First Snowfall up Castle Creek

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The first snowfall of the year is always a special occasion.  Having lived at Toklat a couple years, I am starting to notice the changes from year to year. Already, this autumn has been quite different than last year.  In 2012 our first snowfalls were the 12th of September at about 13,600ft and September 17th at about 10,000ft.  Snow didn’t fall at Toklat, which is at 9,500ft, until October.  This year we didn’t see a single flake of snowfall until September 18th and that snow only fell on the flanks of the high peaks, stopping around 12,500 ft.  On September 23rd I awoke to five inches of heavy snow that had fallen at Toklat overnight! It’s always a beautiful sight.

~ Howie Kuhn, Castle Creek Programs Coordinator