Setting my snow shovel down, I looked over the Salt Lake Valley, wondering what winter was like in 1847, when pioneer settlers were waking up and striking a fire to warm their hands. According to history, this winter is about as mild as it was 176 years ago, the year after the Saints arrival in the Salt Lake Valley. Elder Parley P. Pratt wrote in February 1848, “The winter was mild and pleasant, several light snows and severe frosts; but the days were warm, and the snows soon melted off.”