The I-70 corridor of Colorado had near record snowfall in the first half of November. After a dry month over most of the West, major storms hit the West Coast during the 3rd week of December and spread into much of the Rockies reduced intensity. Starting around Christmas the storm track finally moved north to help out many areas which had started the season very slowly. But the first half of January has been pretty quiet in most of the West and most regions have below average conditions.
California: After 2-4 feet of snow in early November the Sierra received no snow at all for a month. During the 3rd week of December the Sierra got up to 10 feet of snow, setting up North America's best holiday ski conditions. There was another 2-4 feet of snow during the holiday period. The new year has brought unseasonably warm weather. Low elevations and sunny exposures have turned to spring conditions, but coverage remains excellent on a 4-10+ foot base and there has been up to a foot new snow this month. Season snowfall is now 183 inches at Mammoth (126% of normal), 277 at the top of Kirkwood and 201 at Squaw 8,200 (109% of normal) and 97 at the base. See Current California Ski Conditions for more details on Southern California and Mammoth.
RSN December Snow: Northstar 133, Heavenly 125.
RSN January Snow: Northstar 10, Heavenly 7.
Pacific Northwest: Normally the most reliable region by early December, the Northwest had a tough start this year, much drier and warmer than normal. Only Mt. Baker reached full operation in mid-December. Whistler was headed for its worst Christmas in over 20 years until Santa delivered 4.5 feet of snow December 24-25. Mt. Bachelor gradually accumulated snow through Christmas but has had 6 feet of snow before New Year's to bring its base up to 8 feet. Whistler had more snow in early January and conditions have remained good with cool temperatures. Washington and Oregon continue to get a mix of rain and snow, with adequate but well below average base depths.
RSN December Snow:Whistler 118, Mt. Bachelor 127.
RSN January Snow:Whistler 45, Mt. Bachelor 26.
Canadian Rockies and Interior B.C.: This region had a very poor start and but has been gradually accumulating a snow base since mid-December. Lake Louise (51 inches snowfall, 48% of normal) and Sun Peaks have snowmaking runs to augment the natural terrain. With continuing light snowfalls since the holidays Sunshine, Big White, Red and Fernie are now close to full operation, though with a below average base. Other natural snow areas are mostly open but with marginal coverage in some places.
RSN December Snow: Sunshine 32.
RSN January Snow: Fernie 31, Red Mt. 37, Sunshine 11.
U. S. Northern Rockies: Jackson has had 170 inches of snow (96% of normal), including over 2 feet in jJanuary and is fully open. Targhee has been full operation since mid-December in its usual drought-resistant mode. Kootenay areas had a similar dry start to western Canada, with consistent snowfall commencing in mid-December but recently tapering off again. Big Mountain (84 inches snow YTD, 56% of normal) is in full operation on a 19-56 inch base. Schweitzer did not open until just before Christmas but is now in full operation on a 4-5 foot base. Sun Valley benefited from December storms moving northeast from California and has total snowfall of 107 inches, 121% of normal. Big Sky and Bridger remain in severe drought, receiving but a fraction of the snow hitting the Tetons to the south or the Kootenays to the north.
RSN December Snow: Big Sky 30.
RSN January Snow: Schweitzer 26, Big Sky 15, Targhee 37.
Utah: Alta has had 127 inches of snow since November 1 (56% of normal), after 43 inches in October. All lifts are open on a 52-inch base after about 2 feet new so far in January. With base depths in the 4-foot range, only Alta and Brighton likely had decent coverage with the holiday crowds. While the majority of runs are open at the Park City areas, expert terrain must be sketchy with base depths still in the 3-4 foot range. It is very unusual for Utah to be low on snow when both California and Colorado are above average.
RSN December Snow: Snowbird 43, Park City 36.
RSN January Snow: Snowbird 15, Park City 14.
Northern and Central Colorado: After a few lean early seasons this region had near record snowfall in November. That snow got chewed up over the ensuing dry month but has been refreshed by about 1 foot new per week since mid-December. Still leading the region is Vail, with 189.5 inches snowfall (120% of normal) and 98% of its 5,100 acres open since before Thanksgiving. Winter Park has had 168.5 inches (107% of normal, 85% open), Breckenridge 135 (112% of normal, 85% open) and Steamboat 169.5 (103% of normal, 98% open). Loveland is in full operation on a 40-inch base and Copper and Keystone 85%. Most of these areas had more terrain open at Thanksgiving than they did at Christmas 3 of the past 4 years. Season snowfall is now only a little above average, and since most of it came in November current conditions are average at best, with a few expert sectors still not open.
RSN December Snow: A-Basin 24, Copper 21, Keystone 19.
RSN January Snow: A-Basin 15, Copper 28, Keystone 10.
Southern and Western Colorado: Wolf Creek can claim another year as North America's early season leader. It reached full operation as of November 9 and currently has a 53-67 inch base. It had 6 feet of snow in October but only 111 inches (74% of normal) since November 1. Elsewhere in the region Aspen and Taos report full operation, though the current base depths of 4 and 5 feet mean watch your step in the expert terrain. Crested Butte is 90% open (most of the North Face, but only a 3-foot base) and Durango and Telluride are in full operation but also with only 4-foot bases. As in the rest of Colorado, conditions are now average to slightly below.
RSN December Snow: Aspen 22, Crested Butte 22, Durango 40, Telluride 34, Taos 19.
RSN January Snow: Aspen 18, Crested Butte 20, Durango 11, Telluride 18, Taos 30.
Northeast: Northern New England had a nice run of cold weather at the start of November plus over a foot of natural snow. As a result Killington was 30% open and Okemo 15% November 9, likely records for that early. After a one week thaw melted out half of that terrain, cold and snowy weather over the next month brought the major Vermont areas to 80+% open. Mid-December rain and variable weather degraded surface conditions between storms but did not reduce the number of open runs. Since Christmas there have been several major storms in New England, with southern areas benefiting the most and January snowfall exceeding most of the West. Recent weather has been mostly cold to keep everything open between storms. Jay's season snowfall is 153 inches. I strongly recommend checking First Tracks Online Ski Magazine No-Bull Ski Reports for up to date information in this region, where both weather and surface conditions can change so rapidly.
RSN December Snow: Stowe 58, Killington 68, Stratton 53, Sugarloaf 7.
RSN January Snow: Stowe 50, Killington 47, Stratton 37, Sugarloaf 12, Snowshoe 29.