The Harper’s Index of Snow

Feet of snow outside my front door: 4
Feet of snow up in the mountains: 16
People trapped at the Planneralm resort: 500
Helicopters used to evacuate them to the base next to our house: 17
Level (from 1-5) avalanche alert for the last 48 hours: 5
Cows killed in yesterday’s local avalanche: 6
Barns destroyed: 1
Pairs of snowshoes parked by our front door: 2
Total hours out of the last 48 we’ve spent on snowshoes: 6
Times (while wearing snowshoes) we’ve been asked “Where’s the dog team?”: 1
People we’ve seen on snowshoes besides ourselves: 0
Soldiers used to clear snow from railway lines: 50
Days until winter break tourists start clogging the roads: 0.5
Projected number of travelers: 100,000
Days until helicopters start throwing bombs to start controlled avalanches so they can clear the roads: 1
Days we’ve had chains on the car: 2
Days since we’ve been grocery shopping: 5
Feet of snow in the forecast for today: 2
Days until the forecast says the snow will let up: 1

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