Snow burying the North Shore
By Jeff Delong, Reno Gazette-Journal
Awesome. Stunning. Wild.
Superlatives described the Sierra’s snowy situation Friday after a powerful spring storm layered the mountains in feet of fresh snow, building on amounts already deposited during what many are calling the heaviest winter season in years.
“It’s so crazy,” said Penny Pritchard as she and her roommate Christina Medefesser shoveled several feet of fresh snow that had buried cars overnight at their Donner Lake home.
A native of Bend, Ore., and a Tahoe-area resident for seven years, Pritchard knows something about snow. Or thought she did. “This is by far the most snow I’ve ever seen,” said Pritchard, 25. “I’ve never seen snow this high.”
At Alpine Meadows ski resort — which received more than 3 feet of fresh snow over the 24 hours prior to Friday morning — this winter is one for the record books. Seasonal snowfall at Alpine’s lodge thus far is more than 46 feet.
It’s the most snow Alpine has recorded since a record winter of 1994-95, when the lodge received 55 feet over the course of the year.
At Alpine’s upper elevations, some 65 feet of snow has fallen so far this season.
“We’re on track to have one of the snowiest winters in our history,” Alpine spokeswoman Rachael Woods said. “It’s incredible to see the change here over the last three weeks.”
At Soda Springs west of Donner Summit, entire houses are buried in snow, sitting by the road as hummocks of white.