Ameripaca’s total snowfall since December is 79.9 inches. Snowdrifts were up to 5-6 foot in some areas on the farm. This is the most snow we’ve had since record keeping began in Baltimore in 1893. The previous record, from 1995-96, was 62.5 inches.

The weekend of the first storm (February 5 & 6^th) Ameripaca had an employee (Rigo Villalta) spend the night for fear he wouldn’t be able to get to the farm the in the mornings to clear the roads for the staff.  Well, it’s a good thing he did!  Rigo plowed all morning on Saturday and Sunday clearing the drive for essential personnel to get in and feed & water the alpacas and clean barns.  Jesus and Jose also arrived early Saturday & Sunday morning, shoveling their way to the barns and feeding and checking on every alpacas on the farm. I don’t think they ever wanted to see another snow shovel after two days of shoveling!

Monday and Tuesday of the week after the storm weren’t much better.  All the hours the staff spent clearing runways and roads seemed wasted since they were covered again with snow from all the wind.  Then, after just a few days from the historical snowfall, another snowstorm came through Maryland added another foot of snow and hitting with blizzard like conditions.  The staff was exhausted and the alpacas wanted out!  It took another couple of days to get all the barns dug out and clear some paths for the animals to get outside.  Now that the snow has melted some, Ameripaca is left with broken and twisted gates, fences and trees down throughout the farm and lots of wind and water damage, but all the alpacas survived just fine and had plenty of food and water thanks to an amazing staff!  We are truly blessed to have such dedicated employees.