Epic powder day brought on by huge snowstorm in Montana. Local powder chaser literally destroys all gnar available.
August 25, 20014, Montana - Friday night and Saturday brought an incredible snow storm in the Colorado Rockies, bestowing Montana with an unbelievable 2+ inches of freshie freshie pow pow. As all powder chasers know, nothing beats an August powder day in the Rockies.
One such powder hound was on the hill at Showdown Mountain, and agreed to an interview with Double Black Designs. "You just can't miss out on a powder day like this," explained local Timothy E.L. Dotson. "Not when there's so much powder to crush."
All that crushable pow was brought on by a low-pressure storm system bringing temperatures 10-20 degrees lower than normal. Those temperatures were just enough at higher altitudes to bring precipitation in the form of pure white fluff.
While 2+ inches may not seem like that much snow, it's enough to get a powder fiend like Tim Dotson excited. "In mid season we may have an 80-inch base. If we got another 8 inches the sweet fluffy pow, that's only a 10% increase in available snow. But in pre-season like now, when you have no base at all, even two inches constitutes an epic powder day." The amount of snow caught even a seasoned powder monger like him off guard. "I only brought out my 159cm board out instead of my powder board, so I was sinking through all three inches of powder and even catching my edge on some grass here and there."
After the past storm this weekend, Montana ski areas Showdown Mountain and Bridger Bowl lead the continental U.S. for most snowpack. With a base of 2-3 inches more snowpack than any other ski area, locals speculate that Montana could plan to open for skiing early this year.
"One thing is for certain," exclaimed Dotson. "Whenever and wherever I am to encounter the gnar, that gnar will be shred."