Saturday, December 10, 2011

The week in Whitehorse

The weather was the big topic of conversation in Whitehorse this week. Monday morning started with record-breaking high temperatures- in one Yukon town, Beaver Creek, it was +14! It rained in Mt Lorne on Monday morning all the way through my drive to work, and then the precipitation turned to a heavy snowfall before lunch! The sudden change was due to a low pressure system from Hawaii, or something like that. Colin explains it well! Whitehorse got over a foot of snow in some spots, and at one point in the afternoon, all of the exits from town were blocked with car accidents from the poor driving conditions. I left work an hour early on the advice that it was safer to drive in this snowstorm in the daylight, and at this time of year, the daylight it on it's way out at 4pm. Although the roads were snowy, it was an uneventful (and slow) drive home. My coworker's family was visiting Juneau, Alaska for the day, and had to stay overnight in Skagway, because the mountain pass between Skagway and Whitehorse was at high risk for avalanches with all the snow. With our 12 highways, the local road conditions website is really easy to navigate. This is from Monday:






The rest of the week fluctuated between colder and less cold weather, and snowed  a few inches on and off. We have to bring the dog's bowls after we feed them, because the water in them freezes solid quickly.



We are the proud owners of new cross-country skis- we both got the same backcountry skis, with different boots. Our pal Kim took us out for our first ski tonight, and we went on a trail from Robinson into the woods. There is a full moon tonight, and it was an incredible feeling to glide through the snow-covered trees. Kim's dog ran beside us, and made me excited to take the dogs out on the skis this weekend. We're starting at the golf course with Cookie and Smiley, for a good long straight-away first. The turns and hills are hard enough for newbies, and strapping yourself to a sled dog adds another bit of challenge :)




Tomorrow we are waking up early to check out the lunar eclipse!



Colin had an exciting week at work, including some good mechanical problem solving involving the zamboni, as well as his first rink-flooding and some time on the snowmobile pulling the track setter. Tomorrow we head out for come holiday parties- me to the WGH staff Christmas party, and Colin to a house party in Mt Lorne.

Happy weekend, everyone!
Love Lauren and Colin



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