"Return of The Abominable Snowpack Man"

Flirtatious: "How'd you like to try on my snow shoes for size?"

Real Mood: Advanced state of "TOLD YA SO!"

Prediction: Most of that snow will melt.

That's a 14,000 foot peak in the Rockies from 50 miles away. Still it's obvious there is a bunch of white stuff on the top of that mountain.

A few of my media friends knew this was coming.  I've gone on a rampage in newsrooms for decades over the annual winter snowpack measurement. Like lemmings, reporters and photographers follow this guy, Mike Gillespe, up to 11,300 feet(the last quarter of a mile on snowshoes).

We stand around in a clump while Mike jams his dipstick into the snow.  We are in rapt anticipation as he pulls us the dip stick and makes such incredible revelations as, "Things are looking pretty optimistic right now."

According to the Rocky Mountain News that's exactly what he said yesterday. Mike has convinced the media, at least newsroom managers, that this trip is big news for the entire west.  What Mike doesn't tell anyone is there are more than 600 electronic sensors all over the West that automatically provide the snowpack meansurements twenty four seven.

Some years Mike boldly uses words like "Drought," or "Flooding." But a guy that can con people in to joining him on his annual snow shoe trek is no dummy.  He always gets in a word or two like these quoted by Rocky yesterday, "They could be looking at severe water shortages IF things don't turn around."

For the record, things quite often do turn around.  I don't want to belabour (U.S. spelling of belabor went missing) (inside joke for regulars) this issue. The sequel seldom lives up to the original. I would refer you to Archived Posting titled "The Abominal Snowpack Man," dated June 17th, 2005.

I, too, don't wish to belabour the fact that all local media will arrive at Boulder Reservoir early tommorrow to chronicle an annual event.  Between 50 and 100 human beings, suffering from "Seasonal Affect Disorder," will stupidly strip down to near nakedness.  Then they will dance around like preening peacocks, after which they'll promptly jump into the one degree above freezing water. Most years a reporter gets overly involved in the story and leaps into frozen fame.

There is typically a large turnover in the list of regular reporters that cover both the "snowpack" and "polar bear" events.  For most of us, once was enough. 

I hope you have a great New Year's celebration. I gotta go watch me some football games.

Okay, it's a 500 millimeter telephoto lens. But it's still 50 miles away.