The first snow of the fall, is definitely having an effect on drivers as they head up into the mountains.
Chains or snow tires are required on the Mt. Rose Highway, and crews are doing what they can to keep the roads clear.
Thor Dyson, of the Nevada Department of Transportation, says they have people working around the clock in the higher elevations.
"It's keeping us occupied," Dyson said. "It's kind of a nuisance storm. It's nothing too serious but it is the first one of the season."
NDOT is still adding staff for the winter ahead and should have everyone in place by mid-November.
But that doesn't mean they're not prepared for storms like these.
"We take this serious," Dyson said. "We start in the summer. We start in August. We start getting our sand-salt piles, our equipment, and our staffing, and get the process going. We treat every winter as if it's going to be the mother of all winters. We need to be ready."
Many people had to chain up and deal with poor visibility because of blowing snow.
Joe Price says the roads are in good shape, but drivers still need to be ready. He was driving 30 miles per hour when he hit a slick spot and slid off the road.
"Waiting on a tow truck," Price said. "They're very busy, I'm sure. As soon as they get that, they'll tow me down to Carson (City) and have the doctor take a look at the car and do a diagnosis on it and I'll cry all the way to the bank."
While the snow might not be drivers' best friend, ski resorts are happy to see it falling.
"We're just so excited," Squaw Valley spokesperson, Amelia Richmond said. "It's still really early. It's still October but the first snow storm of the season brings smiles to so many faces and certainly all of our's, up here."
Squaw Valley already has a foot of snow at the summit and Alpine Meadows has about 18 inches.
Even though they don't open until November 21st, these guys are hiking up and finding their own place to snowboard.
"It's great, man," Zach Jacobson said. "This time of the year is always fun, just because it happens every single year and these are all of our friends, too. So, we get to go find them and it's going to be great."
Boreal is hoping to open as early as Friday. They will make an official announcement tomorrow.
Heavenly plans to open November 16 and Mount Rose plans to open on November 21.
Written by Paul Nelson
