Merry Holidays!

I had a good Christmas this year. It began with a week of continuous snow fall. We’d have 3-6 inches here and there with warm days compacting the wet and heavy accumulation. But all of that still adds up so that by the time Christmas rolled around, the snow was over a foot deep in parts of our yard. Meanwhile the mountains have been getting hammered. Moscow Mountain has over 40 inches in the upper elevations, Brundage has over 90 inches at the summit, and I’m not sure of the current depths at Freezeout and Lolo Pass as the snotels have stopped reporting for the moment. As it stands, we’ve already had more snow on the ground than the entirety of last winter.

Yesterday, we went out for a snowshoe hike on Moscow Mountain. We only hiked a mile up Tamarack Road before Clara got cold, but the conditions were perfect for walking on the mountain. Lower temperatures meant a drier, fluffier snow pack and previous skiers had already packed a surface so that we weren’t breaking a new trail. I’m not sure how deep the snow was where we were, but it was at least 2 feet as my poles could sink that far into the powder. The surface was just a few inches below the gate.

Christmas itself was quite enjoyable. Last year, Clara was too young to really appreciate presents. This year, she really enjoyed ripping off the wrapping and playing with her new toys. She got some crayons and markers, some books, a shopping cart, a baby doll (which she loves), a play kitchen, and a tea set. Here are some photos of Clara opening and enjoying her gifts.