September 20, 1996
Ski Season is HERE!
Yes folks, its true! The long and dusty summer is coming to a close. It is time to put away the wetsuits and ski vests. Hang up your climbing shoes and put the chains in the trunk! It's time to go skiing!
On Monday, Sept 16, a good storm rolled into the Salt Lake valley, dropping a load of rain in the lowlands and TWO FEET of POWDER in the mountains! The rain in the valley was too much to handle, so on monday night after work, around midnight, I escaped into Little Cottonwood Canyon to see what I could see.
The snow began to stick at about the 6000 foot level and just past the Gate Buttress, there were 1 to 2 inches on the road! At Tanners flat, the snow had increased to 6-8 inches and was getting dry!
By the time I reached the bypass road at Snow Bird, the snow on the ground was about a foot deep, totally dry, and consisted of tiny grauple mixed in small flakes. Continuing up, I was forced to turn back at the albion basin road because my tires were not doing any good in this winter wonderland.
Tuesday, armed with a new set of snowtires and my tele boards, I again proceeded up the canyon. A little but not much settling had occured. At the end of the Albion Basin road, there were 18 inches of very light powder awaiting the presence of my skis.
So strapping on the old skins, I proceeded to tromp up the mountain. After a leisurely 1 1/2 hour hike, I reached the top of Supreme where the terrain was buried in TWO FEET THREE INCHES OF SNOW! Praise the snow gods!! The trip down was absolutely delightful! Because of the unseasonably low temps, and the persisting cloud cover, the snow had not settled much, and was still light and fluffy. Although the snow was two feet deep, coverage was still minimal in some areas amongst the trees and so I expect to spend a few hours with a p-tex candle and my boards. But it was definitely worth it! Imagine it... First tracks in September!! This is the beginning of a GREAT year!
This Marvelous Adventure Brought to YOU by THE ROOSTER