There’s nothing that makes me bitter and grumpy quite like not being able to ride when others people are out playing. Spending falls in Alaska usually prevents that, as snow hits in early September, and by mid-September there’s enough to scrape and push around for a jib setup or two. This year, however, has been nothing but a test of patience.

IMG 4908 300x200 Snow, damnit, snow

Deceptive early snow in AK

Rain and cold hit pretty hard in August, a sure sign of impending winter. September had other plans though, as a late “indian summer” swept the state, and we had temperatures that didn’t even hint at snow until the very end of the month. We finally saw some white flakes in the last week of September; 2 inches that melted, and then two days later 4 inches that stuck around for about a week. And with that, winter seemed to give up, relenting to weather more conducive to shorts and t-shirts than snowpants and hoodies. It was warm enough that I thought about getting the boat back out for another round of wakeboarding.

All the while we’ve been not getting snow up here, I have to read about (and post articles about) the snowfall and early resort openings in Colorado (my winter home). See, this summers in AK, winters in CO thing usually works out great, this year it’s torture. As resort after resort starts spinning lifts, my patience is pulled thinner. Mammoth will start turning chairs tomorrow (Friday 10/16), and all I can say is that when California has enough snow to open and Alaska is bone dry, there is something wrong with the world.

11 days until I board a plane and out of this snowless land. Will it be soon enough, or will I be found rocking back and forth in a chair muttering about climate change?