Snow Depth Stake at Solitude

A Purpose-Built Snow Gauge

Unlike a scenic overlook, this camera exists for one job: tracking the graduated snow stake that Solitude Mountain Resort's patrol team uses to log accumulation on the mountain. The reference labels along the pole translate directly into the totals the resort reports to guests each day.

Big Cottonwood Canyon Setting

The stake stands within the resort's terrain in Big Cottonwood Canyon, part of the Wasatch Range above Salt Lake City. Surrounding scrub brush and rocky slopes frame the gauge, reflecting the high-elevation terrain typical of this stretch of the Wasatch.

A Tool for Planning the Day

Because the view updates continuously, the stake functions as a practical planning tool: guests can compare its markings against the resort's posted totals to judge how the mountain is filling in before committing to a run, while ski patrol uses the same reference points for their own daily logs.

Part of a Larger Camera Network

The snow stake joins Solitude's wider network of resort cameras, which together cover lifts, lodges and runs across the mountain — this one simply zeroes in on the single most useful number of all: how much has actually piled up.