Forecast Shows Two Feet of Snow out West This Week

Featured Image: Elise Sterck | Skier: Ian Doherty

Just when we started to give up on winter and succumb to the warm welcome of spring, Mother Nature decides to pull a cruel joke on all of us with a late April dump. The storm makes landfall in California today, with OpenSnow projecting six inches at both Mammoth Mountain and Palisades Tahoe and another eight to 10 inches on Wednesday of this week.

As the storm moves inland, Eastern Idaho and Western Wyoming are looking at the biggest snow totals. As of Tuesday morning, Grand Targhee is forecasting a foot of new snow on Thursday and another nine inches on Friday. Bookend flurries on Wednesday and Saturday bring Targhee's projected total to 24 inches.

Unfortunately, Grand Targhee is now closed for the ski season, and the resort does not allow uphill travel outside of regular season operations. Teton Pass is your best bet for a successful powder hunting mission in this region this late in the year.

Also, due to the late spring timing, the Bridger Teton Avalanche Center has moved from daily avalanche forecasts to general avalanche information, which means it's up to skiers and riders to do their due diligence in assessing for avalanche risks and hazards.

Bridger Teton has noted in their general avalanche information that concern for avalanches will increase as this new storm brings in significant wind and snow totals that can form dangerous wind slabs. The forecast center put an emphasis on "assessing the new snow carefully for signs of slab development like cracking and assume high northerlies contain buried weak grains until proven otherwise."

No matter where you're riding, please be aware that avalanche dangers are still very real. Spring can lull us into a false sense of security, so do your own research and, if it's safe, get after those April pow turns!