Spending a few moments at the top of Mount Brockway is always a visual treat... the color remains... the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge and Lake Fanny Hooe in the distance... an eagle floating by. The snow which remained overnight is an indication of the days ahead. This is truly an awesome spot.

But today there is a somber note as we share the beauty again. Just beyond this stone wall, over the edge of the sharp drop, an Allouez man fell to his death last week. For details of the tragedy, see Keweenaw Today.

We'll hold the kids a little closer next time we stand at this special place.

Beautiful picture! Does anyone know how much snow fell the last few days?

_Maybe_ two inches. I live near the Quincy mine, near Hancock, and we had about an inch overnight on the 6th or 7th, and then it just sleeted and stuff for a while the next day. (YUCK!)

I heards that some parts of the UP got alomst a foot. I was up on Mt. Brockway yesterday before the sun rose and there was quite a bit of snow up there. In one spot you couldn't even see the grass! Old man winter's knocking on the door! It won't be much longer before he lets himself in.
I can't wait!

Great pic, I can almost hear the crunch of the snow under my foot. The snow, white gold as I like to call it, is magical. Especially when its falling. Originally from MI Iam done here in dry (no rain for the past two months) North Texas.

mike

Thought I would add my own 2 cents to the snowfall question.

The snow that occurred over the weekend was not the typical Keweenaw Snow that is light and fluffy. With temps at or above freezing and the ground still relatively warm, much of what fell melted. That made it very hard to measure just how much actually fell.

To complicate things, the FAA decided to remove the human observers from the airport and use the ASOS (Automated Surface Observation System). As it's name implies, it is an automated system and involves no human (unless it breaks and needs one to fix it!). This ASOS is not capable of measuring snowfall or snowcover. The "official" observations for snowfall and snowcover for the Houghton/Hancock area are now being taken at a site at MTU.

In these early season snows, the higher elevations many times pick up heavier totals because of their cooler temps (as little as 1-2 degrees F can make a huge difference). Because Tech is about 575 feet lower in elevation that the airport, most of the snow melted and made it almost impossible to measure "snowfall".

At times it snowed hard enough to actually accumulate in the lower elevations and produce "snowcover", but snowcover should not automatically represent "snowfall". Snowfall is actually defined as how much snow fell during a specific time period and snowcover is actual depth of snow on the ground. In situations when the snow melts as it hits the ground, snowcover can be a trace to an inch or so, but snowfall can be several inches.

The official numbers from this situation are as follows: Official snowfall (not snowcover) at the new Houghton observation site at MTU was 1". This may have been underestimated, as more snow may have fallen, but melted. Here in Lake Linden we had about the same. Maybe a little more.

Up in the higher terrain of the Keweenaw I would estimate that 5-8" of snowfall occurred, with maximum depths of 1-3". Ishpegming came in with a snowfall total of 13" and snowcover of 8".

Hope I made sense!

-John

EDITOR'S NOTE: For the most in-depth snow reports this winter, you will want to bookmark John Dee's Snow Central

Very beautiful...gives me the chills knowing everything about Chuck! We all hold you in our hearts...

Does anybody know how to start the process to put a plaque at this spot for a memory for Chuck Bell? It is something his family would like to do, and they have put the task into my hands, if anyone can help please e mail me at Beadazed@hotmail.com thank you

This picture really makes me home sick. Can't wait to get back to the U.P. for Thanksgiving.

Thanks for the memories.....

We were home in July & wanted to drive to Brockway Mtn/Ft Wilkens but time ran out. We've snowmobiled many times up there when we lived in Hancock. Thanks for bringing back the memories in this beautiful picture!

So many, many times I have stood there and found peace. It is a dangerous spot if you don't stay behind the walls, and I hope that Chuck Bell's legacy will be a warning to all that this is a wonderful spot, but it is also dangerous. What a tragic loss for his little girl. I hope she grows up with an appreciation for the UP, and also care and caution for nature.

i saw a comment on one of the cam notes from r.somero in ca. wondering if it is roger from minnesota st. in hancock from the class of 67. spent a lot of time in the minnesota st.neighborhood.hope to hear from him.

I WAS BORN IN THE CALUMET HOSPITAL, BUT MOVED TO FLORIDA WHEN I WAS A CHILD. MY PARENTS STILL GAVE ME THE U.P. CULTURE BY VISITING A FEW TIMES A YEAR. I REMEMBER HOLDING MY DAD'S HAND JUST BEHIND THE STONE BENCHES AT THIS VERY SPOT. BRINGS BACK A LOT OF MEMORIES, AND I CAN'T WAIT TIL I VISIT AGAIN THIS THANKSGIVING!I HOPE TO SEE LOTS OF SNOW!