Western Winter Wonder
Share your stories with us!
Some quick bonus newsletter stuff today, in honor of the extremely rare blizzard warnings issued for Southern California recently.
A friend of mine excitedly sent me a screen grab of a news report on hail falling in Griffith Park. And with some forecasts predicting the snow levels of this current storm to fall to 1500 feet, there is a decent chance that we may be able to see snow at or behind the Hollywood Sign this weekend.
So first of all, if that happens, can someone please reply to this newsletter or send me a photo at hello@modernhiker.com?
Winter conditions are very rare in Los Angeles, but they do happen. A few years ago, friends in Glendale got enough frozen rain and sleet to build tiny little snowpeople on their lawns (we had no such fun in Thai Town).
The photo above was taken in Griffith Park on Crystal Springs Drive in 1953. In fact, in colder, wetter times the San Gabriel Mountains hosted some of the nation’s earliest ski resorts (has the historic Mount Waterman Ski Area figured out how to operate its lifts yet? They’re really missing out on this).
Griffith Park actually taught ski lessons in the 1950s, too! When I was doing research for my book Discovering Griffith Park, these were some of the best images I came across:
That’s the Municipal Plunge swimming pool in the background (near the corner of Los Feliz and Riverside) … and for anyone who was wondering whether or not it’s a great idea to learn how to ski on grass in Los Angeles, I’m guessing the answer was “not really.”
The last significant snowfall in Southern California was in 1949, when snow fell for four consecutive days in the area.
And yes, in case you were wondering, there is footage. I mean it is L.A., after all.
One of the narrators in this newsreel mentions it was the first snow in 99 years in the Los Angeles area, which is not true. Another significant snowstorm happened in January of 1932.
Send Me Your Winter Adventure Pics!
First thing’s first — be safe this weekend. High winds, snow, and ice make a nasty combination and I don’t want to encourage anyone to be outside during this very unusual inclement weather.
But once the storm blows out, please send me some photos and I’ll share them in next week’s free email newsletter! Reply to this newsletter or send me an email at hello@modernhiker.com, and if there are any socials or anything you’d like me to share, I’ll be sure to include those.
Stay safe out there, and have some winter fun if you can!
Until next time,
Happy Trails.
The L.A. Times also has a great piece up on the snow's historical setting, as well as some predicted accumulations depending on your elevation in the L.A. Region
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-02-24/astonishing-snow-totals-coming-to-southern-california-why-this-storm-is-so-historic