The Wonder of Snow

2008-02-07 22:15:51.000 – Mike Finnegan,  IT Observer

Hiking Back in a Void

Snow has finally ceased to fall upon the summit, in a gentle downward fashion. The last 36 hours have produced quite an unusual scene here on the summit, as the observation deck has nearly half a foot of snow covering it, much more in other places where it has drifted several feet. Without the sound of the generators, one can hear the snow pattering on one’s jacket. It has made for an uncommon kind of peacefulness up here. It has been fun to go out every hour and inspect the precipitation falling on the snow board. There have been storms of slender needles and intricate stellar snowflakes, both large and small. These at times have become covered in rime and produced snow grains and snow pellets. Then there are the flat hexagonal plates that shimmer back at you. All these different formations are mingling now as the winds have finally begun to increase to 30 mph. Not often we can say 30 mph is a significant increase, but it’s enough to turn on the snow light, look out the window, and see the snow being sculpted by the hands of the wind. The wind is playing a game with us too, lifting those various snow forms into the air and hitting us in the face to make us think it is still snowing. Holding up the snow board however, we see only broken fragments of once entire snowflakes, thus beating the wind at its game. Regardless, I look forward to seeing how the landscape will have changed in the morning. It always does.

Mike Finnegan,  IT Observer