As most of you know - my "day job" is as a software engineer in support of the astronomical observatories around southern Arizona. As such I have the distinct pleasure of driving long hours to the tops of various mountains to telescopes in remote locations in the area. Mount Graham International Observatory (MGIO) is one of the places I visit more often than I like. At 10,500 feet - this place gets a lot of snow in winter - this winter being no exception. With 20+ feet accumulated so far this mountain has been a real hasle to deal with lately.
Yesterday we returned to change out science instruments on the VATT Telescope. A "small" winter storm was due to blow through on our way up - with only 2 to three inches of new accumulation expected - not a problem right?
In near "white-out conditions" we procceeded up the hill to the observatory - prepared - with 4 wheel drive and snow chains - barely making it intact. Needless to say - several members of the other co-resident observatories were not so lucky (or maybe smart is the better word) - getting stuck and blocking the road to the mountain for lack of chains and 4 wheel drive . . .
Below are scenes from the morning after - taken with my shitty iphone camera.
1 comment:
It looks so peaceful and nice up there, Dave. I am sure you and C.J. had lots of "fun", non? ;)
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