Shovel fatigue, scenic wonders and sighs of relief as historic snowstorm ends
- Ellie Ruel
- Jan 1
- 7 min read
Berms reach new heights and weigh down spirits for residents trying to clear paths for days on end, but locals and visitors also find light moments in the heavy snowpack
By Ellie Ruel and Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
The berm in front of Hailee Weideman’s house came up to her knees as she carved away at it with a shovel trying to clear a path on Wednesday. She said her husband who’s in the Coast Guard had to leave earlier to respond to boats sinking in the harbors, but she planned on enlisting the help of her two kids.
“You wish for snow, but you don’t wish for this,” she laughed. “I like it when it snows, but not when it's just trying to keep up, making sure that they can get to the heating oil tank back there — that’s what I did this morning.”
Weideman, digging outside her Mendenhall Valley home, was among the thousands of Juneau residents shoveling — again and again — during a storm that began Saturday and dumped more snow on the town than any previous four-day period in recorded history. A snowpack depth of 50 inches was measured Wednesday morning at Juneau International Airport, topping the previous record of 41 inches in February of 1949.
Different amounts fell in different areas, with locations out the road reporting more than five feet of snowfall and downtown experiencing periods of freezing rain that made its snowpack more dense.
Eflinda Zaprzala, another Mendenhall Valley resident struggling to get to work, faced the daunting combination of a solid berm and an uncooperative snowblower. Since her husband is wheelchair-bound, she went about clearing her berm alone.
“It’s so hard to remove, so it’s draining my energy. Every day, morning, evening,” she said. “This is too much.”
The snow created other obstacles and hazards for residents to cope with such as fallen trees and power lines, stuck vehicles blocking streets, and at least eight sunken boats. People in need of shovels and supplies found many businesses closed or operating limited hours, and many people hoping to wait out the storm in the warm coziness of their homes were left in the cold and dark by a multitude of power outages.
Michael Moss was trying to clear snow from several hundred feet of an unplowed one-lane street in downtown Juneau early Tuesday evening, hoping it would allow an ailing friend to get to Fred Meyer to pick up medication before the store closed at 10 p.m. An unoccupied truck was blocking the way to a plowed intersection, meaning he might also need to dig a detour along another side street.
“I don't know if he went for help or if he was not feeling well or something and went home,” he said. “I'm going to shovel all the way up to him so hopefully he can make it out of there if he's not broken down.”
Both praise and frustration about the city’s plowing efforts were expressed by residents. Some commended workers for doing everything possible under the circumstances, while some complained about their streets remaining unplowed or the way they were plowed.
The city, among its many online storm updates, shared two Facebook videos on Wednesday evening featuring Randal Jim, a Streets and Fleet Maintenance Division employee, as he plowed streets and sidewalks near City Hall.
“We’re running out of places to put the snow it's falling so fast,” he said. “We’ve got to start hauling before we can push some more.”
He says he’s working 12-hour days and there’s only so much that can be done during snowfall like Juneau’s been having. But “I love it when people are thanking me and stuff — I look forward coming to work.”
Warmer temperatures Wednesday morning made for denser snowpack, and some of the berms left by street plows were up to four feet tall, according to Mendenhall Valley residents in an area designated as a Priority 2 snow removal zone on the CBJ winter road maintenance map.
“If you haven’t seen a plow in your area for a while, we haven’t forgotten you! The CBJ Streets division’s first priority is to clear major roadways for the safe passage of traffic so that emergency vehicles can get to you if something happens,” an online post by CBJ on Wednesday night stated. “As CBJ and DOT&PF continues to plow snow, please keep vehicles, children, and any objects away from snow removal areas (and understand that we are doing our best to minimize those berms!).”
Some people took creative approaches to snow removal, shoveling snow directly into the chute of their running snowblowers or chipping away at solid walls of snow with smaller metal shovels. Most driveways were lined with piles higher than the occupants themselves, adding an extra challenge.
“I'm not used to berms like this. Usually, the city is plowing at least once a day when we have heavy storms, and they did not do that this time,” said Taylor Beard, a Mendenhall Valley resident. “They literally plowed right when it was at its worst, and our neighbor can't even get back into his driveway.”
Beard said that clearing her family’s driveway would likely be an all-day affair. Her two sons, Arlo and Otis, found a bright side to the extreme weather: jumping off the roof into the cushion of snow below.
Connor Ulmer had been housesitting and shoveling since Friday, and said Wednesday was the first time there had been significant plowing.
“I’ve been out here about every day for a few hours,” he said. “The last few days when I’ve left the snow has been about two feet deep in the road.”
His car was damaged by falling snow that broke his windshield and left a dent in the hood of his car, he said. Ulmer has lived in Juneau his entire life, and said he’s used to the snow “just not all at once.”
“The last time I remember this much snow was 2008 or so,” he said. “I like the snow, just not when I have to deal with it.”
There were also light moments amidst the heavy snowfall.
Amy Witt was out with her dog Lulu enjoying the flurry of snow in the Valley on Wednesday afternoon. She said staying inside and snowblowing frequently helped her cope with the storm.
“It's been a good time of year to have it, between Christmas and New Year’s,” she said.
A group of tourists — two single parents with five children between them — were plodding their way through Sealaska Plaza downtown on Tuesday afternoon, in search of sights and diversions.
“I've always wanted to live in Juneau,” said Cally Martin, a Willow resident accompanied by her three children. “I just could never make it work. So I was like ‘We're going to just pretend we live here for a little while.’”
Martin, exploring downtown with Colorado resident Jacob Vaughn and his two kids, said her mother and brother were also in town visiting. She said her hope upon arriving shortly before Christmas was to see all of Juneau’s totem poles, as well as other cultural and scenic attractions, but that didn’t entirely work out as planned.
“The car being stuck is an issue and our snow gear is frozen inside the car,” she said. “Their snow pants and their mittens are frozen in the car. I can't get it out. The guy at the second-hand shop gave us a super cool inflatable thing to go sledding with and so we were going to do that, but we’ve got to get our snow pants.”
So does she still want to live in Juneau after enduring its single biggest snowstorm?
“We have two gas stations and people aren’t friendly,” she said, referring to her current hometown. “The people in Juneau are friendly.”
Besides, “it snows more in Willow,” Martin said.
As the snow started to lift on Wednesday, so did some people’s moods.
Lisa Idell-Sassi said while keeping up with snow removal can be exhausting, she’s happy with the change in precipitation for now. She was in front of her Mendenhall Valley house taking a picture of a snow pile nearly as tall as she was.
“Right now I’m OK with it because it’s not raining. The rain is depressing,” Idell-Sassi said. “The snow lightens everything up and I like it.”
For her, even more concerning than the snow itself is the possibility of snowmelt causing flooding that might flow directly into her garage.
“That’s our next worry,” she said.
• Contact Ellie Ruel at ellie.ruel@juneauindependent.com. Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
