Anthony's Science Blog

2009 Green Lakes Valley Snow Survey

May 26, 2009 – 5:01 pm

I didn’t do my own snow survey this year but I had a lot of fun participating in the annual Green Lakes Valley snow survey for the Niwot Ridge LTER. Here’s me with my snow-measuring pole on snow-covered Green Lake 4.

All of these pictures are courtesy of my snow-measuring buddy Jordan Parman, grad student in geography. The hole in the picture formed when Jordan fell through the snow. The lake is of course solid ice below the snow, but there was this weird empty spot running in a sort of snow fracture across the center of the lake. That was pretty cool. Here’s a better picture of the fracture.

Probably the hardest part of the survey was snowshoeing at 11,500-12,000 feet all day long. Here’s me on a slope:

Probably the coolest part was the fantastic scenery in the glacially carved Green Lakes Valley. Here’s Green Lake 3 and Kiowa Peak.

Thanks to the organizers Kurt and Casey for doing a great job and to Liz for cooking. And thanks to all participants for good company. Oh, and also Kathy Clegg of INSTAAR, who baked the large number of delicious pies we ate, which is pretty damn awesome of her. THANKS!