By Lynn Arave
ALMOST every spring, a white shape seemingly trots into view of
the Layton area along the Wasatch Mountain side.
The “Snow Horse” is a pioneer landmark and has been noticed in
the area most years around the end of May/early June for more than 165 years.
A pioneer legend states that if any part of the snow horse is
still visible by the Fourth of July, there'll be plenty of water in the valley
throughout the summer. Another
variation of that legend is that tender crops should not be planted until the
snow horse is clearly spotted, because it's a sign there will be no more frost.
A copy of the photograph of the snow horse that hangs inside Layton City's municipal offices, at 437 North Wasatch Drive.
A more modern variation is that some parents don’t let their
children wear shorts, or play in outside water each year until the Snow Horse
has been spotted, a confirmation that warm weather has arrived.
The “Snow Horse is located at about 8,500 feet above sea level
on the appropriately named Snow Horse Ridge, just east of the Layton-Kaysville
border. Deep ravines along the
mountainside, where snow accumulates and remains longer than the surrounding
area is what creates the unusual shape. Most years the horse’s legs became
thinner and thinner as the snow melts.
There was a headless snow horse in the spring of 2013.
This Snow Horse was a “no show” in 2021, 2015 and 2007, because
of the meager snowfall then.
Some believe they can also spot a smaller
colt-like shape following the horse. Others claim it is a bat-like figure that
sometimes appears too.
Layton City Hall contains a photograph of a typical Snow Horse. Snow
Horse Elementary School in Kaysville is named after this seasonal landmark,
though it is ironically not visible that far south at the school itself.
-There are also other so-called mountain shapes sometimes
reputed to be sometimes spotted in the North Davis-Weber County area. Some
profess to see a 7 shape on the north face of the mouth of Farmington Canyon. A banjo shape can sometimes be
spotted in the spring from the Hooper-Clinton area around the mouth of Weber
Canyon. Also, some claim to see a Scotsman's smiling face on Ben Lomond Peak,
north of Ogden, each spring.
-A prime location for viewing the “Snow Horse”
is around Layton High School, or near Gentile Street in Layton. However, if you
know where to look, the figure can even be spotted from as far north and west
as Hooper.
-To best see
the “Snow Horse,” count two major peaks going north (left) from the Francis
Peak radar towers. Then, on that second peak, look down a long slope and
there's where the Snow Horse resides.
(-Written by Lynn Arave and originally published in the Ogden Standard-Examiner.)
