A fog rolled in last night, and with it snow flurries and the rarest of conditions, thundersnow. Basically, it is what the name says…it's snowing at the exact same time it's thundering out. Of course, the thundering part is no problem…it's the lightning that can be bad, especially when skiing above timberline at 11,000 feet. In the dense fog, you can't see where it's coming from, but you can hear it. On this day, I heard it to the south, which made me feel OK about sneaking in a quick skin and descent.
The woods were delectable this morning – damp, frosty, pungent pine. When the fog rolls in, the woods are the most peaceful place to be. Now it's off to the desert for a few days with Neptune staff to learn the sport of canyoneering. We'll see about that!
Alta Backcountry 