A good day to get outside

2010-01-14 17:57:36.000 – Brian Clark,  Observer and Meteorologist

A happy observer in the East Snowfields

Today was one of those rare winter days where winds drop below 10 mph, temperatures are “warm” (low to mid 20’s), and the sun is shining brightly. We might see a day like this once a month in the winter and if we’re lucky, it’s on our shift. Because of this, the summit crew is always sure to take advantage of such fantastic weather by getting outside for various outdoor activities, as the work load allows of course. In fact today, all of us that work during the day (Mike F. and I, our new intern Nick, and our volunteer Steve) were able to get out to hike/climb, ski, snowboard, or a combination of all of those.

I headed down to the East Snowfields for my first backcountry ski turns of the season. It is fairly unusual for my first turns to come this late in the season, but vacation time and weather have prevented me from going earlier. The skiing conditions were fantastic and the hike back up was just as enjoyable. I never get tired of the views from that area of the mountain. Upon arriving back at the building, I realized that this was the first time I have done any significant hiking/climbing since tearing my hamstring back in August. I am very glad that I ended that drought and even more glad that I didn’t feel too many effects from that injury.

As is usually the case this time of year, the conditions we had today will be short lived. Tomorrow, the fog will likely roll back in and winds will increase as well, bringing back more typical January conditions to the mountain.

Brian Clark,  Observer and Meteorologist