As students file back onto campus, the large amounts of snow will be hard to miss. It is much easier not to notice the work involved with clearing campus roads, sidewalks and parking lots.

John Moore, a groundskeeper for Facilities Planning and Management, says this task lies in the hands of the 44 workers of Campus Services.

Moore says it is their responsibility to clear the 34 miles of sidewalks and bike paths, 23 miles of institutional roads, and 162 acres of parking lots.

When there are large quantities of snow on the ground — as current conditions present — Moore says the work load is intense.

“I didn’t go home the first three nights,” he says. “Our main job is to be here on campus.”

Moore says they clear the snow as best they can and hope to provide a safe environment for the public, but large snowstorms provide a tough challenge, as seen with the recent snowstorm — which brought 14 inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service. Cory Beauchamp, a groundskeeper for almost seven years, says the snow causes him to spend a lot of time away from his family, and it is safe to say that anytime there is snow or ice on the ground, he is working at least 12-hour days.

“We can work as long as it takes,” he says. “Anytime the wind blows the snow over what we have done, or the snow melts and then freezes, we are back out working to clear it,” Beauchamp says.

Moore says when snowstorms occur, he often stays in Ames overnight. He says this is the case for about 50 percent of the workers in his department who live out of town. Moore, who lives in Boone, says this is common when weather conditions are severe and he knows he has to be back a few hours later.

The department rents sleeping bags and cots from the recreation center at State Gym to provide a place to sleep, Moore says.

Sleep is normally cut short because the workers rise before the sun comes up to face the early morning. He says the cold is something you have to try to protect yourself from by bundling up and wearing insulated clothing.

“The wind is the worst; you never get used to it,” Moore says.

He says the hard work makes it more rewarding at the end when he can look back and see the job is finished, but thinks that sometimes people do not realize the work involved in clearing the snow.

“I think a lot of people take it for granted,” he says.

Although the hours are long and hard, Beauchamp says the job does have its benefits.

“One of the most rewarding things I see is when the students or professors compliment or thank you,” he says.