Salt Lake City, UT – Yesterday was an exciting day for Utah’s ski industry, thanks to a storm that ended this morning after over-delivering on forecasts. Over the last 48 hours, Alta picked up 19 inches, Snowbird recorded 17 inches and Eagle Point in Southern Utah reported 14 inches.
Earlier forecasts had topped out at five to 10 inches of storm snow in the upper Cottonwood Canyons, with lesser amounts elsewhere.
With less than two weeks until the chairs are scheduled to start turning, this healthy snowstorm assisted in making sure Utah’s 14 resorts are prepared for opening days.
According to local weather guru, Evan Thayer of Wasatch Snow Forecast, the weather patterns look promising early next week with “two to three systems affecting the region. The first one on Monday looks weaker but the hope is it would open the door for a strong storm on its heels middle of next week.”
Thayer adds that, “There are no signs thus far of the persistent ridging that plagued us last year,” when Utah recorded only 41 percent of its average annual snowfall.
To celebrate the storm, Ski Utah has launched its annual “Monster Dump” contest. To celebrate the first 12 inches of snow that fell at Utah resorts yesterday, the state’s ski marketing association is giving stuff away. Enter for a chance to win one of 12 different prizes here, but do so quickly as the contest only lasts 24 hours.
Opening dates presently scheduled for Utah resorts are as follows:
- Alta: Friday, Nov. 20
- Beaver Mountain: TBD
- Brian Head: Friday, Nov. 20
- Brighton: Friday, Nov. 20 (although the resort is now hinting at an earlier opening)
- Cherry Peak: TBD
- Deer Valley: Saturday, Dec. 5
- Eagle Point: Saturday, Dec. 19
- Nordic Valley: Saturday, Dec. 19
- Park City: Saturday, Nov. 21
- Powder Mountain: Wednesday, Nov. 25
- Snowbasin: Wednesday, Nov. 25
- Snowbird: Saturday, Nov. 21
- Solitude: Saturday, Nov. 21
- Sundance: Friday, Dec. 4