In most ski regions this was a warmer and drier than normal October and early November. However, there was substantial snowfall in the northern and central Rockies in the rest of November to put the season on a normal track in many regions. Open terrain for Thanksgiving was mostly on snowmaking but with some natural base at many areas. The first half of December was mostly dry in the Rockies, leaving most areas below average as of mid-December. The weekend before Christmas there was a strong storm of unusually dense snow in parts of Utah and much of Colorado just in time for the holiday season. Snowfall during the holiday season was heaviest in Utah and the US Northern Rockies. There were storms during the first week of January in western Canada and the US Northern Rockies, and during the second week in Utah and southern Colorado. Otherwise January 2015 was one of the overall driest western winter months on record, with no areas getting normal snow for the month and many getting less than half of normal. Late in the month a widepread warmup including some Northwest rain brought spring conditions to many areas.
California: The first Sierra winter storm hit November
1-2. Tahoe ski areas got 3-8 inches. The storm track was centered
farther south so Mammoth got 12 inches. Unfortunately the next
week was record warm, and the next storm missed Mammoth and
was mostly rain at Tahoe. There were three December storms before Christmas
in the 1-2 foot range plus a couple smaller events. Snowfall was
concentrated near the Sierra Crest west of Lake Tahoe, with much lesser amounts
at the resorts near and east of the lake, as noted in the tables below. Advanced terrain
is still sketchy or closed, as base depths are no more than 3 feet at high elevation and in
many cases less than 2 feet lower down. Squaw has had only 1/3 as much snow at
its 6,200 foot base as higher up. There was up to a foot of light snow during the holidays,
but January was record dry, just a few inches near the end of the month. Sierra resorts
should be avoided until there is a substantial dump of snow.
See Current
California Ski Conditions for more details on Southern California and Mammoth.
|
Area |
Season Snow |
Pct. of Normal |
Pct. of Area Open |
|
Squaw 8,000 |
110 |
49% |
25% |
|
Northstar |
39 |
25% |
40% |
|
Mt. Rose |
85 |
50% |
62% |
|
Sierra-at-Tahoe |
68 |
34% |
60% |
|
Heavenly |
46 |
24% |
16% |
|
Kirkwood |
112 |
47% |
80% |
|
Mammoth |
64 |
36% |
60% |
|
Southern Cal |
28 |
52% |
0-77% |
Pacific Northwest: The entire early season has been characterized by storms
with a high rain/snow line. Thus the Whistler alpine has a manageable 48-inch base but is
uncharacteristically not yet fully open at the end of January.
Mt. Bachelor's Summit opened Dec. 13 and has a 6-7 foot base, but the pre-Christmas storm iced
the Summit lift and closed it for the next 3 weeks. Other Northwest areas had excessive early season
rain and only opened just before Christmas on a limited basis with base depths less than 3 feet.
Conditions improved with 2+ feet of snow during the holidays and early January, but late January rain has
closed some terrain and restricted skiing to groomed runs with subpar base depths of 2-4 feet.
|
Area |
Season Snow |
Pct. of Normal |
Pct. of Area Open |
|
Whistler |
156 |
65% |
81% |
|
Crystal Mt. |
135 |
59% |
54% |
|
Stevens Pass |
140 |
51% |
69% |
|
Mt. Bachelor |
134 |
63% |
68% |
Canadian Rockies and Interior B.C.: There was quite a bit of terrain open
in this region from early snow in November. The Okanagan areas had the most
snow in December. Early January snowfall was 1-2 feet with the Okanagan areas again
getting the most. Base depths are 5 feet at Revelstoke and Whitewater and 3-4 feet elsewhere.
Lower areas near the US border had some of the rain from the early season Northwest storms but
had over a foot of snow during the holidays. The late January rain and warmup affected most of
interior B.C. Alberta escaped the rain but base depths and coverage are below average.
|
Area |
Season Snow |
Pct. of Normal |
Pct. of Area Open |
|
Big White |
144 |
87% |
97% |
|
Lake Louise |
91 |
93% |
90% |
|
Sunshine |
114 |
82% |
97% |
|
Revelstoke |
199 |
94% |
100% |
|
Kicking Horse |
140 |
93% |
100% |
|
Whitewater |
155 |
70% |
90% |
|
Red Mt. |
109 |
70% |
95% |
|
Fernie |
143 |
67% |
95% |
|
Castle Mt. |
85 |
56% |
74% |
U. S. Northern Rockies: There were several storms in
November in Wyoming and Montana. There was not much early December snow
except for Sun Valley getting snow from the south. Big Sky is 81% open.
Idaho skiing improved with pre-Christmas storms except at the panhandle areas
which probably had some Northwest rain, while the Tetons got about 3 feet of snow.
The entire region got 2+ feet of snow over the holidays, and was
the most favored western region in the first half of January with 1.5-3 feet of snow.
Low altitude areas near the US border got the late January Northwest rain while others
only had the warm spell.
|
Area |
Season Snow |
Pct. of Normal |
Pct. of Area Open |
|
Whitefish |
164 |
89% |
100% |
|
Bridger |
133 |
85% |
100% |
|
Grand Targhee |
201 |
76% |
100% |
|
Jackson Hole |
197 |
91% |
100% |
|
Schweitzer |
113 |
72% |
73% |
|
Brundage |
134 |
78% |
100% |
|
Sun Valley |
103 |
91% |
100% |
Utah: The season started dry but the Cottonwood areas got a mid-November 3 foot dump.
Other areas did not get so much and have had very limited skiing mostly on snowmaking. The pre-Christmas
storm dumped 2-3 feet of heavy snow in the Cottonwoods, and over a foot of fluff topped that off over Christmas,
bringing the base up to 5-6 feet. The areas outside the Cottonwoods were still quite restricted because some
of that pre-Christmas storm was rain up to 8,000 feet. These areas were about half open at Christmas and about
3/4 at New Year's. The second week of January storms dumped up to 2 feet, bringing all areas close to full operation.
However that was nearly the only snow for the entire month, so spring conditions prevail after the late January
warmup.
|
Area |
Season Snow |
Pct. of Normal |
Pct. of Area Open |
|
Alta |
193 |
71% |
100% |
|
Snowbird |
190 |
77% |
96% |
|
Brighton/Solitude |
148 |
58% |
89% |
|
Park City group |
99 |
65% |
94% |
|
Snowbasin |
93 |
58% |
99% |
|
Brian Head |
123 |
80% |
100% |
Northern and Central Colorado: A-Basin opened one
snowmaking run on October 17 and has been 95+% open since mid-January. Most of November
was stormy in this region, so much more terrain than usual was open for
Thanksgiving. There was little snow the first half of December
so base depths settled to the 2 foot range. The pre-Christmas dump of
up to 3 feet of dense snow pushed the base depths into the 4 foot range
for very good holiday skiing at most areas. There was another 1-2
feet over the holidays. January snowfall was about half of normal,
but many areas are close to average for the season due to the better earlier months.
|
Area |
Season Snow |
Pct. of Normal |
Pct. of Area Open |
|
Beaver Creek |
167 |
98% |
95% |
|
Breckenridge |
186 |
104% |
95% |
|
Copper Mt. |
166 |
114% |
100% |
|
Keystone |
116 |
98% |
94% |
|
Loveland |
157 |
95% |
95% |
|
Steamboat |
138.5 |
72% |
98% |
|
Vail |
173 |
93% |
100% |
|
Winter Park |
161.5 |
89% |
94% |
Southern and Western Colorado: November snowfall was above average
north but below average south. Snowfall and open terrain have lagged the Front
Range areas. The pre-Christmas storm brought 2+ feet to Aspen and Telluride and
lesser amounts elsewhere. Holiday week snowfall was about a foot except for 3
feet at Wolf Creek. The second week of Janaury storms dropped 2+ feet at Wolf Creek
and 1+ foot in other southern Colorado areas. Base depths are in the 3+ foot range,
so some advanced terrain is still sketchy until there is more snow. Taos had some late
January snow from a Southwest storm and is 77% open with a
43 inch base.
|
Area |
Season Snow |
Pct. of Normal |
Pct. of Area Open |
|
Aspen/Snowmass |
109 |
89% |
96% |
|
Gothic Snow Lab |
136.5 |
76% |
N/A |
|
Crested Butte |
109 |
87% |
51% |
|
Durango |
81 |
63% |
95% |
|
Telluride |
135 |
102% |
90% |
|
Wolf Creek |
155 |
83% |
100% |
Northeast: October was too warm for any areas to open
by the end of the month. November was good for snowmaking but
there was intermittent rain along with some snow late in the month.
The first half of December was colder with 2-3 feet of snow, so
skiing was much better than normal for early season. Unfortunately
widespread rain fell just before Christmas, producing icy surfaces and
reduced trail counts for the holidays. Janaury has had average snowfall
but consistent cold temperatures for a mostly good month of skiing.
Percents open: Okemo 100%, Stratton 100%, Hunter 86%, Sugarloaf
87%, Sunday River 100%, Tremblant 100%, Mt. St. Anne 100%.
|
Area |
Season Snow |
Pct. of Normal |
Pct. of Area Open |
|
Jay Peak (mid) |
166 |
96% |
100% |
|
Stowe |
154 |
90% |
96% |
|
Sugarbush |
137 |
94% |
98% |
|
Killington |
116.5 |
88% |
100% |
|
Cannon Mt. |
102 |
124% |
98% |
|
Whiteface |
73 |
73% |
78% |
|
Le Massif |
107 |
89% |
91% |
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