# How far north would I need to travel in North America to see midsummer snow? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 1, 2011, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-north-would-i-need-to-travel-in-north-america-to-see-midsummer-snow/583984 "2011-06-01T17:43:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-north-would-i-need-to-travel-in-north-america-to-see-midsummer-snow/583984/21 "2011-06-02T04:29:16Z")
> [@DHMO](#): > > [Rocky Mountain National Park](http://www.rmnp.com/Index.HTML) has [Trail Ridge Road](http://www.rmnp.com/RMNP-Areas-TrailRidge.HTML), which crosses the Continental Divide, reaching an altitude of 12,183 feet. We visited Rocky Mountain National Park on our honeymoon (in mid-August). As we drove along Trail Ridge Road, it was snowing pretty substantially. ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-north-would-i-need-to-travel-in-north-america-to-see-midsummer-snow/583984/22 "2011-06-02T04:49:29Z")
It might interest you to know that the furthest _south_ where snow is to be found in the Northern Hemisphere is Cayambe volcano in Ecuador. There the equator crosses a permanent snow field at an altitude of a bit more than 15,000 feet. ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-north-would-i-need-to-travel-in-north-america-to-see-midsummer-snow/583984/23 "2011-06-02T08:12:05Z")
> [@Dano83860](#): > > Mammoth Mountain in So Cal used to have Fourth of July ski races. I’d be willing to bet they have snow on the ground year round. Mammoth Mountain isn’t in Southern California, it’s just that only Southern Californians go there - or were you thinking of Big Bear? Parts of the San Bernadino mountains will commonly have some snow into the summer, but I don’t think anywhere has it consistently year-round. Mammoth doesn’t have year-round snow, but it’s true that some years it lasts a while (I bet this year will be one). There are a few pockets of small glaciers in the Sierras, but not all that close to Mammoth. I think the southernmost glacier in the Sierra Nevada is about as far south as Mt. Whitney. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-north-would-i-need-to-travel-in-north-america-to-see-midsummer-snow/583984/24 "2011-06-02T12:13:37Z")
> [@colonial](#): > > It might interest you to know that the furthest _south_ where snow > is to be found in the Northern Hemisphere is Cayambe volcano > in Ecuador. > > There the equator crosses a permanent snow field at an altitude > of a bit more than 15,000 feet. Likewise, it snows fairly regularly on some tall peaks in the Hawaiian islands. You don’t think of Hawaii being a place where you can go snow skiing but some people do it. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2011, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-north-would-i-need-to-travel-in-north-america-to-see-midsummer-snow/583984/25 "2011-06-02T19:01:35Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Likewise, it snows fairly regularly on some tall peaks in the Hawaiian islands. For values of “fairly regularly” that include “a few times a year, in winter.” ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-north-would-i-need-to-travel-in-north-america-to-see-midsummer-snow/583984/26 "2011-06-03T04:33:16Z")
Five minutes of sleetish stuff this morning. My personal record for latest white stuff falling since I arrived here. There are a few ski resorts in Australia. I had no idea but my Aussie coworker told me. I never would have thought of it. Apparently there’s some fairly high mountains that I didn’t know existed down there. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2011, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-north-would-i-need-to-travel-in-north-america-to-see-midsummer-snow/583984/27 "2011-06-03T13:40:23Z")
> [@whiterabbit](#): > > There are a few ski resorts in Australia… Apparently there’s some fairly high mountains that I didn’t know existed down there. Highest point is [Mount Kosciuszko](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Kosciuszko), 7310 ft. A ski area near there is [Threadbo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thredbo,_New_South_Wales). ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2011, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-north-would-i-need-to-travel-in-north-america-to-see-midsummer-snow/583984/28 "2011-06-04T01:03:45Z")
> [@Xema](#): > > Highest point is [Mount Kosciuszko](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Kosciuszko), 7310 ft. > > A ski area near there is [Thredbo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thredbo,_New_South_Wales). [Not much snow at Thredbo at the moment, though.](http://ski.com.au/snowcams/australia/nsw/thredbo/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-north-would-i-need-to-travel-in-north-america-to-see-midsummer-snow/583984/29 "2011-06-05T02:46:39Z")
30 miles north of me, in Oswego, NY, in June, there was still a pile of snow (originally a mountain) in a parking lot. Dumped there by the city during a horrendous winter a year or two ago as there was literally nowhere else to put it woops, better make that August. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-north-would-i-need-to-travel-in-north-america-to-see-midsummer-snow/583984/30 "2011-06-05T04:01:39Z")
Just to continue the fun. My mom retired to northeastern Wyoming. Last summer we visited. Long drive. On August 2nd we were in deadwood for some pizza (mom used to live in Lead, SD). We got pounded with over six inches of snow/ice over the space of a few hours. The guy who owns the pizza shop was out front with a snow shovel when we drove up. Deadwood, SD: Elevation: 4531 ft Northiness: 44 22 36N Oy. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2011, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-north-would-i-need-to-travel-in-north-america-to-see-midsummer-snow/583984/31 "2011-06-05T19:33:56Z")
There are some lava caves in Washington State where you can find snow and ice in August and September, _from the previous winter_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-north-would-i-need-to-travel-in-north-america-to-see-midsummer-snow/583984.md?page=1)