#wasatch-front-100

#wasatch-front-100

The Mountaineer Express lift is not the flashiest option, but it excels in delivering the most laps and vertical gain, making it a hidden gem for skiers.

Some travelers love vacations that involve doing absolutely nothing-trips where lounging by the beach or pool, napping, reading, or going for a light swim are the most rigorous activities on the agenda. Other travelers, however, crave trips that are a bit more ... active, whether that means hiking, biking, or parasailing. If you fall into the latter category, you should consider heading to Wyoming for your next trip, according to Wander.

Park City, Utah, one of the West's most beloved ski destinations, is having an unusually difficult season. For a state that prides itself on its snow, 2026 has started on an unexpectedly thin note. By this point in winter, rooftops are typically glazed in white and aspen groves disappear beneath Utah's signature "champagne powder." This year, that familiar scene is missing.

When Salt Lake City landed the 2002 Olympics, organizers promised to sustain the vast infrastructure built for the occasion, using it for years to come. Not only is much of it going to come into play again for 2034, but we will see nearly 40% more events than in 2002, including (freestyle ski and snowboard) Slopestyle, Big Air, Women's Ski Jumping, Ski Cross, Mixed Team Snowboard Cross and a much higher-profile Paralympics.

Rendezvous Bowl was icy and windswept in its uppers but softer and more forgiving halfway down. I popped out of bounds, did a couple of hikes, and clicked my skis on in a face-gouging wind. When I got to my drop-in, there were a few inches of snow and a foot of wind.

Most resorts should see firm starts and softer afternoons through Monday, then a mostly moisture-starved cold front brings a brief cooldown, gusty west winds, and only spotty light snow before warmth rebuilds late week. Confidence is highest from Sunday morning, March 8, through Friday night, March 13, with next weekend still leaning warm and mostly dry but carrying a low-end chance of light snow in the far north.

Mt. Baker is the PNW's snow vacuum. It's close enough to the Pacific to get storm after storm, and the North Cascades do what they do best: force moist air straight up, wring it out, and bury everything in sight. Maritime storms roll in wet and heavy, then pile up fast when they hit terrain.

Thursday night through Saturday trends warm and mostly quiet, and guidance is converging on that timing and lower-impact intensity. Expect only spotty lingering snow showers early, then long dry breaks with mountain temperatures generally in the upper 20s to lower 40s and snow levels often around 8,000 to 10,500 feet.

Roughly half of the state's monitoring sites are now in what forecasters describe as "uncharted territory," meaning current snow water equivalent levels are lower than anything previously observed at those locations. To put the situation in historical context, meteorologists have pointed to long-running individual sites such as the Alta Guard House, where snow records date back to 1944. By February 1 of this season, Alta had recorded 126 inches of snow.

Digital creator Richard Oldham bought 400 acres in the mountains of Utah and built an off-grid cabin to enjoy with family and friends. As an avid snowboarder, Oldham enjoys touring his property and discovering new features on his land. Last winter he was out for tour when he came upon rock outcropping that would have been perfect for jumps but it was overgrown with trees and inaccessible in its current state.