A Storm Chasing Skier Shares the Secret to Scoring Untracked Powder

One of skiing’s great joys is storm chasing. You watch the weather roll in across the radar and then beeline for the ski area to try to catch it just right, riding the wave of snowfall and temperatures and wind. But how do you decide which resort to hit—and when to get there—to score fresh tracks? How do you avoid getting stuck in Little Cottonwood Canyon traffic or Stevens Pass slop with all the other powder hounds? Steven Conney, AKA “Powderchaser Steve,” a snow forecaster for skiing app OpenSnow and a diehard storm chaser has some answers. For the past 30 years he’s been packing up pre-dawn, watching telemetry and traffic, and traveling last-minute across the country in the pursuit of powder. He’s been known to ski in Idaho’s Sawtooths one day and the Sierra the next, all in the name of fresh tracks. Conney’s life may or may not be relatable—he’s a retirement-age guy with a flexible job and multiple houses—but his advice, honed over years of watching storms and making trips, can be.

You’re not alone, so think about where the crowds might be heading, and what storms might fly under the radar.

Chasing powder was a game for me when the Internet first started. All I had to rely on was radar. I would look and see how much snow people would get in the Pacific Northwest or Sierra, and then guess what the Rockies would get as the storm moved across the country. There’s so much information out there—and so many other skiers doing the same —now that it’s harder to chase a storm in a relaxed way. Your best odds are when storms start at 5 A.M. with 0 to 1 inches on a snow report and 10 inches by 10 A.M. The crowds don’t catch on until later that day or the following.

Head for the (small) hills.

Last year I spent more time at smaller resorts—you have a better chance of getting lucky at a mom-and-pop resort. During the week big resorts used to be empty, but it’s changed a ton. Everything gets tracked out more. There’s no differentiation between mid-week and weekends. Another part of the formula is what will open. There’s nothing worse than being at the deepest resort in the U.S. with nothing open. That’s the worst thing. Sometimes you’re better off going to a smaller ski area with less avalanche-prone terrain.

Don’t just look at snowfall. Check out wind and temperature, and consider challenges to mountain operations, too.

So much goes into the formula for figuring out where to go: Is this mountain actually going to open? How much snow is going to fall? How cold are the temperatures, and how much wind is expected? Wind is probably our worst enemy. It changes the conditions and quality of snow, and it impacts lift operations. Quality of snow at elevation is more important now due to climate change. Storms are warmer and wetter, so I’m looking at the temperature more now. You can’t base your decision solely on how deep it’s going to be, especially in the Sierra. There have been deep storms there I haven’t chased because I knew it would be too wet, and I knew mountains wouldn’t be open because of avalanche control.

Get your information from the right places.

In most states the snow telemetry (SNOTEL) sites are extremely helpful. Webcams can be unreliable, and they don’t account for wind. Before the internet, I had a black book loaded with phone numbers of highway plow trucks, night auditors at hotels, and gas stations. I used to drop off six-packs to hotel clerks. It’s always best to have a connection on the hill, because they’re going to tell you in real time what the conditions are like better than a webcam. I’ll call the hotels, but you have to make sure the person you’re talking to at a hotel is a skier.

Don’t commit too soon. And have your go-bag ready.

Never plan a trip beforehand, because you’ll end up getting skunked. Be prepared to chase at the last minute, even two or three hours before a storm. You have to stay flexible. There have been plenty of times when I’ve turned around. If I do a last minute reversal it’s usually based on webcams and snow telemetry sites. I don’t always know the night before where I’m going to be the next day. I get up super early to look at these telemetry sites or sometimes I do it on the road. Of course the car is pre-packed, that’s just common sense.

You don’t need ski-in, ski-out accommodations.

Here’s another little trick: I don’t always stay at the resort where I think it’s deep. I’ll stage between resorts where it’s cheaper, outside the ski area, equidistant to multiple ski areas. I stay in Pocatello or Idaho Falls, if I don’t know if I’m going to Teton or back to Utah.

But you do need snow tires, and to fly into an airport big enough to land planes in a storm.

If you’re flying in from out of state, it’s probably best to avoid small airports unless you can nail the specifics of the storm. Rental cars never come with snow tires. I’ll walk on the floor of the rental car place and check tires. Always check your tread.

Traffic and highway closures are your enemies. Plan road trips accordingly.

If you don’t like getting quagmired on the highway, avoid the Cottonwoods and I-70 and go to resorts away from metro areas. The worst offenders for powder days are Salt Lake City and Denver. Storms almost always come with road closures, so it’s key to leave early. Sometimes I’ll go up the night before and stay on the other side of common road closures. I’ll stay on the west side of I-70 and then come into Colorado from the west. In the Sierra you also have to learn to circumvent I-80, because that will close from Reno. Be prepared to get up at 3:30 A.M. and drive around Lake Tahoe. My driving tips are: have the right car, with snow tires, and be on the right side of the pass.

Master the delicate balance of work and play.

Chasing powder is a second job. I have an alias. I’m guessing my boss knows, but no one has said anything. I make it a point to do a really good job at work when it’s not snowing. I’d equate it to a bear stocking up on food before winter. I’m getting five months of work done so I can take extra days off in the winter. If you think about it, most of your time spent at a resort is driving, sitting in lift lines, or in some cases waiting for terrain to open. How many actual minutes are you skiing down the hill? It’s relatively short. The only time I don’t answer my phone is when I’m going downhill, seven minutes at a time. Really I could call this my lunch hour.