January 24th, 2017

For many years I was self-appointed inspector of snowstorms and rainstorms, and did my duty faithfully, though I never received one cent for it. Thoreau

Morning y'all,
It's a beautiful, cold morning up top. The high yesterday reached 35 degrees. The overnight low was 26 degrees. It was 27 degrees and cloudy at 7am observation. The mountain received 1.17 inches of liquid precipitation yesterday and there is no snow up top. There is plenty of glaze ice, so be prepared for slick conditions if you intend to reach the summit. The trails are sure to be treacherous, be sure to turn around if you feel uncomfortable. Going down slick trails is a heck of a lot harder than coming up them.

This little spell of 'dying weather' has been a joy up top. It's always comforting to return to a warm cabin after conditions like we've had the past two days. It was raining hard for most of yesterday - a cold rain that pushes through the best jackets and begs you to go hypothermic. It was a full on ordeal just to go for a brief walk around camp - lots of layers, a thick buff, hat and gloves. It was still alarmingly miserable. On the plus side, we didn't see anybody trying to brave the conditions. The glaze ice around camp is sketchy right now, but this front is supposed to pass sometime this afternoon. Around then, we'll take a break from all this inside time and revel in the newfound sunshine. The joys of mountain weather are its' variety - and while I wish we had snow, these terrible weather days only make you more appreciative once the sun finally returns.