It’s up to 44° right now which is a big surprise - forecast showed 30’s this week. I got mom from the house to the car & back yesterday, but it was a dangerous proposition. The snowcrete crust still holds our weight & we don’t break through, but the sleet pellets on top, that made for a somewhat grippy surface, have melted just enough to be a smooth glaze. My boots were mostly gripping yesterday, but today they are slipping. Mom’s were totally slipping yesterday - her boots are waterproof but more ‘dress’ boots while mine are for hunting/fishing.
I just went out to see if the crust has maybe softened enough to chop a path, but my snow shovel just bounces off. I think I am going to have to get my Pulaski & chop my way through which will be very hard work.
The sun is out right now & it’s beautiful, but this ‘snowcrete ‘ situation is depressing - we’re into week 2 dealing with it. Any melting will refreeze tonight, too. We are supposed to get snow this evening: trace to 2”.
The walkway is in after 3 hours of chopping & shoveling. I did have to use the Pulaski in some spots, but it was mostly chop & shovel, like I did to clear the driveway. The snow tonight, if we get it, should be ‘medium’ (weather met’s description) ... not dry/powdery, but not wet/heavy. Since the black asphalt is exposed, 2” will melt pretty fast. I confess to being absolutely ‘whipped’ at this point.
I guess we’ll see you in the Spring, then! ;)
Yeah, I’ve dealt with that ‘snowcrete’ before. I lived in military housing and had a duplex (half) on a corner with no windbreaks in any direction. We got a storm over the course of a weekend and my car (I think it was a little Dodge Colt at that time) was 100% burried in that CEMENT.
Luckily, my Dad was living in the same state at the time, and between him and the Base Manager, I eventually got out. But it was almost a week to do so.
I stayed on base that week, so I didn’t miss any work, though my boss at the time is still one of my BFFs of 45 years, so she was nice about it. Act of God and all that. It was not reflected in my annual performance report, LOL!