High Altitude Living

WARNING: This blog entry contains some scientific explanations....grab a Vente Latte and get ready to learn!

Each day we live here I learn something new - I guess that is a good thing! High altitude living has quite a few interesting differences from my days of living in the plain state of Kansas or the beachfront states of Florida and California. I would definitely say that all have there oddities and also their beauty - but Wyoming certainly seems to have a lot more scientific related explanations for those new to town.

COOKING/BAKING
I mentioned in a previous blog about the intricacies of baking - you need to be a chemist/physicist (reason I did not go into a medical profession) to bake here and do all of the necessary recipe adjustments. According to wikkipedia, "living high above sea level can mean your cakes rise too rapidly and then fall in like a moon crater, or end up tough and dry like a kitchen sponge. The lower air pressure at high altitudes causes increased evaporation of liquids during baking. Cakes set improperly and eventually collapse. " So, needless to say baking takes a bit longer - the first step is to adjust the recipe, second step is to bake, third step is to pray it will turn out so it can be enjoyed. Luckily, my baking "experiments" have all been successes to date.


Chocolate Chip Brownie Torte - a family fave!

They make it sound quite simple: decrease baking soda/powder; increase flour; use only xl eggs, or add an egg; add liquid; decrease oven temp, or increase oven temp - you have to experiment; NEVER use self-rising flour - it will explode! As far as cooking, water takes longer to boil (except I have a wonderful Italian industrial type stove that makes up for the altitude and boils at amazing speed - once I get it lit), pasta and rice take much longer to cook, and microwave popcorn takes about twice as long (or we just have a crummy microwave)! The changes definitely take away the once high level of comfort that I had in the kitchen. Luckily grilling and smoking (you know that I mean Barry's electric meat smoker) are unaffected - at least for now. I assume that once we get our first 6 feet of snow that navigating to the grill/smoker could be the challenge!

WEATHER - TEMPERATURE INVERSION
Now that the days are getting shorter and the weather is cooling off (sadly our Indian Summer is finally over) we have had many gloomy days. When I ask the locals, they seem unaffected by it and quickly indulge me with the explanation - "temperature inversion." So, I went to a meteorological website and here is the simple scientific definition. "The situation of having warm air on top of cooler air is referred to as a temperature inversion, because the temperature profile of the atmosphere is 'inverted' from its usual state." And since I am a teacher and understand that some of you are visual learners, I have included a diagram:

"How do surface temperature inversions form? The most common manner in which surface inversions form is through the cooling of the air near the ground at night. Once the sun goes down, the ground loses heat very quickly, and this cools the air that is in contact with the ground. However, since air is a very poor conductor of heat, the air just above the surface remains warm. Conditions that favor the development of a strong surface inversion are calm winds, clear skies, and long nights. Calm winds prevent warmer air above the surface from mixing down to the ground, and clear skies increase the rate of cooling at the Earth's surface. Long nights allow for the cooling of the ground to continue over a longer period of time, resulting in a greater temperature decrease at the surface. Since the nights in the wintertime are much longer than nights during the summertime, surface inversions are stronger and more common during the winter months. A strong inversion implies a substantial temperature difference exists between the cool surface air and the warmer air aloft. During the daylight hours, surface inversions normally weaken and disappear as the sun warms the Earth's surface. However, under certain meteorological conditions, such as strong high pressure over the area, these inversions can persist as long as several days. In addition, local topographical features can enhance the formation of inversions, especially in valley locations. "

Hey - wake up! That was the simplified version of temperature inversion. See what I spend my time doing when the weather is gloomy! Anyway, the locals' answer to getting over temperature inversion is to drive to the Teton Pass (the mountain pass going over the range to Idaho). It is very popular with skiers who choose to hike up the mountain and ski down (NEVER; even in my wildest dreams). It is supposedly "always clear" up there. So I have included a picture from a webcam showing this phenomena:

Photo from JH Webcam this morning. Clear and sunny in the mountains and
we are sitting below the cloud level completely socked in.

Below are a few more pictures from out our back door and on my way into town so you can get a true look at temperature inversion here!

A delightful morning of temperature inversion - ugh!









Town Square



Temperature inversion at Melody Ranch



The burn off happens literally withiin minutes. Once the air warms,
the clouds lift and dissipate and it becomes gorgeous...the bad
news is this sometimes takes until 1:00 or 2:00 in the afternoon.

SKI FITNESS - Halfway through the session and still standing!
CLASS GOAL: mid season shape, before the ski season starts.
MICHELE'S GOAL: not to blow out my knees before the season starts - this class is killing me!
Please email me if you would like some great exercises that will whip you into ski shape for when you visit - or at least they will help you be able to squat in the woods without worrying about falling over (we do have indoor facilities, just thinking of when we take you skiing in the backcountry)!

We actually just found out a bit more about the instructor who kicks our butts on Thursday nights - a few photos of what kind of skiing she has in mind:

Our Ski Fitness Trainer: Crystal Wright - Freeskiing World Tour Champion 2009

  Crystal Wright -  1st place U.S. Freeskiing Nationals
Snowbird, UT March 2009

WOW is all I can say about her many, many accomplishments. Crystal is not only a world champion skier, she is also a nationally ranked rodeo competitor; and is going to start competing in mountain biking. And of course, she is a certified fitness instructor.  If you would like to check out a really interesting blog, check out hers at http://www.crystalbwright.com/ and click on her blog link. Read about her ski outing on Oct. 30 - she is one of the die hards who hike the mountain to ski down (carrying all of her gear). Amazingly, this type of skiing is more prevalent here than you would expect. Barry & I are definitely waiting for the "resort ski" experience - ski lifts, mountain dining options, and apres ski!

That is all for now - I promise that the next entry will be lighter and brighter and help ring in the upcoming holiday season.