Spring will be soon upon us; however, there is a spot in the Sierra Nevada Mountains where the snow is so deep scientists can’t even measure it. Amidst cries of global warming and a highly contentious debate about climate change, the Nevada mountain range is experiencing a historic snowfall this year. When tasked with measuring snow at Slide Mountain at Mount Rose Ski Tahoe near Reno, researchers said they were unable to.
Slide Mountain is a 9,702-ft. mountain peak in the Carson Range near Reno, NV. Located in Washoe County, Nevada, it is home to the Mount Rose Ski Tahoe resort. Many erroneously believe that this peak is Mount Rose which, incidentally, is located several miles northwest and is 1,000 ft. higher than Slide Mountain.
The heavy snowfall was a welcome sight after two years of drought in the Sierra Nevada range. As a result, scientists tasked with determining actual snowfall found the snow too deep to measure.
Hydrologist Jeff Anderson, who was tasked with measuring Slide Mountain's snow pack, said he wasn't even close after inserting an aluminum tube more than 16 ft. into the too-deep-to-measure snow pack.
As of March 1, the snow pack measures 212 inches deep. The site's water content measured 74.6 inches, which means there is more than 6 ft. of water in the 17-ft. snow pack —
a record for this time of year. The previous record for snow water on March 1 was in 1997 with just over 5 ft. As for the overall record, scientists in May 1995 recorded more than 7 ft. of snow water on Slide Mountain.
Since October 1 in what is considered a "water year," Slide Mountain has recorded almost 8 ft. of precipitation. Whereas the majority has been rain, the site has amassed 54 ft. of snow for happy skiers.
