Powder Snow in the North

This is the season that I love. Our house sits on the cusp of a ridge only 850 feet above sea level but with a magnificent view if Kachemak Bay and the Glaciers of the Kenai Mountains. The temperature hovers below zero. There are ice flows in and out of the bay on the tides. We sit here this time of year under an Arctic air mass, pushed down from the interior. It is cold, clear and dry. This is a high pressure area that dominates South-central Alaska through most of January and February. The further north you go the more the lower mountains resemble the high Rockey Mountains down below. Here at just 850 feet and 59 deg. North in cold dry air we have powder snow and lots of it. My hill side is steep enough to ski, in fact with trees, it's a black diamond. I have skied every day, right outside my door. Well not like with a chair lift but 5 minutes down, 400-500 feet and 30 minutes side stepping back up the hill, it will do. Here is the best part. It has not snowed in a week, but with the cold dry air the surface powder remains perfect, big crystals that reflect the light, sparkling in the sun. It's a short run for a long climb, but I'll take it.