Sometime after it stops snowing each year, I recount all our snowboarding escapades. But did it ever start snowing last season? Now, with the 130 inches of the 2018-2019 season softening the disappointment of 2017-2018, let us remember the pitiful powder that came before.
Waiting for snow during Utah’s last ski season was like waiting for a snail to complete an Ironman. Jason and I hit the slopes for the first time near the end of January on a base of only 59 inches. Pathetic. A storm had just dropped about 10 inches on Brighton, so we took advantage of those meager flecks. It hadn’t snowed enough to bring in the crowds, but it was enough powder to make the mountain agreeable.
We didn’t go out in February. There were a couple decent storms during that month, but it was always ungodly windy during and after them. When we went again in mid-March the base depth was only 68 inches. Although there was no new fluff, the pleasant 40-something weather pulled in the snow-starved crowds. We had to vulture to find a parking spot in Brighton’s lot. The snow was peppy despite being ancient; it was forgiving and fast.
Near the beginning of April, we ventured to Brighton again. Even though we went on a Saturday, the resort was the deadest we’ve ever seen it. The chair lifts were mostly empty. Why you ask? Rain. Not just a few drops here and there but a complete downpour that didn’t let up for hours. The showers only transformed into flakes above about 10,0000 feet, close to the top of the mountain. We boarded approximately an hour and 45 minutes, our shortest stay on the slopes ever. We got drenched in that little span of time. Our gloves were so soaked on the inside that they felt like dumbbells. They had to be dried out using hair dryers over a series of days. We had rivulets streaming down our legs into our boots and finished with sopping crotches. The rain-topped snow behaved odd. It was slow and sticky in spots at the top and extremely slushy at the bottom. The ground made slurping noises as we slid across it like your annoying coworker probing for the last dribbles of his Big Gulp. The bizarreness of the situation gave us a good laugh though, and we loved having the mountain all to ourselves.
The last day we boarded was the closing day of the season. We have to get at least one good day of spring boarding in every year, and this was it. The weather was perfect, in the mid-50s with plenty of sunshine. The parking lot was completely full, but the slopes didn’t have many people on them. Party in the parking lot? Around 3:30, half an hour before closing, the Snake Creek lift lines expanded more than we have ever seen, but no one was on the runs. Apparently, all those folks were trying to reach some celebration at the top. I was trying to reach some snow at the top. It was a nice day to end the season on.
Chione was displeased by our sporadic visits to her wintery shrine during the 2017-2018 season. Only going boarding four times is shameful and the least amount we’ve done in probably a decade. Fortunately, the current season has got the powder power that 2017-2018 lacked. I will cover that another time, hopefully less than a year from now.