A storm packing over a foot of fresh powder only comes to Pennsylvania every few years. On Monday, die-hard skiers and snowboarders weren’t going to pass up the opportunity to ride in the deep snow.

“We haven’t had a day like this since 3-4 years ago,” said Cristian Linares of Palmerton, a season pass holder at Blue Mountain.

Blue opened Monday morning with over a foot of fresh snow, and it continued to fall all day long.

It provided an experience which is much different from what riders are used to at Pennsylvania resorts.

The deep powder does a lot more to cushion a fall. It also takes a different style of riding than the normal groomed surface, which can be more tiring.

“Deeper snow makes you work a little harder, but it’s more fun,” said Oswald Nelson. “You get the true feeling for snowboarding.”

The fresh snow gave riders a chance to explore parts of the mountain that don’t get the man-made snow. One of Blue’s longest trails only opens in natural snowstorms. Riders also made their own tracks through the glades, which are wooded trails, instead of staying on the groomers.

“It puts coverage across the whole mountain. Some people like tree riding, and don’t have the opportunity to go to Vermont to enjoy that,” Linares said.

The weather brought out the powder chasers, people who will drive long hours on snowy roads to reach the fresh snow.

Riders normally have to go to resorts over eight hours away in New England or upstate New York to get conditions like those on Monday.

But it’s a lot harder to access those resorts right now because of the impact of COVID-19.

Charlie Kelley of Lower Merion said he has no problem driving to Vermont to ski the powder. On Monday, he found what he was looking for a couple exits up the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

“With COVID happening, I decided to get a pass to Blue Mountain, figuring trips would be limited to Vermont,” he said. Blue also has restrictions. They sell a limited number of daily lift tickets and encourage reservations for people who are just coming up for the day.

Mike Pettit of Milford, Delaware, and his family made reservations to ski at Blue on Monday well before the storm was forecast. They weren’t going to let their plans be changed by the storm, or a flat tire in Palmerton Monday morning.

“We race BMX bikes on a national level. If it rains, it rains, we race,” he said. “We don’t give up.”

Most people were happy to stay off the roads during the storm. But knowing that a rare opportunity awaited them at the mountain, riders weren’t going to spend the day watching the snowfall from home.

“You get the nuts, the crazy guys out here. Everybody wants to stay home on a day like this,” Linares said.