Skiers and snowboarders at Utah resorts are enjoying early season snow conditions that haven’t been seen in years. The start of the 2010/2011 ski season will go down in history as over 100 inches of natural snowfall has covered the Big and Little Cottonwood Canyon resorts before December, and there’s even more on the way.
According to Snowbird, they passed the 100-inch mark on Monday, November 22 thanks in part to receiving over two feet of snow from the most recent storm. It’s amazing to think that Snowbird’s mid-mountain base measures 54 inches before Thanksgiving. As a result, Snowbird has been able to open tons of terrain including Peruvian Gulch, the Gad Valley and Little Cloud Bowl with even more expected to open very soon.
Snowbird isn’t the only Utah ski resort raking in the white gold. As if this writing, Solitude is reporting 94 inches with a mid-mountain base of 52 inches. Thanks to this gluttony of of snow, the resort has fired up the Powderhorn II, Sunrise and Summit lifts, which is almost unheard of this early in the season. I personally skied laps off Powderhorn II the day it opened for the season, and areas that are usually littered with base-gouging rocks was instead covered as if it were mid-January.
Solitude’s neighbor, Brighton, is reporting 87 inches of snowfall so far this season, with a base measuring 54 inches. Local skiers and riders are all over the Internet raving about how Brighton is experiencing the best opening weeks anyone can remember.
Alta, the “King of Powder” among Utah’s resorts, is reporting a whopping 107 inches thus far, with a settled snow depth of 59 inches. Alta already has most if its lifts in operation with the esxception of Cecret and Supreme, both of which are expected to open on December 10.
Even better news is that yet another wave of heavy snow is expected to arrive Tuesday into Wednesday where another two feet is forecast for the upper Cottonwood Canyons. Needless to say, now is a good time to get up there and take advantage of this early season bounty!
For more information, to see photos of current conditions, or to keep up with the latrest snowfall info, visit SkiUtah.com. And if you’re itching to float in some of Utah’s incredible conditions, you can find sweet deals of lift tickets at Liftopia.com.
1 thought on “100 inches of snow falls at Utah resorts before Thanksgiving”