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Deep Winter III: The Endening

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January 26th through February 1st, 2026

Last week was the death of Deep Winter. It was cold, but not as cold as the week before. The high temperature on Friday was 11°F. That's so much better than the high of -11°F the Friday before. By the end of the week, the highs soared into the 20s°F and Deep Winter was over. The start of the week smote us all with the icy horribleness of a dying but still kicking Deep Winter. A new torment first noticed this year is the instant freezing of furnace exaust on the underside of a roofalanche guard. There was wind at the start of the week. Snow devils had quite the rave on Lucerne for several days. The wind and sun combined to bend (but not break!) some fort walls. Many of last week's nights had sub-zero cold, but they were increasingly lit by a gibbous moon. The snow cover reflects the moonlight helping turn the night into a very overcast day. Most roads around the lake have a packed snow cover that has a coefficient of static friction very close to that of ice. On the weekend, Deep Winter ended. Some celebrated this kinder, gentler state of winter with some snow clearing. Near the weekend, the long anticipated (and somewhat dreaded) event of checking the sled batteries was held. They were in a state close to that of deep winter. Local battery shops noted the unusualness of their size and shape. We focused more on the local not-in-stockness of the units. Undead ones will arrive in 5 to 7 days if Amazon is to be believed. The last event of the week was to get an ice thickness check. It took a while to drill through the ice sheet. Huzzah! There's 17 inches of very good ice on Lucerne. The top few inches is made of the lesser airy ice. Below that layer, the ice is clear and hard as rock. It was noted during the drilling that we missed a few stray rockets during "The Great Stick Pickup" after the bottle rocket war. It was further remarked that they make good accidental sundials. It's so much better when January exits the stage before Valentine's Day or, worse yet, Saint Patrick's Day. Deep Winter is over, but the start of the third and last sub-season of winter, Thaw, is not without its peril. With all the above 0°F mornings can come snow, ice, and other early spring nasties. Even after that period ends, there's two more Horsemen of the Snowpocalypse (ZOMBIE WINTER and Silenced Spring) that may have to be dealt with. In summary, if you're going out to dance on the grave of Deep Winter, bring a warm hat.<br><br><br>-Nemo hopes not to experience any more Horsemen of the Snowpocalypse for the rest of the season.

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