Tram sees snowy conditions in spring

Snow is a pretty rare sight around this time of year, but there was plenty to go around atop the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway.

“Oh it’s a huge surprise, we definitely were not expecting this,” said Lea Harsha.

Local residents and visitors alike bought their tram tickets and took the ride up to Mount San Jacinto State Park where they were greeted to a winter wonderland in spring.

The mountain started seeing precipitation early Friday morning and, paired with chilly temperatures, saw plenty of snow as a result. As of Friday, close to two inches had fallen at the mountain station, derailing some hiking plans for out-of-town visitors like Harsha and Alex Cueva visiting from Redondo Beach.

“It’s very different than what I planned out,” said Cueva. “We were going to climb up to the peak, it’s like an 11-mile hike, we were going to do that. And we talked to the ranger and he said because of the snow we can’t, there’s no way we could go up there. We’re not really dressed appropriately.”

Others were ill-prepared for the wintry weather, some deciding to stay inside the mountain station altogether.

But the snow flurries will be beneficial to the overall area because any moisture the region gets will combat the dryness seen in the summer months, which could help prevent wildfires like the one atop the tram back in 2013.

So while Harsha and Cueva were expecting “sunny” Palm Springs, their plans were dampened but still enjoyed an overall unique experience.

“As we started going on in the trail, it was much better I think,” said Cueva.

“I’ve never had snow on my birthday in May,” Harsha added. “It’s usually sunny, but it’s still pretty special.”