Early-season Snowstorm Stokes Ski Excitement

PARK CITY, Utah – An early-season storm dumped more than a foot of snow in some parts of the Wasatch Mountains. It was an early taste of what ski and snowboard enthusiasts hope will be a better winter.

“I know everybody woke up this morning and was pretty stoked and the mood is high. People are happy right now,” said Bransford Briggs, the hard goods manager at Jans in Park City.

Workers at Jans started making the transition from summer gear to winter gear as the snow fell in Park City. Briggs has worked at the shop for seven years and said Wednesday’s snow was promising.

“That’s a good sign, especially at this point in the season. You see this in September, eh, write it off, it’s going to get warm again,” Briggs said.

The storm dumped as much as 14 inches of snow at resorts across the area. Skiers and snowboarders hope to see a lot more powder than last year. Even with the light snowfall last winter, Briggs said people tried to make the best of it.

“It was a year to just go fast, have nice tunes on the skis, good wax, and go as fast as humanly possible. That was how we made it fun,” he said.

There are still several weeks until opening day at resorts across the area. Wednesday’s storm was just enough to get everyone thinking about winter.

“We really start getting excited around Thanksgiving when you can actually go ahead and hit the lift and make it happen,” Briggs said.