Knee Deep Snow @ Snowbird and Alta, Utah w/ 5-9” More Today | Indepth Photo Tour

I reported over a week ago that the Wasatch was going to get it’s first snow.  Well, the weather man and myself were wrong.  Instead of snow levels at 8,500 feet we ended up with snow levels at about 11,200 feet.  Only a few peaks in the Wasatch top out above that and received barely a skiff of snow.

HOWEVER, we were right about a second system coming in on Wednesday.  Yesterday the snow started at around 10am at 10,000 feet.  By 2pm the snow levels had plummeted to 8,000 feet and continued to drop to nearly 7,000 feet, well below the base elevation of Snowbird and Alta.  By this morning Snowbird and Alta had received a healthy 6 inches of snow above 8,500 feet.  The storm is still lingering and NOAA is predicting another 5-9 inches by Friday afternoon in addition to 1-2 that was expected Thursday.  That would bring storm totals to an impressive 12-17 inches!

Photos by: Kyler Roush

We are all stoked to see the first snow of the year.  We might even get to go skiing tomorrow on grassy slopes if things hold together.  We do wish though that the forecasts hold together for a warm start to October so we can melt even the most stubborn northern aspects instead of letting them sit and rot into piles of faceted snow waiting to wreak havoc on our backcountry snowpack.