LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – People who live or work up at Mount Charleston are used to dealing with whatever Mother Nature throws at them.
From a heavy snowpack last year to the torrential rains that hit them after Tropical Storm Hillary slammed into the mountain, Mt. Charleston has seen its share of severe weather. Last week, another challenging weather event took aim at the area in the form of snow—and lots of it.
While all eyes were on Super Bowl Week, little attention was paid to our local mountains until an avalanche at Lee Canyon buried four skiers. They were rescued, but the resort had to shut down for a few days so crews could assess the situation.
In the meantime, NDOT crews were challenged to clear the snow from the roads heading up to Kyle and Lee Canyons. By Super Bowl Sunday, the drive up to Mount Charleston was dry and easy.
Parking along the side of the road was difficult because much of the area was still covered with snow. Heading into Old Town, homeowners were shoveling trying to dig out around their vehicles.
Danielle Prussin says she’s thankful she and her husband didn’t experience any damage to their home. Last year, a limb broke off a massive 450-year-old tree on their property and destroyed their new roof.
The trouble comes with keeping up with the amount of snow that fell in such a short amount of time.
“We have no more area to put it,” said Dan Snyder, a resident of the area. While the headache of finding a place to put the snow will likely last a few more days, Synder is thankful for the snow.
“We need the moisture,” he explained. “We need the water that this will provide for up here so we don’t have forest fires. You know, that’s our deadliest concern.”
From the 64 inches or so that fell in the town to the 80-plus inches at Lee Canyon, it was all about getting out on the slopes. The resort was packed as people took advantage of the new snow
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