In the month of February I had a total of 53 inches of snow fall on the Mountain.  It has really been a frozen month.  The snow and ice have been spectacular. 

    The weather has kept the number of hikers pretty low this month but I have seen a few hard core winter hikers.  Mayday hiked up for a night in the Mt. LeConte Shelter.  He asked me to pass on a "Howdy" to his friends Roger and Mark and said,"Life is good on Mt. LeConte."
    As you probably know the lady Vols play tonight.  It's their last regular season game.  So I hope you'll join me in cheering on the 4th ranked Lady Vols to theur last regular season victory of the year.  Go Lady Vols!

    The month of February ends with 1 inch of new snowfalls for a total of 45 inches of snow on the ground.  The high temperature was 19 with a low of 12 degrees.  It's currently 12 degrees with thick fog.  The frost was beautiful this morning.  February has been a cold and snowy month with the deepest snow accumulation we have seen in years.  I'm hoping for some sun today.  It would be nice to get out and enjoy some views.  Even with the limited visibility the snow and ice are fantastic.  This February has taught me to appreciate the simple beauty in the things close to me.  Even when I have had clear days with unlimited visibility I have still been amazed by things like the way the wind sculpts the snow and the patterns of the frost.  I've used the words "gray" and "dreary" a few times this month and now I kind of want to take them back! 

    I share this view of Godzilla often.  I have always wanted to include the amount of ice and snow on Godzilla in my weather report to the Park Service.  It would go something like, "The high was 19 with a low of 12, there was 1 inch of new snow for a total of 45 inches of snow on the ground and 78% of Godzilla is covered with ice and snow."   

    I've had a great break from the clouds and snow but there's more on the way.  I still have 44 inches of snow on the ground.  The low was 1 with a high of 14 degrees.  It's currently 10 degrees with some clouds rolling in.   The forecast is calling for some snow but not much accumulation.  That's OK with!  I have plenty snow to do for a while. 

    The sky offered a beautiful show this morning.  The sky was full of soft blues and pinks.  It was a cold but serene morning.  I don't have much longer to enjoy the peace and serenity to myself.  The crew will be here to work on the 12th and it won't be so quiet all the time then!

    Most people won't get the opportunity to enjoy the Lodge in this kind of snow.  It's really amazing.  The snow is quiet and bright.  The drifts are impressive.  some places only have a couple feet of snow and others have four or five.

    There was 8 inches of new snow bringing the total to 46 inches of snow on the ground.  That's the record so far this winter.  There may be more snow on the way Saturday.  The low was negative 1 with a high of 6 degrees.  It's currently 2 degrees with the sun peeking out.

    The clouds settled down for a few minutes this morning giving me an awesome view of the blue sky.  There was a strange bright light in the East that I later remembered was the sun.  It's always an amazing event to see the sun after it's been cloudy for days.  I'm hoping that the sun will shine for most of the day.  It's supposed to cloud up and snow some more tomorrow.

    The snow drifts are absolutely beautiful.  When the snow melts you can walk under the limbs of that tree with plenty of  head room.  The wind sculpts the snow with a soft and easy celestial hand that is subtle and dramatic.  There is nothing we create that matches the quiet beauty of anything in nature.

   Tom posted a comment today that has motivated me to do a post about questions.  When someone fills out a contact form I always try to respond as soon as I can.  I answer a lot of good questions.  When someone asks a question in a comment on the blog I try to respond personally through email but I don't always get to respond.  I have a lot of questions and I have limited time.  But I do hope that if you have asked me a question that you have found an answer.
    Here is Tom's comment,"And here I was, about to be that the record would stand at 38", with spring right around the corner.
About three weeks until the season opens. When does the whole crew return to LeConte? Do you get many no shows early in the season due to impassable trails? What's your best guess for the last date with snow on the ground? Do you like questions? :)"

    So, the crew will return the 12th.  The last few years we have started the season during good weather and didn't have any problems with the guests getting here.  When we do have bad weather we sometimes get a few no shows but not as many as you would think.  My best guess for the last date with snow on the ground is Easter Sunday.  I'm not kidding!  I really think it will be Easter.  And I honestly do like questions.  Sometimes I don't have the time to answer them all as promptly as I would like but part of the enjoyment I get from doing this blog is the interaction with you.  I don't have all the answers or the best advice but I do what I can.  I have enjoyed getting to know all of you during this process and I hope that some of you have learned a thing or two!

    Here's a few answers to questions you may be pondering.

    The deepest snow since I have been here is 46 inches which is on the ground right now.

    I don't have the snow totals available for the year yet but I will do that soon and post them before the end of the winter.

    My heating and cooking fuel are propane.  The propane comes in on the helicopter in the spring.  And I stay plenty warm and cozy up here.

    It's not like "The Shining" up here at all.  It's not as remote and it's defiantly not haunted up here...........Yet.

    And Tom K.  holds the record for most questions asked this winter.

    Just kidding with you Tom!  Keep those questions coming and I will do my best to answer them!  I really do appreciate the interaction with all of you.

    5 inches of fresh snow fell overnight bringing the total back to 38 inches.  It's been snowing hard all morning so we may be up to 40 inches by now.  It's always a wonderful sight to come out of my cabin in the morning and take in the fresh unmarred snow.  We reached sub zero temperatures again.  The low was -1 with a high of 22 degrees.  The temperature has hovered around zero so far today.

    The weather patterns are funny here.  We don't always get more snow than lower elevations.  Just as much snow fell at Mom and Dad's house outside of Gatlinburg as I had here on LeConte.  But it has quit snowing there and it's warming up.  On LeConte it is still snowing and the temperatures continue to stay in the single digits.

    Did you ever imagine that the underside of a gutter could be so beautiful?  I was on the porch shoveling the snow back so I could open the door easily and I noticed this view.  Sometimes it takes a spell of bad weather to notice the hidden beauty close by.  I hope that you have a moment to notice a little bit of something beautiful today in an unexpected place.

    It's a beautiful day in the clouds on Mt. LeConte.  It's always a nice feeling to see the stars early in the morning after a few cloudy and gray days in a row.  When I walk outside and see those stars I know I will get to enjoy a little sunshine later in the day.  I'll have to enjoy it while I can because the snow clouds are coming back this afternoon.  It's supposed to snow today, tonight and tomorrow.

    There is still 33" of snow on the ground.  It snowed a little off and on yesterday.  The low was 17 with a high of 30 degrees.  It's currently 20 degrees with partly cloudy skies.  I'm going to enjoy the little bit of sunshine I have today.  If the weather forecast is right It will be cloudy and snowing until Friday.  I'll take advantage of a clear day and get all my chores done before the new snow makes it difficult to move around.

It's another gray and dreary day on Mt. LeConte.  The high was 34 with a low of 20.  It's currently 26 degrees with a wintry mix falling.  I recorded .4 inches of rainfall and a trace of snow.  There is still 32 inches of snow on the ground.

    It's been just warm enough to make the snow slushy and drop a little rain, then the temperatures drop and freeze everything back up.  There will be plenty ice on the trail today!

    Here's more of the beautiful weather we had last weekend and we are looking forward to this weekend.  There are plenty more  clear, sunny skies to come this winter.

    The beautiful weather couldn't last for ever!  I had a half inch of rain and a half inch of snow to report today.  There is still 33 inches of snow on the ground.  It's cloudy and windy on Mt. LeConte today.  The high reached a balmy 41 degrees!  The low was 21 and it's currently 33 degrees on the mountain.

    Since it's a gray and dreary day and you probably have to go back to work after a fantastic weekend, I thought I would share a bright and beautiful view I captured yesterday.  I hiked out to Myrtle point to enjoy the views and it was super clear.

    As I sat and took in this view it seemed that God was writing me a message in the sky.  I think it said, "Relax, enjoy and don't take yourself so serious."