Discussion: Snow

I saw this on weather.com -- "Xylia's top total is an estimated 52.5 inches at 7,900 feet in Wyoming's Laramie Range." Yikes!

I wonder what 52" at 7900' translates to at 8600'?

If there's really that much snow up top, it's going to be almost impossible for the groomers to do anything for a while, so maybe the ski season ends because of too much snow--which would be ironic given how little snow there has been for most of this winter.

First they would have to somehow get to the equipment sheds. Then the real work begins, with digging out the doors. And once that's done, how do you move a snowmobile through 52" of snow?

I-80 could be messed up for a long time, Even the slightest bit of wind is going to move all kinds of snow over the road.

Totally epic!

That's a lot of snow! There must be some ridiculous-sized drifts, too.

In Arizona, the snow total differences around Flagstaff seem pretty extreme. The Snowbowl reported 41" (at 9200? or maybe it's up at 11000'?) and the nordic center (about 8000') only reported 18". And then in town (6900') there were already bare spots this afternoon. Wild storm.

Flagstaff would be a great place to live in so many ways, though it's reputation for being a choice high altitude training place is a little over-hyped. The air there is so dense and oxygen rich that a well trained runner can take a deep breath and run a mile there.

It's a Ponderosa heaven.

And I wonder if it has seen a big inflow of folks this past year, seeking refuge from the Big City(s).

I suppose the amount of snow in the mountains would be quite overwhelming.
This reminds me of the big snowstorm in 1998 - where we (Borlänge) got a bit of it but still the most snow landed in Gävle 110 km east of here.

Snow storms on the cusp of spring call for a stiff upper lip, or grin and bare it (and shovel it) or get out of dodge asap, to a Caribbean beach perhaps? Sorry:-).

In truth, I haven't minded it at all. It was pretty neat to see the storm, and shoveling snow is just another good excuse to get outside. Of course, it would be better if the roads were open and our XC trails were being groomed, but so it goes, and the best choice is to find ways to enjoy what you can.

For me personally, having some variability in the weather is more fun and interesting than if it were almost exactly the same every day. You really haven't lived until you're biking and 4 miles outside of town, with a stiff wind in your face and a hail storm headed your way with no escape. ; )

@bubo--a hundred year snowstorm around here could be *almost* too much of a good thing. The legendary storm around here was (I think) the Blizzard of '49. Nobody in their right mind wants that to be replaced with the Blizzard of '21, but there is still time!

I had that storm experience my first day in Colorado, July of '83. We were headed for the town of Akron and started seeing lightning on the horizon. The wind picked up with gusts so strong that it was hard to stay on the road, and a couple of times it blew the bikes out from under us. We just made it to the first building in town (a restaurant, conveniently) when the full force of the storm hit, and the lights went out. The kitchen ran on gas, and we had dinner by candlelight.