Two winters ago we had beautiful 50 degree weather in February. Living in Montana, this occurrence was not welcome. It wiped out the local Nordic skiing and it planted all kinds of legitimate fire fears in our heads for the upcoming summer. Most of us did get out on our bikes, but it just didn’t feel right.
Another weird weather pattern occurred this spring, but it was flipped. Heavy late season snows blanketed both our mountains and our valleys. Spring has always been a nebulous concept here, and spring snow is nothing new, but full-on winter blizzards below 5000 feet in elevation are not normal. Those dumps usually occur much higher up. Some of our best Nordic skiing occurred in late March, and even extended into early April below 6000 feet. Weird.
After talking with a bunch of people, most folks just wanted to pack away the skis and wait for spring. I can sympathize with this view. I have had that same mindset after a number of hard winters as well.
But this year while skiing in West Yellowstone in April (not crust cruising, but actually skiing on great snow), I basically just came to the conclusion of… why fight it. The traditional rhythms of the seasons, although cherished, may be a thing of the past. With climate change upon us, why continue to hang on to historical patterns when we really should be expecting the unexpected. Why not shift our paradigm from the historical normal to the present reality of climate volatility?
We had some fantastic Nordic skiing in late March and early April.
Crust cruising hasn't even begun yet. This picture was taken April 12th.
That reality could mean that we could have just about any type of weather, at just about any time. We also might have severe shifts between weather extremes. From a recreational standpoint, his doesn’t necessarily have to be bad. Last weekend, we had an evening snow and woke up to 18 degree temps., we were Nordic skiing at 10 AM at 29 degrees (F), and by 1 PM it was 60 degrees and the cyclists were out in full force. The next Tuesday, it snowed again.
This picture was taken April 14th, notice the lack of snow.
It snowed 6 inches the next day.
I am not kidding, and you can stop laughing!
Current conditions and weather will most likely dictate our future activities, not the calendar. A season might be cut short, interrupted, or extended – who knows. If that means bike riding in February or skiing in April, we need to get out there and enjoy it. Maybe more importantly, we have to accept it, the volatile weather, as our current reality or the “new” normal. To make that paradigm shift, we have to forget about what “normal” was, and live more in the present. We have to be spontaneous, flexible and ready to get out there no matter what scenario plays out. The right time to get outdoors may be right now. We just need to see it for what it is and enjoy the “spring”.
Happy trails!
