May Snow

 I see that a return of colder weather and mountain snow is in the forecast for northern Utah.

Downloaded from NWS Salt Lake City web site at 0840 MDT Sunday 17 May 2026

We just had a round of cold weather and snow here in Innsbruck too.  We could have used it in March, but it does create some nice scenery.

It almost looked like winter at the top of the Patscherkofel gondola today.  Pretty good coverage on the upper slopes thanks to a few inches of high-density fresh.  

Snow is confined to the upper third of the mountain, but I did see someone booting up at the top of the gondola.  I can only assume they were going to skin up the access road that goes to the top of the mountain as going down would take you to the snow line in no time. 

There are several mountain huts on the Patscherkofel.  Along with gondola access, you can opt to do anything from short to long hikes to these huts.  All ages are on the mountain for this reason.  Near the top of the gondola, the Schutzhaus is worth a stop if you've hiked up from the bottom.  

I opted for strudle and a hot tea today.  

And here's a pro tip for hiking in the Alps when you are using public transit.  Always leave a little in the tank in case you have to do more walking.  On my return bus home, an announcement was made as we got into town that they would not be able to complete the service.  Instead of getting dropped off near our flat, I got dropped off about a 25 minute walk away.  Turns out there was a parade in the old town.  

Turns out this was the 28th Alpine Region Meeting of Riflemen from Tyrol, South Tyrol, Trentino and Bavaria.  Who knew?  

These guys have all the tools to run the outlaws out of the village.  

It was a nice cultural surprise.