DRAPER, Utah — A Draper neighborhood is reeling in the midst of one crazy winter. But some residents of the Suncrest neighborhood on top of South Mountain say this is just part of living on top of a mountain.
"I told my wife this morning 'another day in paradise,'" said Matt Fjeldsted, who's lived in Suncrest for two years.
Keya Chavez has lived in Suncrest for six years and claims this is the worst winter she's experienced since moving to the neighborhood.
"We were looking at Facebook memories last year where we were complaining and talking about a foot of snow and now," she said. "We have this, this year!"
Chavez has been working hard all winter to keep homes and driveways clear. Her husband is out as a snowplow driver keeping roads clear for Utahns, while she works to keep their driveway clear for him.
"My entire work schedule has changed, which my work is amazing and have worked with me to where I do all the snow blowing so my husband can get in and out while he goes to work," she explained.
The National Weather Service reports that as of 9 p.m. Tuesday, Suncrest had received 29 inches of snowfall, adding to the snow that was already in the neighborhood.
Both Fjeldsted and Chavez say they've never seen snow piles like the ones this winter.
"Last night was a big one because last night I came out at about 9:00 and thought we had about 2 feet from the last couple of days because of the wind," said Fjeldsted. "I had over 6 feet for half my driveway; took me over two-and-a-half hours to clear it."
The snow isn't just covering driveways, it's also blanketing roads so much that it's turned two streets into one.
"The plows make what my wife calls the barricade, and that's where you can't get out of your driveway, and of course the plows put it down here and the snow blower puts it over there," Fjeldsted said, referencing the 10-foot piles around his home and driveway.
Fences are covered to the tip, leading to dogs escaping into the backyards of neighbors and leaving residents to search for mailboxes lost in the snow.
"About a month ago [the mailboxes] were completely, and we didn't know where they were, I left them covered for about 3 days and we didn't get mail, and finally I uncovered the mailbox," Fjeldsted said.
Despite the extra work this year, Fjeldsted and Chavez have no regrets about moving to Suncrest. They say the neighborhood camaraderie makes all the snow worth it.
"People do help each other out and that's a good thing," Fjeldsted said.
"Sometimes we have to snow blow two, three times a day," Chavez explained. "We take turns doing it. We help when we can, at least with my neighbors it's kind of like a race whoever gets out first does what they can and it's kind of a race to help each other."
