Steamboat Springs — The Steamboat Ski Area received 4 inches of snow Thursday afternoon and evening — and in the process set a single-season snowfall record.
The mountain is reporting 450 inches of cumulative snowfall since October. That eclipses the previous mark of 447.75 inches set in the winter of 1996-97.
“The hardest 4 inches we ever got,” ski area spokesman Mike Lane joked this morning.
Ski area employees are giving away candy and hot chocolate to skiers and riders this morning, and some of the early-risers who were near the front of the gondola line received T-shirts, Lane said.
“There were quite a few people — a lot trying to get their last few turns before they head home for Easter, and of course the die-hards who are always here pressing glass,” he said.
Local musician Randy Kelly and his band Sun Dog also are performing in the gondola platform this morning.
This winter has seen other snowfall milestones for the ski area. The winter of 2007-08 is the first time Mount Werner received 100 inches of snow or more in three consecutive months — December, January and February.
Since Nov. 21, snow has fallen 91 out of 122 days — almost 75 percent, with 51 of those days recording 4 or more inches, according to the ski area.
December’s 126 inches was the resort’s third-snowiest December on record; January’s 129 inches was the resort’s second-snowiest January on record; and February’s 104 inches was the resort’s second-snowiest February on record. March has received 51 inches of snow.
The ski area has been tracking monthly snowfall totals since the 1979-80 winter. The resort first opened in the early 1960s.
Only six seasons since 1979-80 have totaled 400 inches of snow or more: 1992-93 (415.5 inches), 2005-06 (432 inches), 1995-96 (441.25 inches), 1983-84 (447.5 inches), 1996-97 (447.75 inches), and 2007-08 (450 inches and counting). However, the ski area has counted October and early November snowfall totals only in recent years.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment