When it starts
Powder Mountain, Apr 1–2, 2026: the model's run on the day said 5.4" skiable over 2 days, best Thursday at 4.9" (Nice day); the Ben Lomond Trail SNOTEL pillow gained 4" of depth. Close.
Close. 5.4" skiable in the model, 4" on the pillow: inside 3" or 30%.
Pack going in: 0" on Mar 31, 2" on Apr 1. The storm total counts from the first reading, so snow after 5pm the night before is in it.
| Day | Call | First chair | On hill | Skiable | Starts | Pillow before | Pillow after | Gain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed Apr 1 | Stay home | 0.3" | 0.2" | 0.5" | ~12am | 2" | 6" | +4" |
| Thu Apr 2 | Nice day | 3.1" | 1.8" | 4.9" | ~10pm Wednesday | 6" | 4" | -2" |
Model: the run on the day (Open-Meteo Previous Runs, best_match). PowHound does not keep superseded live forecasts, so this is not the number you saw the night before. It is usually closer.
Clocks, local time: first chair 5pm–8am, on hill 8am–5pm, skiable is both. Stay home under 2", Nice day 2–8", Full Send 8" or more.
Pillow: snow depth at the Ben Lomond Trail SNOTEL station, read once a day around midnight. A day's gain is the next midnight reading minus that day's, so it runs midnight to midnight, not 5pm to 5pm. Depth is not snowfall: new snow settles and blows around, so the pillow usually reads under what fell. Not the resort report.
Verdict: close is within 3" or 30%. Season numbers and method: llms.txt.