Although the devastation from Hurricane Sandy on the East Coast has headlined the news over the past several days, and this is not an attempt to minimize the overall destruction and loss of human life, I have to admit there are some side effects that have really caught my attention.
Snow. And lots of snow.
So much snow that even a ski resort in West Virginia is complaining about getting "too much snow." I didn't know there was such a thing as too much snow. The resort was buried by 35 inches of dry fluffy powder . but apparently Nordic skiers feel that's just too much to deal with.
But then, the Sugar Mountain ski resort in North Carolina didn't have a problem with all the snow it got. It just fired up the lifts and opened its doors to business while the state proceeded to declare "state of emergency" for the state's 24 mountain counties. (Maybe the state doesn't have any mountain sleds in its motor vehicle fleet . which could be reason enough to panic when snow starts to stack.)
Other reports include 26 inches in Redhouse, MD, 24 inches in Bowden WV, 24 inches in Wise, VA, 20 inches in Mt. Leconte, TN and 14 inches in Payne Gap, KY. We know the folks in upstate Pennsylvania and New York knew what to do with the snow they got.
Although the tragedy occurring on the East Coast is heartbreaking, a less serious tragedy is the fact that most of this snow is going to melt without a single snowmobile track marking it up.
This leaves many in the West wondering, with sleds loaded on trailers and ready to go, "Does Sandy have any sisters?"
SJ