Crossing to Safety

It has been one of the colder and wetter months of the past ten years.  We've become accustomed to 50 degree days and quickly melting snow during February.  This time, however, the snow has stayed and we are still having temperatures in the teens.  It feels like winter.  One thing I do not like is crossing Nevada (above) when it is cold and snowy, and I had pretty much decided not to ever do it again.  Then I got stuck out there Thursday night with several hundred miles of ice and snow between me and The Homestead.  It finally cleared up when I hit the Utah border in the morning (below).

McCoy

Skiing in the Sierra is really good right now.  I put in a few miles today near McCoy Reservoir.  There were some flurries, but here and there the sun poked through.  As it set, I caught a glimpse of the snow-capped volcanic cone of Mt. Lassen.

Snow in the Sierra

I really wanted to spend a couple hours on the skis, but by the time I got out there it was dusky.  The wind was blowing, the snow was falling sideways, and the highway was snow-packed.  I decided to go 30 minutes out and 30 minutes back.  The snow was about four feet deep, but this is the Sierra, so it was dense.  Perfect for skiing.  I saw nothing and heard nothing (except the wind) for an hour.  Probably what heaven is like.

Cloudscapes

When I was in Utah last week, we had some spectacular clouds (above).  This weekend, northern California had some, too (below).

From One Day to the Next

I guess this is typical for January, but it is difficult to know whether today is a day for skiing, biking, or hiking.  On Sunday, I caught VSO riding a short technical climb on her bike (above).  By Monday, I had both girls breaking trail for me in 18 inches of snow (below).  Today, I think I'll be walking in the foothills:  It is too muddy for riding and too sloppy for skiing.