The Bottom Line

The Payette Avalanche Center depends on community support and two crucial employees to provide three forecasts every week of the ski season

By Kailan Manandic

Snowflakes have a long way to go before they hit the ground. Each one begins as a single ice crystal rooted on a speck of dust thousands of feet in the air; a newborn flake could spin around for hours, slowly gathering quintillions of water molecules.

The resulting snowflakes can fall into eight general shapes depending on temperature and humidity, but every individual flake is unique by the time it hits the ground. Each one is a natural work of art that drifts on the wind until it melts or shatters.

Snowflakes in McCall have had a shorter trip than most when they hit the ground. As they softly crunch beneath the boots of Kevin Studley and George Halcom, each one is a reminder of the task at hand.