, how about a little spring blizzard to shake up the town! Wow! When we went to bed Sunday night it was quiet, cold and a little snow falling, enough but quiet. When we woke up Monday morning, BAM 10 inches of fresh powder! This is how the weather prediction goes for Girdwood. When there is snow predicted for an accumulation of 3-4 inches, that usually means 4-6 to 8 inches for Girdwood. When there is a blizzard warning with accumulations predicted of 4-6 inches, there is no limit for Girdwood. This early spring blizzard is a classic example of how difficult it is to predict weather when mountains collide with oceans and jet streams. 

At 9 am there was 10 inches of fresh snow at the T in Girdwood as seen in the photo of my foot on my driveway. Visibility in Glacier valley was low, I could see a quarter mile down the road but good visibility was only one eighth of a mile. Above is a photo of a car turning onto a road that is literally one house-lot away from my driveway. Usually I can see all the way to Crow Creek Road. This morning I cannot even see the bridge over Glacier Creek. Below is a photo taken from the front of the Daylodge toward Alyeska’s live christmas tree near the wooden sign. We are talking white out conditions. 

As for the skiers and riders, those who loved powder were in for a treat. By the time they made it back up to the top on the lift, the snow had already filled in tracks from the previous run, instant refills they call it! Cute. The fat skis were out en masse today!

Looking down Arlberg Avenue at 9 am, the Jade Shop is on the right past the green sign.  Below you can see the snow stacking up on snow.

The large solid wood sign marking your arrival to Alyeska Resort (this is the back) is my favorite part of the resort. It is heavy, strong, does not change and will not let you down.

Here is one of our few front end loaders clearing a back road. It is about 4 pm in this photo, still near white out conditions. Alyeska ski patrol had to close the upper bowl for fear of avalanche danger. I can’t wait to hear the counts of snow feet on the upper mountain! As for my house, by time I returned home after 4 pm, another 10 inches of snow had fallen. Thankfully, our driveway was cleared for a second time. Below is the afternoon view down the Alyeska Highway, very close to the same location of the first photo in this post, just from the other side of the road. Glacier Valley and probably all of the Turnagain Arm was experiencing this white out view.

The snowfall was relentless, heavier at times than others but never letting up until nightfall. The flakes were small too, not big fat ones. Usually when flakes are small they are wet but these were just falling so quick they did not have time to build up extra rings of crystals. Never-the-less, they were powder-riffic indeed! the piles of snow were soo sooo soft and fluffy. Below is one last view looking back toward Max''s Mountain, its there somewhere, really!

Moon over the Headwall, only available in a blue sky!

This morning began colder than we have felt in a few weeks, it was 15° at the T in Girdwood. Water in the streets had frozen, slush under the fresh snow solidified, and water had stopped dripping off the eaves. Soft fresh snow which had coated walking and driving surfaces was misleading. Though the snow was fresh, the surface which the snow coated was craggy. As a result, walking must be done with caution. Because the slush under the snow froze up in rugged, uneven chunks of ice, soft snow gives way to uneven ground to walk over. 

Most of us in Glacier Valley are glad for the colder air and snow that is not melting, therefore we adapt. I saw a resident on cross-country skis working her way over the walking path heading toward Moose Meadows. Keeping your skis on, no matter what kind, was not an option in the past few weeks. For a brief moment, really for a few hours, Girdwood was under the influence of high pressure. From the looks of the weather surface map, we were on the edge of that high. The photo above captured the glory of the blue sky. Notice the wind kicking up dust on the left of the Headwall. 

Today was the first day this season Alyeska opened Max’s Traverse. Here is a great photo of a line of trekkers heading over to take advantage of the high fresh face. The red arrow points to a dotted line of skiers which from my vantage point always look like ants! Marching marching marching in a neat row, dutifully following each other to the feeding prize! I am sure they all had fun and we at the base were glad to see the new open space. 

Slowly low pressure has moved  back over to influence western Prince William Sound. The forecast for this evening and Sunday is more snow.  Accompanying that snow will be temperatures that stay below freezing! Yea! No wet or sloshy snow this weekend. What a nice treat for a long holiday weekend.  Below is the view toward Turnagain Arm of the sun being shrouded in the haze of moisture signaling the edge of the weather system.

Melting snow freezes up again -and- the sun is just around the bend!

We all long for the sun, and we say it every winter, and we know what winter is like here in Girdwood. After so many days of grey, and rain, and warming trends, Glacier Valley is truly feeling like its lost in the clouds. I hear from folks that come to Girdwood from Anchorage that it is colder there, and a little more sun shines in the bigger city. Today, I drove to Anchorage just as the sun was rising. There was a little bit of cloud cover, but not too dense. After completing my few first missions in the big city, wow, there was the big sun! Bright sun and blue sky with a few little whispy clouds. It is typical mid winter, nice crisp air, snow still on the ground. And the weather is not too untypical, except for the lack of snow in Girdwood. But once I stepped into that bright sun light, my skin warmed, and the synapses fired to remind me what I had been missing for nearly a month. 

It never ceases to amaze me that around just a few bends, usually not even an hour away, the weather can swing one-hundred and eighty-degrees! That is one aspect of what makes this state, this geography so intriguing. The mountains divide space up so well, creating their own environments. Of course Anchorage receives so much more sun that Girdwood because the larger city is open to the south and west. Girdwood, on the other hand, is snuggled up to Mt. Alyeska and Max’s Mountain which block most of the winter sun. Old Girdwood is quite a sunny spot year around due to its openness out to the water. That proximity to the water lent it to the beautiful frost coverage earlier in the winter. 

For now, all of Girdwood will remain just below freezing. All the running water had frozen over this morning and remained so all day. Driveways, parking lots and sidewalks are thick ice. Remember to wear your ice cleats. According to the forecasts, it looks like there might be a day or two of warm air again this week. There are still ice falls along the Seward Highway. The ice falls have been evaporating as the winter has gone on due to the wind and warmer temperatures. If you concentrate, you can see a hint of peach from the sunset on the face of this ice fall. 

Not everyone has the ability to run into Anchorage regularly. So for now, enjoy this sunset and know there is more to come, just around the bend. 

Beautiful light in the valley filled with frigid air

The light is always stunning when the skies are clear blue. However, with temperatures in the single digits-both positive and negative, the air can be quite biting. Most runs are groomed at Alyeska, but off trail with little fresh snow, the surface is icy.

I don't think temperatures were above 10° today and they may be slightly negative under another gorgeous moon. Expect the same on Monday before snow returns Tuesday or Wednesday. The roads are fairly clear in Girdwood, however parking lots and driveways remain icy. Cleats are highly recommended. Here's the headwall with a little alpenglow coming on....

Flat white and very still, murky air

I noticed as I walked home after work, the sir was a little stinky. As I came around a corner onto Alyeska Highway, I saw this layer of haze down over the main part of town, shown above. Normally that would be fog rising from the creek with cold air falling from the valley above up stream. However, today there was a dirty color to the fog, looking more like smog, and this is not Fairbanks! There are not that many wood burning fireplaces here. I thought at first it could be an inversion layer, but it is not warmer at the tops of the mountains than below. That is what a standard inversion is the result of, warmer air aloft trapping the cold air below which keeps the particles from rising and dispersing in the atmosphere. It must today be a phenomenon of the incredibly still air with clouds above not moving allowing the soot to be trapped below, where we can see and smell it! There is a low pressure system directly over Prince William Sound. The isobars are far apart over us confirming my observation of lack of air movement. There is another low coming from the southwest, maybe it will move this boring system away soon.

What a murky day it turned out to be in Girdwood. That winter storm that was supposed to be dumping snow all night never materialized here. At about 9am there was wet snow showers with more substantial snow holding together on the mountain. It precipitated off and on until late afternoon, mostly a wet variety. It was, after all, 34° in most of Glacier Valley. I understand from the skiers that the snow was sticky. That was the case in Moose Meadows last night as well for cross-country skiing. 

This was the view of Max’s Mountain today. After the sloppy snow stopped falling, the conditions where flat white light. Not super wonderful, but not wet either!

A break from rain, for now, temperature still warm

Its verging on blah today, however, the absence of rain puts the enjoyability of the morning one step above. It is 35° in Girdwood at the T this morning. The snow is still slush and it is still dripping off the roof. The forecast is for the temperature to rise to 40 before plunging into the 20’s tomorrow. Even with the increased temperature, NOAA has cancelled the flood warning. Since there are so many microclimates created by the mountains and the ocean, we should all still be aware of the surprises that can occur outside where it is hard to make a blanket forecast.

Here is a photo of Max’s Mountain this afternoon. Alyeska snow safety was performing avalanche mitigation this morning which they do to induce slides to alleviate dangerous conditions for skiers. On the north side of Max’s, facing the resort, you can see evidence of a slide. Since mitigation usually starts before daylight, it is not known if this was caused by that, the warm air, or possibly the earthquake on Sunday. This is just to show that the snow and the environment is always “alive” and active even though we don’t see it as a “living being” such as us. Use caution in the back country this week, it has been a strange weather season.

Looking up Glacier Creek this evening. The water is flowing well and thankfully not flooding!