Storm Skiing @ Squaw Valley: Snow Report + Photo Tour

Tram Face with a nice little blanket of snow

After surviving the monsoon we encountered Wednesday at Squaw, Thursday brought some of the white stuff we’ve all been waiting for. With overnight storm totals around 6″ and snow throughout the day, it was nice to remember what real snow and skiing in a storm feels like. Unfortunately, Squaw had the upper mountain shut down, supposedly do to wind but more probably due to the lack of crowds. Even with the new snow, Squaw and Alpine remained empty and you could essentially skate right on to the lift.

Unfortunately, we did not receive as much precipitation in the form of snow as we did in rain. Well over an inch of rain fell on Wednesday/Wednesday night, but only received a total 10″ of snow (which roughly translates to just under an inch). The rain washed away much of the little natural snow we had. However, the new snow was fantastically fun to surf along on the edges of the man made strips off Red Dog and Squaw Creek.

It was a bit more like winter at Alpine, the view from the top of Summit

Alpine was the winner of the day, with full winter white out conditions off the top of Summit chair at times. The crowds were equally thin over at Alpine, but they continue to serve up better off piste skiing than what Squaw has to offer currently. You could only ski off the main groomer on summit yesterday, but as the storm clears out we should be able to start venturing back outward off the top of Summit.