Mongolia | Zaisan Tolgoi | Sixth Nine-Nine | Zuraasan Zam Garnai

The sixth of the so-called Nine Nines—nine periods of nine days each, each period marked by some description of winter weather—begins February 5. This is Zuraasan Zam Garnai, the Time When the Trail of the Road Appears. This description would seem to indicate a slight warming from the previous Nine-Nines, a time when well-traveled trails become free from ice and snow. We did have a slight warm spell, with temperatures getting up to the high teens on some afternoons. At 4:00 AM today the temperature was —20ºF with a high of —4ºF expected this afternoon. 

Actually, in days past it has been warmer here than in the town nearest to my Summer Retreat in the Allegheny Mountains of Western Pennsylvania.