{"id":22936,"date":"2026-01-07T00:43:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-07T07:43:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=22936"},"modified":"2026-01-06T17:48:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T00:48:09","slug":"weirdest-weather-ever-seen-in-valley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/07\/weirdest-weather-ever-seen-in-valley\/","title":{"rendered":"Weirdest Weather Ever Seen in Valley"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Isaiah Frizzell<\/em><\/p>\n

As a resort and vacation town, our Valley is largely molded by nature\u2019s seasons. Our growth and success is, to some degree, based on the whims of the elementals, the spirits and surges nature creates. Humans that we are, though, we add to it with the snowguns, but more on that in a bit.
\nFrom skiing, snowboarding and hockey in snowy months to hiking in spring, swimming and fishing in summer and celebrating the year\u2019s rewards in autumn, we look to the sky for our signs. On one side are the tourists who show up for a spectacular physical adventure that spills over into apre\u00e8s-ski cocktails, lunch and eventually dinner at one of our fine restaurants, an amazing caterer or private chef.
\nThe hotels, the resort, AirBnBs all count on the weather being tuned to the season\u2019s song. Is this an abstract work of jazz, vapid pop or an electronic, musique concrete\/psychedelic session with the group Autechre?<\/p>\n

Weird Science<\/strong>
\nThe year 2025\u2019s temperatures have shown us people wearing shorts, sandals and even tank tops in mid-late December. We had one big snowfall, in the Valley, near Christmas Eve, which was beautiful but pretty much melted the same day.
\nBaldy couldn\u2019t even really open. Delayed. It\u2019s been strange. If you\u2019ve lived here long enough, or talk to enough people who have, you hear how weird this weather has been. A \u2018summery winter\u2019 is the phrase.
\nNow in January, as rain becomes snow becomes rain, what is there to make of the season? How\u2019s the backcountry skiing? What\u2019s going on in the mountains, the restaurants? Are people still thrilled?
\nActually, yes, they are. It\u2019s traditional, beloved, and people always find a way.<\/p>\n

Enter Troy Quesnel<\/strong>
\nTroy Quesnel has lived in the Valley for over 27 years. Working his way through the Ski Patrol ranks, he\u2019s an alumni and proud patrolman. Like most of us, Quesnel also does roofing and fabrication.
\nThe mountain relies on weather stations and snowguns, connected and manned by a control room.
\n\u201cThis is my 27th winter and, yeah, we haven\u2019t seen this warm of weather ever. The last two weeks on top of the mountain, we\u2019ve gotten four and a half feet of snow. And down here on the Valley floor, as you can see, I think we got eight inches in town.
\n\u201cThat was on Christmas Eve. And right about three o\u2019clock on Christmas Eve, it changed from snow to rain, and the snow level rose. On Christmas night, it rained all the way to the top.\u201d
\nQuesnel knows more about the weather than most\u2014professional-level skills in play here.
\nMoisture is the most important thing, keeping grasses, creeks, animals alive.
\nQuesnel continues, \u201cAgain, you know, this is a winter like we haven\u2019t seen and, you know, in a lot of people\u2019s lifetimes. And definitely in my experience here. We\u2019re at the mercy of Mother Nature, and that\u2019s one thing we can\u2019t control. We can only react to it.
\n\u201cI look at the weather, you know, just more from a, you know, how much moisture\u2019s in the air that\u2019s available to precipitate. And when we look at how much water is in our snowpack and how much water we\u2019ve received in what we would refer to as a normal year, any year before this year, that would all be snow. We would have feet and feet of snow on the ground here in the Valley if we had the temperatures that, you know, we have had in the past.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re in that La Ni\u00f1a ocean now. It\u2019s kind of weak, but it tends to favor us from a moisture standpoint and how much water is available to precipitate out of the atmosphere. And we\u2019ve been getting the moisture and that\u2019s indicative of how much snow is at the top of the mountain and, you know, how much snow is just in the base, you know, the Wood River Basin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Is Anyone Skiing?<\/strong>
\n\u201cYou know, our skier count has been pretty close to what we\u2019ve had in past years, in terms of the number of people on the mountain. And I think part of that is because, you know, people that are skiers want to ski over their holiday. They\u2019re looking everywhere. Hey, where can we go? Where can we get some skiing? Utah doesn\u2019t have any snow still. Some of their resorts are open, but very limited.
\n\u201cAnd so we were one of the first, within hundreds of miles, to have actual skiing available. You know, it wasn\u2019t awesome winter powder skiing by any means. But after that big storm, we got a lot of natural snow, so it allowed us to open more terrain. And then it got cold this week, so we\u2019ve been able to make a lot more snow and get a lot more terrain open.\u201d<\/p>\n

How is the Snow Made?<\/strong>
\n\u201cThe snowmaking system is sturdy. Each gun is computer-controlled individually, so they can adjust the mixture of water and air at each gun. All of that is overseen in a control room, big computer screens that show every gun on it with somebody monitoring what\u2019s going on. Then there\u2019s the snowmaking crew out there adjusting, moving guns, changing their direction. And then there\u2019s around 100 weather stations located all over the mountain. So each different zone is able to have real-time data in terms of temperature and humidity to adjust each gun. And so the water and air mix right at the end of the gun in the nozzles, and then they create this fine mist that comes out into the air. And so they\u2019re able to adjust those to get the best quality product based on its local microclimate.\u201d
\nQuesnel is incredibly well -nformed, optimistic and hopeful, but as Ski Patrol he must keep his eye on the actual quality of the condition on the mountain. \u201cAs you go through the day, first thing in the morning, the groomers are super nice. Go through the day, that snow gets shaved off by people\u2019s ski edges, pushed into piles, and then you get really slick spots in between the bumps.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd then a lot of people say, oh, it\u2019s icy. So later in the day that they get up there, then we\u2019ve got slick spots with snow levels ranging from 7,000 to 9,000 feet or higher. We had some pretty warm temperatures, so we did have some times where it was like winter skiing on top and almost spring, kind of corny slush skiing at the bottom.\u201d<\/p>\n

Injuries?<\/strong>
\n\u201cSkiing is an inherently dangerous activity. And so, yeah, people tend to get hurt doing that. But I don\u2019t think, from my experience, we had any more injuries than normal this year because of the conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Baldy Bustle<\/strong>
\nQuesnel relates the incredible job these people do, daily, to facilitate mountain recreation. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of work. So, when we have these limited-terrain openings, we\u2019ve got to be able, if we only open it that much, so that we can go in as a ski patroller and safely rescue somebody. So if somebody\u2019s on a piece of terrain that we have open, for whatever reason, we have to be able to go in and evacuate them.\u201d
\n\u201cSo that\u2019s really what dictates, from our standpoint, if we can have terrain open or not. So when we have the limited terrain, we have to rope off and create boundaries for each.
\n\u201cWe set up thousands and thousands of feet of rope closures every day, and then have to take them down at night so that the groomers and snowmakers can do their best to get it ready for the public for the next day. And we come in the next morning and put it all up again and let people have fun. Everybody goes home and we take it down at the end of the day.\u201d
\nIncredible. The mechanics of the mountain are a sight to behold. Troy Quesnel\u2019s mind is brilliant, funny and hopeful.<\/p>\n

Family, Friends and Fun are What Count<\/strong>
\nThe saying around town during this season is \u2018No snow, no show\u2019 concerning winter-weather-sports tourists but the truth is people come for more than just excellent ski conditions. Family, friends, cocktails and dinner and the general vibe of the beautiful Valley we inhabit.
\nA friend, whose son is a professional skier, mentioned taking his daughters to Baldy after that big snowfall and there were, to his astonishment, around 5,000 people on the mountain yet only about 20% of the mountain was open to activities!
\nPeople still want to get out, get some air, vibe and enjoy. The less skiing available actually enhances the restaurants and bars even more. \u201cNo snow? Let the booze flow.\u201d
\nSure, it\u2019s a humorous take but true, everyone is still here for the friendship, family and socializing that also creates a petri dish for new ideas and concepts for the future. At dinners and lunches, apr\u00e8s-ski cocktails, a business idea may arise. Some new way no one has yet implemented. It\u2019s a contextually interesting time to consider the situation, life, passions and perhaps react in some way that may change lives in a positive way.<\/p>\n

Community Always<\/strong>
\nQuesnel hopes for snow. We talk of the liqueur Ullr and the tradition of \u2018snow dancing.\u2019
\nUllr (or Ull) is a Norse god associated with skiing, hunting, archery, and winter. In modern ski culture, largely in North America, Ullr has been adopted as a patron deity of snow sports, and various rituals have developed around invoking him for snowfall.
\nPeople congregate on the mountains, drinking Ullr and chanting for snow. It\u2019s somewhat tongue in cheek but a genuine aspect of community building.
\n\u201cYeah, pray to whatever snow god you\u2019ve got!
\nThere\u2019s great skiing up on Baldy, so come up and enjoy it. I mean, the experience that you have going from the Valley floor up to 9,000 feet, especially on days like we\u2019ve had this week, it\u2019s not all about skiing. It\u2019s that mountain community, that vibe you get. And then the views up there of our surrounding mountains are pretty incredible.
\nAnd that\u2019s, you know, that\u2019s a huge part of why people ski. Yeah, sliding down the snow is fun. And everybody wants that awesome powder and those perfect conditions. But skiers know that that\u2019s not the only reason they go out.
\nEnough said! Troy Quesnel is a joy to speak to and obviously finely in tune with the mountain\u2019s song.
\nHave fun, stay safe, and mostly enjoy your family and friends. The new year has begun and we carry on, calmly with passion and engagement in finding ways to high jump any hurdles this wild world may throw at us.<\/p>\n

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