Snow Cools Down Big Heat Wave In Vermont Town

An honest to goodness sledding hill during the middle
of an intense July heat wave in Vermont. Photo by Amy
Kolb Noyes/VPR 

Last week, while temperatures were well into the 90s across Vermont, kids were sledding on snow - real snow - in Craftsbury, Vermont.

It wasn't that some weird local cold pocket developed, though Craftsbury isn't normally the warmest place in Vermont. As Vermont Public Radio reports, the Craftsbury Nordic Center is experimenting with ways to store snow over the summer.

The VPR article, which is totally worth the read, tells us that because of increasingly iffy winters likely due to climate change, the Nordic Center is trying to adapt for ski season moments when the snow is lacking.

Says VPR: 

"'We're experimenting with storing snow, explained Outdoor Center co-ower Judy Geer,  'because the climate is changing and it's not enough to have snowmaking anymore because you might not get weather cold enough to make snow. And so, this way if we make snow when the weather's really cold in the winterime and save it, that way we can make it when it's more energy efficient and environmentally effective."

Craftsbury Nordic Center's summer snow storage scheme is actually pretty old school.  In past centuries, people went to ice houses in the summer to get ice to cool their food. The ice was covered in sawdust to prevent it from melting.

Craftsbury uses wood chips to cover the snow and keep it from the harsh heat of the summer. They haven't perfected it yet, and are experimenting and measuring the snow piles to see which methods preserve it the best.

Last week, during the heat wave, the Nordic Center uncovered the snow to help throw an icy block party during the record heat. They spread the snow out onto a sledding hill for everyone to enjoy. The timing was exquisite, given the hot spell.

The old saying is Vermont has nine months of winter and three months of poor sledding. But in Craftsbury at least, that old cliche went out the window.

When the July sledding party was over, the Craftsbury Nordic Center covered any unmelted snow back up to continue their summer storage experiments.

Again, click on the link to get the whole story. Cool story, pun intended.