30 September 2006 - First snowfall of the year...

Winter came really late to Fairbanks this year. The usual time for the first frost of the year is the first week of September. This year it came on the 26th - the second latest date on record. So we're hoping for a mild winter.

But since skiing and snowmachining are the two main outdoor activities of the long dark winter months, we're also hoping for lots and lots of snow!

The first snowfall of the year came on the final day of September. Here is a picture of my house in the snow.

It was a light fall - about 3 inches. Indeed, we don't get a lot of snow here, because its so dry...Fairbanks is almost a desert!

This far into Interior Alaska, there isn't much in the way of rain or snow usually - the air is so incredibly dry that everytime you get out your car and touch the door to close it, you get a static shock from all that metal charging up as it whistles down the highway with no moisture to conduct the charge away. And when you're in bed at night and you turn over, there is a burst of purple light from the static charge of bedsheets rubbing together. Drinking lots of water is needed to prevent shrivelling up like a prune!

I also took a bit of a walk in the first snowfall on the University of Alaska trail system - which starts just outside the building where I work! The spruce and birch woods behind the university campus extend north for several miles, and its possible to hike or run in summer, and ski in winter, for hours on the numerous criss-crossing trails. Here is a view of a typical trail:

One of the highlights of the trail system is Smith Lake. Its literally just a 10 minute walk from my office, and I like to walk down there at lunchtimes, to get a break from picking earthquakes! Looking at "squiggles" all day long can ruin your eyes and send you cabin crazy, so I think its important to get a break. And what with the drive to and from work already becoming quite dark, its also good to get out into the light during the short Alaskan winter day.

Who would have thought? Here I was, out on my walk along the trail system and look what I found! Home from home. Perhaps I should be living on Nottingham Road, Fairbanks, Alaska?

Since 30th September there has been no further snowfall, and Fairbanksans are getting impatient! Me too, as I'm booked on a series of winter camping and snow travel classes in the next few weeks, and learning to cross country ski and build igloos isn't going to be very satisfying without some snow!