Snowbird 'Officially' Starts Spring With a Storm
Snowbird celebrated its kickoff of an extended spring ski season with a series of storms that added an additional 20 inches to a respectable 95-inch mid-mountain base. After most Utah resorts closed for the season, four days of new snow hit on 4/20, luring diehard skiers up Little Cottonwood Canyon as the chain of Nor' Westerly fronts pounded the resort. Though high pressure weather systems dominated Utah and the Western US for considerable periods prior to this celebratory day, low pressure definitely heightened the excitement of those anxiously awaiting the reappearance of winter.
With thigh-deep lines all over the mountain, from the terrain accessed from Gad chair to the Cirque off the tram, those who refused to acknowledge the change of seasons took to the slopes. Skiers burned tracks in the new powder and fired up their hiking legs to ski Baldy, traversed high into Mineral Basin, railed the Cirque, and sought stashes of fresh behind a rope or two. As the storms kept rolling, landings got softer and the trees were hammered for every flake available. Powder Maggots from around the West beat feet to Salt Lake just ahead of the snow to grab the last of what could be winter for many, hoping to sate themselves enough, perhaps, to make it through a long summer. One Maggot drove 325 miles to arrive at 3pm, enabling him to load the chair eight times and grab the last tram of the day, proclaiming the effort well worth it for a late taste of winter.
Snowbird, proclaiming itself The Official Resort of Spring, will remain open daily until May 9 and hopes to open weekends thereafter until a tentative closing on May 30. Snowbird is currently planning construction of a new superpipe for next season. For information on how you can catch the West's best snow before the doldrums of summer set in, check out Snowbird.com for more information.