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BRIGHTON — Heading up to ski or snowboard is a great Presidents' Day tradition in Utah, and the conditions this year did not disappoint the crowds.
Brighton Ski Resort had 10 inches of snow in the last 24 hours and two feet in the last three days to make conditions perfect.
The parking lot was full by 9:30 a.m. with hundreds of skiers enjoying a beautiful day in the mountains. The lift lines and slopes were not crowded and the conditions were fantastic. Other resorts on the Wasatch have comparable conditions.
That's great news after a couple of years with below average snowfall that left many skiers and snowboarders hungry for more powder.
"All that rain that happened down in the valley, it was blower pow up here — 2 feet of it in fact," said Brighton Resort marketing coordinator Alex Mlynarek.
For these riders, no better place on a school holiday.
"There's a little bit of powder in the trees. Amazing snow depth," said snowboarder Brenner Adams. "Great weather, little bit of sun — it couldn't be better."
This new snowfall is the deepest 15-year-old Adams has ever boarded.
"They broke the record for the most snow ever in January," said snowboarder Keyan Adams. "So that was like the best month ever."
Brighton was buried by 211 inches of snowfall in January, which is 17 1/2 feet.
By the numbers, this year is already one of the best years in the last 10. So far this season, Brighton has had 455 inches of snowfall. That's nearly 40 feet of snow, and not far from Brighton's average annual snowfall of 500 inches.
"It seems awesome this year," said skier Anders White. There's a lot of powder, and it seems fun."
"It makes these weekends those memorable weekends, especially for the people who are traveling," said Paul Marshall with Ski Utah. "You go home and talk about how the great snow was and say, 'I'm booking my trip to Utah again.'"
Last year, Utah resorts attracted a record number of riders and officials hope to have another record year.
With more people enjoying the slopes, car pooling and public transit are the best ways we can all thin traffic, and limit automobile emissions.
"UTA has increased their bus service tremendously," Marshall said. "They are running every 15 minutes up both Cottonwood Canyons in the morning and the evening."
They offer a free ride with a season pass, and a couple of the resorts offer other incentives for carpooling with friends.
Despite rain in the valleys, it's still midseason up in the mountains.
According to KSL's Dan Guthrie, Tuesday is expected to be dry and warm along the Wasatch Front with highs in the 60s. A storm expected midweek will start as rain and finish as snow.
Contributing: Scott Winterton
