Are Trolls to Blame for Late Season Treasure Valley Snow?

We had no idea this was a thing. 

After experiencing warmer than average highs for most of February, Treasure Valley residents were certainly grumpy over the snowfall we got Thursday and Saturday.  In an attempt to be lighthearted about the weather that caused hundreds of accidents across the Treasure Valley and even closed the Connector part of Saturday night, people are pointing fingers at who to "blame" for the snow.

Here's the three leading candidates.

1) Punxsutawney Phil

When the famous groundhog saw his shadow on February 2, Idahoans scoffed at the prediction for six more weeks of winter.  After all, the high temperature reached 59º at the Boise Airport the very same day.  Looks like this little rodent is getting in his last laugh at those who mocked him.

2) Brandon Frank

You may know his friendly face as the owner of Fleet Feet Sports at The Village at Meridian, but on Saturday he was doubling as the race director for a brand new "Winter Warriors 5K" at Reid Merrill Park in Eagle.  The race was a wrap up to a training group that the store put together to keep people committed to staying active even in the cold winter months.  I was in that group and ironically only one of our group runs fell on a icy day.  It's almost like Brandon had the snow planned for his "winter" race.  Saturday's snow fall started minutes after the race started.

3) Trolls on Bogus Basin Road

Ok, this is what we didn't know was a thing.  Have you ever been driving up to Bogus Basin when you notice an obnoxious amount of people beeping their horns or opening their car doors as they pass over the cattle grate at Mile Post 4?  According to KIVI-TV, there's a reason for that! They dug up a decades old Treasure Valley urban legend that claims that there are trolls that live underneath that cattle grate.

There's several different stories that stem off that one.  Most people believe that if you open the doors to your vehicle on the way up the hill, the trolls will jump out of the grate and ride with you up to the resort.  They'll reward you for the lift with awesome snow and ski conditions for the day.  Just make sure you let them out on the way down.

Other versions of the story, like the ones on the Boise Reddit forum, explain that the reason you blow your horn is to let the trolls know you're coming, so they can let go of the grate rails they're hanging from and not get their fingers squished.