Utah Ski Resorts Buried by First Real Storm of the Season

The first substantial snow storm of the season is currently making its way across the Intermountain West. As reported yesterday, southern Colorado is expected to received the bulk of the storm , but Utah is certainly getting in on the action.

Check out the fresh snowfall captured in webcam photos at Alta Ski Area and Snowbird, Utah on October 18, 2024 below.

It's a bit too early in the season for most ski resorts to report official snowfall totals, but based on the snow stake at Snowbird, it appears that Little Cottonwood Canyon has seen roughly six inches of accumulation thus far.

Alta Ski Area cleared their snow stake early this morning, but snow can clearly be seen stacking up on trees in their webcam views that aren't currently obscured by the low-hanging clouds of the storm. They're reporting six inches of new snow thus far.

This weekend's storm isn't technically the first snowfall of the season for Little Cottonwood Canyon, but it's certainly been the most productive and widespread. Eager skiers will have to wait a bit for the resort to open, however. Alta is planning to open November 22nd and Snowbird is shooting for Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 2024.

Utah's Little Cottonwood Canyon is revered for its deep snowfall, but the storm isn't playing favorites. Check out the images captured at Solitude Mountain Resort and Brighton Resort in Big Cottonwood Canyon below.

Brighton Resort has been covering the storm with a flurry of social media posts over the last 24 hours. It doesn't appear that a ton of snow has fallen based on the webcam image above, but it's enough to get us excited. The resort has extended their season pass discount deadline to October 22nd to celebrate the storm.

Solitude's Honeycomb Canyon webcam is a sight for sore eyes this morning. The majority of the view is currently blocked by clouds that are still dumping snow, but the tease of winter's return is almost too much for this ski writer to handle. It's clear that the resort's snow base is minimal (this is the first real storm of the season after all), but the Honeycomb Canyon view almost looks to be in mid-season form if you use your imagination a bit. I certainly am.

Brighton and Solitude have yet to announce targeted opening days for the Winter '24/'25 season. Stay tuned, as this storm could nudge them to make a decision in the near future.

The ski resorts in Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons received more snow from the storm than Utah's other ski resorts (no surprise there), but snow fell at higher elevations across most of the state. Check out webcam images from Park City Mountain Resort, Deer Valley, Brian Head Resort, and Snowbasin below.

Utah's first storm of the season won't be enough to open chairlifts, but the return of snow has all of us here at POWDER fired up for Winter '24/'25.

Stick with us throughout the season as we continue to deliver daily ski news stories, Gear Reviews, features, and more.

Winter is almost here, are you ready?

Related: With Deep Snow in the Forecast, Is Colorado's Ski Season About to Start?

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