When I tell old friends that I teach people to snowboard in Arizona, there is most always a pause.
"It snows in Arizona?"
Growing up in New Hampshire, I took many trips to visit Arizona, as my aunt raised her family in Lake Havasu. The memories I have are of a baking sun, scorched earth, and endless hours in the pool. Later in life, when my cousins attended NAU in Flagstaff, and I first heard that it snowed there, I was stunned.
Years later, I find myself spending my days between nine and twelve thousand feet enjoying Arizona's alpine environment. Almost every day is sunny, most are warm, and last year's long dry spells between the big snow storms left certain parts of the mountain a bit iffy. This winter though, late July reports of an El Nino forming over the Western Pacific brought an increased hope of an extra snowy Northern Arizona winter.
She showed up in force this afternoon. Three storms set to hit one after the other, each getting larger, the first expected to leave a foot in town.
So I'll be up early to shovel my drive way, and then up to my second home to shovel out the Heart Prairie Lodge.
"It snows in Arizona?"
Growing up in New Hampshire, I took many trips to visit Arizona, as my aunt raised her family in Lake Havasu. The memories I have are of a baking sun, scorched earth, and endless hours in the pool. Later in life, when my cousins attended NAU in Flagstaff, and I first heard that it snowed there, I was stunned.
Years later, I find myself spending my days between nine and twelve thousand feet enjoying Arizona's alpine environment. Almost every day is sunny, most are warm, and last year's long dry spells between the big snow storms left certain parts of the mountain a bit iffy. This winter though, late July reports of an El Nino forming over the Western Pacific brought an increased hope of an extra snowy Northern Arizona winter.
She showed up in force this afternoon. Three storms set to hit one after the other, each getting larger, the first expected to leave a foot in town.
So I'll be up early to shovel my drive way, and then up to my second home to shovel out the Heart Prairie Lodge.
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