Lots of Shoveling!

2008-03-02 15:51:48.000 – Brian Clark,  Observer

Big drift

Since last Tuesday, about 21 inches of snowfall has been measured on the summit. A good portion of that snow fell on relatively light winds. This left a lot of loose snow about treeline, just waiting for the right wind speeds to whisk it away into the ravines and snowfields. Well, we finally got those wind speeds last night and into today, and trust me, there is no shortage of snow blowing around out there. In fact, enough snow has been getting swept into the ravines for the USFS Snow Rangers to issue an extreme avalanche rating for Tuckerman and Huntington Ravine yesterday and today. Check out the full avalanche forecast here.

The amount of blowing snow was especially evident when Steve, Matt, and myself headed out to do the daily shoveling. The front entryway had a nice 4 to 5 foot drift in it. That took the three of us half an hour to shovel out. One of the other emergency exits that we shovel daily was completely closed in by snow.

Tomorrow’s shoveling isn’t likely to be a whole lot easier. I don’t mind though because it’s good exercise; it helps me burn all calories from the wonderful cookies and other goodies the volunteers have been making!

Brian Clark,  Observer