Middlebury College gets tropical Warm temperatures cool winter fun

Author: Tristan Hayes

January at Middlebury is an image of skis and hot chocolate combined with frantic students running from building to building in an attempt to avoid the cold. However, this January there is a significant difference that cannot only be seen but can also be felt. Let us paint you a picture - breakfast at Ross is still filled with students eager to hit the slopes, yet half the Snow Bowl remains closed. The ground outside is white minus the random patches of mud and grass angering some and pleasing others. Is it really time to pull out the flip-flops or should we keep those boots and down jackets handy? Take for example, January 10, 2004. The mean temperature was a more than chilly -10° F with highs at -2°F and lows at -18°F, this all without wind chill. Yet, January 10, 2005 paints quite a different picture. The mean temperature was a balmy 32° F with highs at 37°F and lows at 26°F. You would think the warm weather would make the usual weather complaints disappear. Students have found something new to complain about: the lack of snow.

Sam Timberg '07 thinks that this January's warm weather is "a devastating and drastic change" from last year's negative temperatures. "The warm weather scares me a little bit," he says, "now I fall more on ice as opposed to snow." Not only does this "drastic" change in weather affect the normal Midd student walking to class, but for the Middlebury Ski Team, snow is a necessity which has been greatly missed so far this season. Nordic ski team member Matthew Perry Johnson '08 expressed concern about his ability to train for upcoming events. "It's really hard to train and I feel like it puts me at a disadvantage during competition." First-years and Febs, both groups experiencing J-term for the first time are shocked by the extraordinary conditions. Matthew Amoss '07.5 is shocked that the horror stories being told have not come true, "I thought it was going to be -40°F with wind-chill and I am exalted by this weather." Drew Walker '08, also experiencing his first J-term, expressed disappointment, "I was expecting to be able to jump out of my room into a 10 foot pile of snow." Sorry Drew, better luck next year. We suggest putting away those down jackets and pulling out those flip flops...just kidding we do realize that it is still below freezing and we do not want to be responsible for your frostbite and pneumonia.

Aside from the lack of snow, students are concerned that their prepaid season passes may go to waste. While only five of the fourteen trails at the Middlebury Snow Bowl are open right now the price of a season pass remains the same as if all fourteen were open: $125. Yet, the snow bowl remains open and busy. Students continue to capitalize on what's available. Though the cries of unmet expectations can still be heard throughout campus, the skis are still out and the busses remain crowded. So, $125 gone to waste? We think not. Runs at the Snow Bowl are and will remain open; there is still snow on the ground. There is really nothing to lose except your hat. Embrace the warmth; because like all things, once it's gone you will miss it.

So what's the big picture? Is global warming engulfing us, or is this just a single fluke occurrence in the weather pattern? Middlebury Professor John Isham has organized a conference on this exact topic. From January 25th-27th, leaders of environmental grassroots organizations as well as scientific experts will convene in Middlebury to discuss the current trends in global climate change. Isham has started the "What Works?" project in an attempt to help build a new movement based on the need to protect our current climate. The project refers to the need to inhibit the climate crisis, which can also be referred to as Global Warming, a phenomenon which links the increase in temperatures to an increase in greenhouse gases. Peter deMenocal, an associate professor of earth and environmental sciences at Columbia University, stated in his article about the climate crisis, "The Scientific community is now very confident that much of the warming over the past century is attributable to human activities. Global temperatures have changed for many natural reasons, of course, but when scientists try to account for the full record of global temperature changes over the past several hundred years, it is impossible to obtain a close match to the observed temperature curve without including the effects of very recent increases in greenhouse gas concentrations."

For all you Goldilocks fans we would like to leave you with a quote from Chris Straub '07 "Last year was too cold, this year is too hot, I want something that is just right!"