Feet of snow making travel difficult to ski resorts like China Peak

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – Skiers and snowboarders have four feet of new snow to enjoy at China Peak – and with more on the way, the resort is expecting a busy weekend. Law enforcement is also up there expecting a busy weekend.

“I just came down off the mountain and we experienced at least a foot at Shaver, if not more,” Deputy Sheriff Robert Mehling said. “Pretty much all day we’ve been dealing with people going up unprepared, no chains or trying to put chains on too late. Very icy road conditions.”

Although CalTrans is doing what it can to clear snow off roadways, there’s only so much they can do. 

“Most of the accidents have been fairly low speed, just on inclines and downgrades of the roads,” Sheriff Mehling said.

So far, China Peak has recorded four feet of new snow, making it the largest snow storm of the season.

“This year, I think we have a pretty good chance we’ll be here by the end of April,” China Peak President Tim Cohee said. “The challenge is that it’s you know, it’s basically 25 miles to chain controls, but if the sun comes out, it’ll dry incredibly quickly.”

But with all that fresh powder, law enforcement is preparing for rescues.

“They utilize these razors with tracks on them and snowmobiles. If somebody needs rescuing in a location that hasn’t been plowed to or just been so impacted by snow, there’s no other access to them,” Mehling said.

Especially with more snow in the forecast.

“And then it’s all going to happen again here in about 48 hours since snow is coming in again on Monday,” Cohee said.