We’ll stay a little off topic for the day, I guess. If you’ve found the Ghost Town/Kid of Speed entry on my links page, you may have guessed I’m fascinated with Chernobyl, site of the world’s worst nuclear accident.

In the April issue, National Geographic Magazine returns to the site of the disaster 20 years later with a compelling look at Chernobyl, past, present, and future.

Much of the region remains contaminated. The molten, highly-radioactive reactor core is currently contained in a leaky, hastily-built “sarcophagus” that is in danger of collapsing from its own weight.

Ukraine (where my father was born) has an 800 million dollar plan to construct a stadium-sized overstructure that will be assembled off site, to escape the intense radiation, and then moved into place over the failing sarcophagus.

It will be the largest movable structure ever built.

Twenty years ago, on April 26, 1986, I was living in Flagstaff, Arizona with my family. I remember Chernobyl well; an April snowstorm that fell over Northern Arizona about a week after the accident was contaminated with isotopes from Chernobyl.

The radiation level was minor, but measurable. Had the snowstorm been a thunderstorm instead (with a higher reach into Chernobyl’s contaminated dust cloud), dangerous levels of radiation could have fallen on Flagstaff.

I took a photo and labeled it, “My first radioactive snowstorm.”

Chernobyl’s human toll has been surprisingly small: an estimated 4000 killed. That is much fewer than expected. What was not expected was the psychological toll—a generation of people who grew up believing themselves doomed, and lived accordingly.

Aside from the ongoing matter of containing its radiation, Chernobyl remains relevant today as debate renews about Nuclear Power. Indeed, many environmentalists are now arguing that Nuclear energy, with all its dangers, is much less hazardous than Global Warming.

They may be right. But Global Warming never gave us any radioactive snowstorms.

A very chilly storm is working its way down California, with reports of snow falling in the metro Bay Area and Kirkwood skiers claiming the ‘best snow ever’.

Down South, Mount Baldy is reporting 12″ of new snow, with more on the way. Maybe I’ll get to ski the D14-rated Girly Man Chute this year after all?

If you haven’t been following Avy forecaster Sue Burak’s updates on the Eastern Sierra Avalanche Center website, now might be a good time to pay attention.

The Sierra has been getting incredible snowfall totals the past week or so (I believe Mammoth claims over a hundred inches in seven days). Unfortunately, this new snow sits on top of several problematic layers.

Check out the ESAC website for the complete discussion—especially if you’re planning on visiting avalanche country anytime soon.

Snow, snow, and more snow. It was one of those days at Mammoth where you needed a shovel to dig yourself out. Friday the snow was coming down so hard the air could actually choke you. Saturday the snow and wind stopped for a perfect bluebird day, marred only by the massive SoCal invasion.

Okay, sure, so we’re a part of that invasion—but we skied all day Friday and loved it, so we figure we deserve at least honorary local status. ☺

Beware the ides of March…some reports on the ESAC website of massive avalanche debris fields visible from Highway 395.

I’ll try to get some pictures this weekend, though the weather (more snow) may not make that possible. In any case, the big concern in the Southern Sierra is a lot of new snow sitting on some weak/junky layers from February’s weird cold snap.

As for SoCal, it looks like temps will be cold enough to snow, but the storm doesn’t look potent enough to offer much help.