The Fat Flakes Fall

That's more like it...
from the Solitude Facebook page

It's hard to get more depressing than rain in January when you live in Utah. Adding insult to injury is that thousands are gathered here in Salt Lake City for the Outdoor Retailer (OR) show this week and the skies in the valley have been dumping nothing but 33°+ water droplets. For some attendees, this was their first taste of Utah's winter. Our mountains should have been cutting a crisp white line across bluebird skies- instead they've been socked in gray while rivers of rainfall run through the downtown gutterways.

But that changed yesterday. I was buried in my smartphone's calendar, busily trying to sort out my next appointment at OR when I quickly took a glance to establish my surroundings. A ceiling to floor window caught my eye, revealing the magic that had taken place: the 33°+ droplets had transformed to fat feather-like flakes drifting through the air. I stopped still and stared, forgetting my smartphone and appointments. A rush of relief spread over me. It was finally snowing in Salt Lake.

from skiutah.com - Jan 18, 2012

I do need to clarify... we have been graced with a healthy punch of winterness in our mountains for a couple of days, but when it's raining below it usually means a dense layer of snow in the upper elevations. Hey- not that I'm complaining. We've seen well over 3 feet of snow since January 18th, so at long last I'll be off my rock skis. However, a bit of jubilation is expected when the rain changes to snow in the valley- skiers know that means conditions are improving at their favorite resort. 

Therefore, as a skier, it was my duty to check one of my favorite resort's snow report first thing this morning. Solitude is boasting a healthy 27" of new snow in the past 24 hours- which is close to what the base depth was previous to this storm. It's a cold 23° up there, which helps keep this particular snowfall lighter than what we've been experiencing the past couple of days. Hallelujah!

I wasn't the only one rejoicing. As I tore myself away from the window and continued on, the hum of "Did you see?", "It's snowing!" and "The flakes are huge!" carried me all the way to my appointment. The first five minutes of conversation with the PR rep I was meeting with were taken up by discussion surrounding this weather phenomenon and the skiing that would ensue as soon as Outdoor Retailer concluded.

As for me, I have no doubt where my Line Pandora skis and I will be rocking (on powder!) tomorrow morning- a secret stash at Solitude will be waiting. And for all you "snow snobs" who have been allowing your skis to gather dust- it's time to brush them off and wax them down. Winter has arrived.