hazen1 Granite Chief shop athlete Hazen Woolson getting lost in the White Room. Photo by Anthony Santos

by Casey Glaubman

Unless you’ve been hiding under some sort of cozy rock all winter, and one without an internet connection, you’ve probably noticed that Tahoe is having one of the best winters in recent memory. Also, who wants to live under a rock without a working internet connection? What is this, the stone age? I’m sorry, that’s enough joking around, let’s get down to the serious business that is winter.

These days, if you have friends that ski, it’s almost impossible to not be inundated by shots of deep powder and big smiles. Whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, or just your “friends with no chill” sending you pictures while you’re stuck at work, the powder appears to be flying hard and fast on a weekly basis. By now I’m sure most of you are aware that we are well in the grips of this Godzilla El Nino year, but how does this year actually stack up so far, historically speaking?

Screen Shot 2016-01-08 at 10.58.56 AM Totals courtesy of onthesnow.com

Taking a look at the snow totals for Squaw Valley, we can see that we really are off to a great start for the 2016 season. So far, and granted it’s still early, we’re looking at a total snowfall of 24 reported inches for the month of January, and that’s not even counting the stellar December that’s still fresh in everyone’s mind. In fact, we have to go all the way back to 2011 to find a January that compares, and almost all of the snow that year came in the second half of the month. We actually have to go all the way back to 2007 to find a January with a higher record snowfall at this point in January and, with most of the month still to go, current models are showing even more snow headed our way over the next few weeks.

So, whether you’re a jaded local predicting the end of Tahoe skiing as we know it, or a newcomer enjoying one of the finest snow years in a half-decade, it’s time to bust out the fat sticks and shralp some gnar.

vanessa1 Granite Chief shop athlete Vanessa Aadland getting some backcountry pow. Photo by Casey Glaubman