The Arrival of Snow!

After a dry start to winter we had some significant snowfall in February.  Two significant snowfalls occurred, once on the 12th of February and again on the 23rd.  The first snowfall was just a shock to the system, but only a few inches of snow.  Whereas the second was a significant drop of heavy wet snow, causing the closing of the university for a day!   The mild temperatures since then have mostly melted the snow away.  However the snow on the mountains remains which is good for the skiers and snowboarders.

We explored the snow on Mount Arrowsmith hiking up the 1800 metre peak and narrowly missing the summit.  The hike up Arrowsmith was intense, only a 3km hike but nearly straight up all the way.  We experienced a number of seasons in a day, as the hike made us quite warm crossing through the lower trees, moving up through the snow line, and eventually into a blizzard at the top.  Sadly there was limited views from the top, so I hope to get back up on a clear day.

We also did a snowshoe hike with intent for Mount Becher which we could not find through the blizzard and not having a GPS.  It was still fun to wander around the mountain in the snow.  For a good portion we were  forging new paths through fresh snow which can be really tough going!