Winter Wonderland

While I've been concentrating on the Flying Careers series, a few things have happened out here. First, I got a new digital camera, an Olympus D595. I'll try not to lose this one. Secondly, I'm back on reserve this bid. The only reason I got a regular line the past two bids is because a few senior guys bid reserve. So I'm once again crew scheduling's whipping boy for the next month.

And, most importantly, winter has come to the Pacific Northwest! The past two weeks have seen a number of storms from the Gulf of Alaska dump quite a bit of snow on the Cascades & northern Rockies. A good early ski season is very good news for all the ski areas that got hammered by last year's mild winter. Timberline, Mt. Baker, and Crystal Mountain are already open; Mt. Hood Meadows, Snoqualmie, and Steven's Pass are all opening this weekend.



Above: Rocky Mountains northwest of Missoula, MT.
Below: Snow-covered peaks surrounding Lake Chelan in the northern Washington Cascades.