Buried Alive

I thought the passing of the holidays would herald a less hectic time in my life, and that I would be able to get some long overdue posting up to the blog. To paraphrase what Robert Burns wrote "..the best laid plans of mice and men go oft awry" I neglected to consider the plans of Mother Nature, and in doing so was rewarded with a week long snow event that will be remembered long after this winter.

From January 19th to the 23rd, Flagstaff received over 60 inches of snow, and much more came down on the mountain. As a result I spent many hours digging out both at home and work to keep from going under. When the skies finally cleared the snow had ended but the crowds were just beginning. We lost power at the ski area on Thursday afternoon and it was not restored until Saturday morning. Additionally we were unable to clear the heavy snow mountain wide until Sunday, so there was a great deal of pent-up demand for skiing and riding the fresh powder.

For nearly seven days afterwards we hosted capacity crowds hungry for the best snow conditions in years. Even though the season prior to this had been going well, the new snow dramatically changed the outlook and assured us of a strong finish into April. As a resident of an area that often contends with a lack of consistent snowfall, the abundant moisture is welcome on many fronts. All hail El Nino!