Western Snows

Craig Gabriel finds some fresh powder while skiing at Kirkwood Mountain Resort Oct. 24, 2004, in Kirkwood, Calif. The resort opened Oct. 23, 2004, the earliest it has opened in its 33-year history.

Igor Malik skis off Chair 5 at Kirkwood Mountain Resort Oct. 24, 2004.

Abbie Bilotta hikes up to the top of Telemark Bowl near Jackson, Wyo., with her dog, Shasta, Oct. 24, 2004. Dozens of skiiers and snowboarders packed the Teton Pass parking area to take advantage of the first major snow accumulation of the season.

Vehicles slowly travel in heavy snow along Highway 18, in Running Springs, Calif., after a powerful storm dumped rain and snow on southern California Oct. 27, 2004.

Some Halloween decorations in Truckee, Calif., are shown with a coating of snow Oct. 26, 2004. A powerful Alaskan storm swept across California, flooding homes in San Francisco, cutting power to thousands and leading to a record-breaking snowfall in the Sierra.

Jake Cavanaugh, 3, gives his dog, Peaches, some help as they play in the snow in Truckee, Calif., Oct. 26, 2004.

A solitary leaf rests atop a snow-covered pumpkin at the Federated Community Church pumpkin patch in Flagstaff, Ariz., Oct. 22, 2004.

The car belonging to a group of lost hikers is shown buried in three feet of snow, Oct. 21, 2004, at Courtright Lake, Calif. Four members of Bargetto's Santa Cruz County wine-making family had been missing at a 9,400-foot-elevation lake east of Fresno in the Sierra National Forest and were rescued safely after four days.

Ken Bean works to clear his driveway after five inches of heavy wet snow caused branches from his neighbors tree to fall Oct. 22, 2004, in Flagstaff, Ariz.

Yosemite Falls is seen amid mountains with a fresh dusting of snow, Oct. 20, 2004, in Yosemite National Park, Calif. An early winter storm caught many Californians by surprise, making Sierra Nevada roads impassable, and causing numerous delays.

Lou Cuevas of Chicago digs out a two-foot snow berm left by a snowplow behind his rental car Oct. 20, 2004, in South Lake Tahoe, Calif. An early winter storm dumped at least a foot of snow on the high Sierra.

Flood waters, debris and mud trapped a car Oct. 20, 2004, in Lytle Creek, Calif. California's first major storm of the season poured heavy rains across the area, setting off mudslides up to four feet deep and dumped snow at higher elevations.

A CalTrans plow clears the road of slushy snow near the scene of a two-vehicle head-on collision on U.S. Highway 50 and the South Lake Tahoe Airport, Oct. 19, 2004.

Maria Chavez, right, watches tow truck operator Randy McGowan try to prepare her car for towing in Reno, Nev., Oct 20, 2004. Chavez, who just moved to Reno from Los Angeles, had never seen snow in her life before and didn't want to take any chances, so she left her car in the road and called AAA.

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