Nature's Zamboni

Despite all the snow in town we have less snow than usual up high on the mountain

Tuesday night we got some more snow.  It mostly rained at my house and we only ended up with an inch or so of slush, but I gather that out in Bells Flats they got almost a foot.  I was excited for the new snow, but also hoped that it would make the road to the pass better.  On Sunday it had been a sheet of ice, and I had decided no more drives until the road got better!

So Tuesday after work I drove to the pass to go skiing.  I followed a few ruts in the snow to the golf course and then it was all clean.  No tracks in the snow - I was the first person to drive on the road after the new snow fall.  There was only 6-8 inches of new snow but in the flat light it was hard to see the road. The traction was fine, but I was a little worried about driving into the ditch.

It got me thinking about first tracks and nature's Zamboni.

I'm not sure if they still call them Zambonis, but I remember as a kid going to ice hockey games and watching these huge machines hot mop the ice between periods.  It was re setting the ice.  Cleaning up all the ice skate tracks and ruts. So whenever we get a new snowfall on the mountain I think of it as 'Nature's Zamboni'.  No more old ski ruts, skin tracks, or even dog poop - all white, clean and Pristine!

Ready for first tracks.

Patrick

The road was no longer icy but in the flat light and with no tracks to follow it was hard to see!

My 'first tracks' on the '3 tree' run

Another view - nothing quite like looking back at your own ski tracks