Jay Richards

For the past two weeks, the weather people have been talking about "possibly, could be, etc. coldest weather of the year" for the past two weekends and middle this week. We have yet to reach the negative temps we saw in December when it was in the negative 20's. There has been too much hype for cold not happening. Even today, which was supposed to be the coldest day of the year, the day is just fine with the sun shining and skiers dressed proper. There is no such thing as windchill, at least the word is over rated if every part of your body is covered with the right number of layers.

Last night the full moon was shining beautifully under clear skies. Jonell and I went out for a ski with temp at -12. No wind, it was perfect. I know if I had a conversation with Jonell's brother or dad right now, the topic of 40 below at full moon would come up. Can't find any good read that explains the relation to full moon and cold weather, it just happens. Lately it seems like the -40 temps, which seemed to be the norm during a clear night under full moon in the winter, hasn't happened in recent years. The past few months have been the coldest worldwide in quite sometime with snowcover blanketing most of the united states, with Florida missing out. However, I was fully expecting -40 sometime this month.... maybe tonight we will be lucky. Personally the crisp, cold and cleanness of winter beats the heat, humidity, bugs and sometimes dusty conditions of the summer. All good though as living in a part of the country with dramatic seasons, each with their own beauty, is fascinating.

When Jake and I were in West Yellowstone, I got a email from Columbia Sportswear to test one of the Omni-Heat jackets. At first I didn't think it was for real but I sent mailing address and few weeks later a jacket showed up. I have become a Patagonia user as they seem to have it dialed in best for keeping warm and dry, from the innies to the outers. However, the omni-heat jacket is light weight, not bulky, which I really like and it does a nice job keeping the cold out. If I do feel a chill coming on, just a few minutes running through the bush to generate some heat allows the silver lining to trap the heat and make things comfortable. When I was cutting the tree above, I had to take the coat off I was getting too hot. Same thing cutting the hole open for the plunge.

Grooming at -13. Another day at the beach.
With five feet of snowfall as of last night, the snowpack is building up. Jake checking depth on Bullhead. The woods are taking shape for an incredible season of crust cruising if we get the right melt/freeze cycle. With the snow depth we have, the chances are better.
Snowfall means lot of shoveling. John from Peru and Angel from Chile doing a great job keeping on top of the continuous dustings. Jens helping out last weekend, making me proud.

Jens experiencing the cold of winter as one should.

Jens Plunging from Jay Richards on Vimeo.