The snow cover in Anchorage and the Chugach is disappearing very quickly. Go out and get it while you can!
Observation by Mike Brubaker:
Spring has come on so quickly this year that we are seeing conditions a month early. Partially, this is due to the loss of all the snow on Anchorage Nordic Trails over the course of the past two weeks, and the spring conditions that have made crust skiing possible over the past week. To have good snow crust conditions, you need to have warm enough temperatures during the day to allow melting and consolidation of the snow. Then overnight you need the temperature to drop below freezing to allow for the snow to develop a strong crust. We had a week of night temperatures where many areas were not getting below freezing, thus no crust. With the high pressure system sitting over much of Alaska, cold temperatures have returned and so has the crust. We had great skiing this weekend up Powerline Pass. And just in time, as the snow is going fast. We had to hike in as far as the bridge before we could access patches of snow that would allow us to ski to the pass. This is pretty amazing for March. As skiers in Alaska have now learned, again and again, the conditions no longer last like they used to. Adaptation? You have to get out and do the activities when you can, because it may not be there tomorrow!
