If there’s a snow gene, Steve Conney’s DNA is packed full of it. Known as Powderchaser Steve, he has dedicated the last 40-plus years to studying weather patterns and following snowstorms to score deep tracks throughout the nation — all while holding down a full-time job.
For the past 15 years, he has predominantly lived in Park City, though he also has a home in Boulder, Colorado. He views Park City as a great overall year-round community to call home and the perfect winter hub since it’s relatively close to most of the big powder regions, from Utah’s various resorts to Tahoe, Wyoming and Colorado’s ski areas.
Snow has always fascinated Conney. He grew up outside New York City and remembers jumping up to watch snowplows roll through when he was just 3 years old, which also happens to be the age he learned to ski. He loved sledding on the hillside outside his home and began chasing snowstorms at age 15 throughout New England, then worked part time as a ski patroller at Sunday River Resort in Maine.
In those days, forecasting powder required a more specialized approach. The internet didn’t exist, so Conney relied on the Weather Channel and radar, particularly on how much snow fell to the west of his location. He developed relationships with resort employees, hotel staff and highway plow crews — he even had the direct number to folks at the Eisenhower Tunnel in Colorado to provide intel.
He began Powderchasers as a hobby more than 20 years ago, forecasting for a small email list of friends.
When the internet took off, he couldn’t believe it provided national weather service forecasts for free. Though it has become much easier to predict which resort will have the best powder conditions, he preferred those quieter days before social media and online knowledge drew hordes of powder hounds to resorts.
“The early days meant that unless you knew someone at the resort or were savvy enough … you really didn’t know what was going on. The web, easy access to weather and webcams have made powder chasing less special (and more crowded),” he said. “It’s definitely a stressful process looking at weather models and radar. In the old days, it was less stressful hitting the empty highways and rolling the dice for success.”
In general, powder skiing and riding has gone from nature-communing relaxation to a competition to grab first chair and charge down to eat up a fresh line.
“There’s very few secrets anymore, aside from riding powder at smaller resorts off the grid — think Beaver Mountain or even Sundance,” he said.
Yet, he still manages to carve his snowboard signature into plenty of untracked powder fields while working full time selling medical equipment. He also forecasts for Opensnow.com and manages Powderchasers.com, which provides free general forecasts and paid assistance to plan the best powder trips through customized forecasting.
“I’ve kept under the radar for 40 years doing this. I’ve been extremely successful at my job and at chasing powder,” he said, explaining how he often works nights and extra hours on non-powder days. “The reality is, when you’re skiing powder, you’re only skiing for four to seven minutes.”
The rest of the time involves standing in lines or riding lifts — two places he’s been known to hop on a conference call, along with ski lodges and lift shacks. Granted, he’s been busted on the hill by accidentally turning on his camera, which “didn’t go well,” he said.
He aims for quality over quantity. The average snowfall he rides every season often exceeds 700 inches, yet he may only ride 20 to 25 days. Sometimes, he just takes two or three deep runs before focusing on his career. He’s also been known to chase the same storm through three states, from Washington to Utah to Colorado.
He pulls it all off financially a few ways. First, he has a good career. Second, he owns multiple passes, including the Ikon, Mountain Collective and Epic; when he has to pay for a ticket, he thinks it’s worth every penny on a deep day. Third, he searches discount travel sites like hotels.com and hoteltonight.com or stays about an hour from the resort for a cheaper rate. And last but not least, his Powderchasers concierge services currently pay for his and his two other team members’ powder-chasing addiction.
Clients pay for the concierge service because they receive more than just a weather forecast. Powderchasers study the snow quality, depth, closures, temperatures, wind and other factors typical forecasts don’t include.
“The deepest resort is not always your friend because there’s a lot of times when the deepest resort won’t open (the best terrain) due to avalanche control — it might open the next day, or the road may be closed,” he said. “The art of storm chasing involves how to circumvent road closures and where and when resorts and roads are closed.”
And since it’s an art rather than an exact science, like any adventure, it’s sometimes a drag. Last season, he headed to Little Cottonwood Canyon for a 50- to 75-inch storm and got trapped up there due to road closures for five days while the mountain remained closed for three of those days, opening only intermittently. There he sat idle at The Cliff Lodge, watching everyone else ski at other resorts on the news.
This season, he’s only tracked up freshies for six days total: two in Utah, one in Wyoming and three in Colorado.
“I took a week off and went to Portugal because I was bored,” he said. “Most winters, there is always deep snow falling in the West every week.”
The problem lies with El Niño, which brings warmer temperatures. For instance, the Pacific Northwest has received a normal amount of moisture so far this season, but it has often fallen in the form of rain instead of snow. Still, Utah has been fortunate with two or three storms that have provided a decent snowpack.
And there’s more coming to Park City: “Moderate waves of snowfall will increase in intensity Saturday afternoon to Monday,” he said. “Next week looks very active in the West with a continued chance of colder temps and more snowfall.”
The pattern seems to be shifting to colder temperatures, he said, which bodes well for powder lovers.
“We all know we’re off to a slow start, but it is only January, and things can turn around,” he said. “Never give up.”
You can follow Conney’s adventures — or seek your own — on Instagram @powderchasersteve or @powderchasers.