Snowbird’s Oktoberfest shocked by early Labor Day snow

SNOWBIRD, Utah — It’s not unheard of to have a snowy Labor Day up at Snowbird, but it certainly doesn’t happen often.

Crowds gather yearly for Snowbird’s annual Oktoberfest, and this year both the festival attendees and the staff were shocked to find wet snow at the top of the tram’s peak on Monday.

Lower down the mountain where the festival vendors and entertainment reside, the weather was cold and rainy for the hundreds of people celebrating. Most of them were able to keep dry, under their large tents and canopies.

Meanwhile, some folks took the tram to the foggy cliffs and are ecstatic to see it and hoping for another long, snowy ski season this year.

“Absolutely!” A couple, Michael and Janae Hernandez said. “We saw a great opportunity to come up dressed up as bears… because it’s chilly.”

Another couple, Dennis and Bell Ranke came from Arizona to a slushy surprise.

“I didn’t think there was going to be snow up here,” Bell said. “It’s surprising!”

The Communications Manager at Snowbird, Sarah Sherman, said the staff constantly watches the forecast, crossing their fingers.

“You never know what mother nature is going to bring,” she said. “We keep our eyes peeled this time of year to see when that first one is going to come.”

Sherman also thinks the snow will evolve this season.

“I think it’s safe to say that the snow we’re seeing is probably not the snow we’ll be seeing coming opening day, but it’s still really fun to see.”