Despite not having a ski resort, Star Valley has some of the best snow in the country with similar snow base depth to that of some of the most popular resorts in the world. Even places to ski near Star Valley surpass some of the more famous slopes and get a lot more snow than the most popular resorts in the US, excepting Alta. Seems reasonable that skiers and snowboarders would want to come to resorts with better snow, but in this case, that must not be true. It is better for us though, so the people that go to the locals here are definitely not complaining.

Star Valley

• Smoot – Jumping to 6621 feet in elevation, Smoot has about 31 inches of Base Depth in the town area. Up  on the South End, however, there is between 58-77 inches of Base Depth. Smoot has the highest amount of Base Depth in the mountains between Thanye, Alpine, and Afton.
• Afton – Coop reports 1″ of new snowfall today, raising Base Depth levels to 17 inches. Base Depth is 130% of normal, which is low for this time of year. Afton is perched in Wyoming at an elevation of 6,289ft.
• Thayne – Just above Alpine, the elevation in Thayne is 5906 feet. Thayne currently has 23 Inches of Base Depth. A considerable difference from Alpine, but close to how much Star Valley has.
• Alpine – At 5,633 feet in elevation, Alpine has accumulated 46 inches of Base Depth sitting at 100% of what the Normal Base Depth usually is. At the top of the peaks, there is a total of 162 Inches of Base Depth.

Popular Resorts

• Park City Mountain – Park city has gotten 4 inches in the last 48 hours and 25 inches in the last 7 days. Their Base Depth is sitting at 57 inches and overall this season they have a total of 112 inches.
• Alta – Alta has gained only 3 inches in the last 24 hours. Their Base Depth is actually better than Park City at 81 inches, and the during the entire season so far they have gotten 192 inches.
• Vail – At only 1 inch in the last 24 hours and 7 inches in the last 48, Vail is sitting at a Base Snow Depth of 53 inches and have gotten a total of 138 inches this year.
• Aspen – Aspen also only has 1 inch in the last day, and 3 inches in the last 2 days. They have a 31 inch Base Depth and they don’t actually say what their total so far for this year is.
• Big Sky – In Big Sky, they have gotten a staggering 0 inches of new snow in the last 24 hours, and only 5 inches in the last 3 days. Their Base Depth is at 43 inches and they do not yet have a total for this season..

Local Resorts

• Targhee – In Targhee, there has been 5 inches overnight, and 9 inches in the last 24 hours. The Base Depth has gotten up to 75 inches of Base Depth, and 182 inches all season.
• The Village – The village has gotten 9 inches on the summit and 7 mid-mountain inches. In 48 hours it has gotten 13 and 11 inches. The Base Depth right now is 71 inches and 58 inches. In total, the Village has a sum of 194 and 146 inches this year.
• Snow King – Snow King has only gotten 2 inches in the last 24 hours. and only has 51 inches in total so far this year. The Snow Fall is about 29-31 Average Snow, 29 inches for the base, and a total of 31 inches at the summit.
• Beaver Mountain – At one of the most popular mountains, there has been 7 inches in the last 48 hours, and 2 in the last 24. The current Base Depth is 38 inches, and the season total is set as “Unknown.”

Unusual Weather in the US

In other news, temperatures across the country take a plunge. The eastern third of the US dealt with bone-chilling cold and wind chills recently, with temperatures in most areas far below what they normally are. Cold weather advisories will be in effect across the gulf coast. In Austin, Texas, wind chills could drop as low as 15 degrees. These cold days are also included in the Northeast. More than 218,000 customers were without power across Kentucky, Indiana, Virginia, West Virginia, Illinois, Missouri and North Carolina according to PowerOutage.us. Not only was the power down, but in states like Indiana, Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri and Kansas had to close down schools and even after school activities. They were also canceled in Maryland, where Gov. Wes Moore declared a state of emergency and announced that state government offices would even be closed too. Gov. Andy Beshear did the same in Kentucky also.

On January 8th, students walked into SVHS in -13f  air on the coldest morning of the year so far.