Waist-deep powder was worth some white-knuckled driving for skiers and ’boarders who traveled over snow-packed and icy roads this weekend to reach area slopes.

Beginning on Friday evening, a winter-storm system moved into Southwestern Colorado and buried the region in the biggest snowfall it has seen in the past two years. Remarkably, one of the largest snow reports fell just three miles north of Mancos — 24 inches, according to the National Weather Service.

"You guys were the big winners," said Joe Ramey, a National Weather Service forecaster.

The upper-level low-pressure system that moved in Friday evening moved out of the Four Corners on Monday. An "open trough" storm was expected to move into the northern and central mountains of Colorado on Monday evening.

The mountain valleys and Four Corners area are not expected to see any moisture from the storm. A weekend storm may produce some snow, although there is "a lot of uncertainty on that one," according to Ramey.

In Cortez, reports of the snowfall varied from five to seven inches, with Mesa Verde receiving 13 inches, Durango and Yellow Jacket 12, and 15 inches falling at Telluride Ski Area. Mancos reported six inches.

The Colorado State Patrol reported four accidents in the area over the weekend, but troopers have yet to gather all of the incident reports. "What we had was minor injuries — when we had injuries at all," said Sgt. Ted Griffith. "Because of the way the storm hit, as heavy as it was, people were taking more precautions than we normally see when it’s just a light, quick, snowstorm."

The Cortez Municipal Airport reported three United Airlines flight cancellations over the weekend due to weather conditions.

Most area roads outside of the passes were reporting icy and snow-packed conditions. Molas and Coal Bank passes were closed on Sunday, and travel on Lizard Head Pass was delayed for up to an hour due to avalanche control work on Monday.

As of Monday morning, Hesperus Ski Area was reporting a 61-inch base. The Sunday skiers at Hesperus were reveling in the fresh powder.

Durango Mountain Resort reported a 72-inch base, second in the state only to the Wolf Creek Ski Area. Telluride missed some of the snow, recording a 54-inch base.

Lanette Wright, spokesperson for Durango Mountain Resort (formerly Purgatory), said that because of the snow in New Mexico and slippery roads, the resort didn’t have as high of a turnout as they hoped — despite the excellent conditions.

Najib Johnson, a Dolores resident who skied at Telluride on Sunday, commented, "The skiing got better all day long, and the last run of the day was the best."

Backcountry skiers should take extra precautions in the San Juans, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center reported on Monday. As of Monday, avalanche danger is high, and 116 avalanches were recorded since Jan. 25