Wolf Creek, Grand Targhee, Brian Head
and Utah's Cottonwood Canyons have the most favorable odds of full operation for the holidays. Utah and Colorado had a dry week through Thanksgiving, but remain ahead of normal with new snowfall resuming this week. The Pacific Northwest and Western Canada (the big winners of the past 2 seasons) were unusually dry through most of November, but have started to accumulate snow over the past week. Most western areas are in partial operation but will need substantial December snow to open fully by Christmas.California: Season snow through November: 60" Kirkwood, 68" upper and 20" lower Squaw, 51" Mammoth. This is close to average, but what really matters in the Sierra is that first big dump, which has not yet occurred. Thus many intermediate runs are open (with snowmaking assistance from a colder than normal November), but advanced terrain is still limited until the natural base builds up more. Kirkwood, Mammoth, Sierra-at-Tahoe and Sugar Bowl are all 30-50% open with a natural base of 2-3 feet. Heavenly has upper runs open in both states on extensive snowmaking. Yesterday's storm of up to a foot was strongest north of Lake Tahoe. Southern California areas are open on snowmaking and Arizona has a 16-37 inch natural base: very unusual this early. See Current California Ski Conditions for more details on Southern California and Mammoth.
Pacific Northwest: After a very slow start, the natural snow base is now 2-3 feet after last week's storms. Blackcomb is 30% open with snowmaking assistance. Washington and Oregon areas are about 20% open now, but more snow is expected over the next week.
Canadian Rockies and Interior B.C.: Lake Louise and Sun Peaks are <10% open on snowmaking. The normally high snow areas of Fernie, Big White and Sunshine got 1-2 feet of snow last week, but still need more to open. I would avoid the entire region until after the holidays so more snow can accumulate. Locals expect Fernie to open Dec. 15.
U. S. Northern Rockies: In early October Big Sky got a freak dump of over 3 feet and opened some intermediate runs on weekends, increasing to daily operation on 900 acres since Nov. 11. Big Sky's base is now 30 inches, and much more snow will be needed to open Lone Peak. Jackson has had 56 inches snowfall so far, and will open some groomers on a 25-inch base this weekend. Grand Targhee has opened all lifts on a 26-46 inch base and is a strong favorite to preserve its 100% holiday track record. Schweitzer and Big Mountain are <10% open on less than 2 feet. Sun Valley is open primarily on snowmaking, but has received 35 inches this month.
Utah: Alta got 65 inches in October, plus 75 inches in November. All 4 Cottonwood areas are 70-90% open on 36-48 inch bases now. Brian Head in southern Utah is also open on a 33-inch base, which means nearly full operation on this intermediate-oriented area. Snow Basin, Park City and The Canyons are 20-40% open on a 2-foot base. The Cottonwood areas will have an excellent holiday unless the December is dry like 2 years ago. December snowfall will have to be to at least average for the Park City group to be fully open for Christmas.
Northern and Central Colorado: Above average November snowfall: Breckenridge 43", Vail 68.5", Winter Park 79.5", Steamboat 65". Loveland and Summit County areas are 20-35% open with snowmaking assistance. Steamboat, Vail and Winter Park are 40% open on 25-30 inches. The latter 3 high snow areas rate to reach full operation by Christmas with normal December snow.
Southern and Western Colorado: Wolf Creek's base depth is 44-56 inches and it has been in full operation since early November. Elsewhere in the Southwest the base is around 2-3 feet, with more than normal terrain open for this time of year. Ajax and Snowmass are 30% open and Purgatory is 60% open. Taos is open on 41 inches, as much snow as it had in February last year. More intermediate New Mexico areas such as Santa Fe and Ski Apache have a majority of runs open now. Aside from Wolf Creek, above average snow will be required over the next month to open most expert terrain in the region by Christmas.
Northeast: Warm weather knocked out the first snowmaking attempts by November 15. Since then snowmaking cranked up for a week and Killington, Okemo, Sunday River and Hunter Mt. were about 30% open for Thanksgiving. Many other areas are around 20% open. Variable weather this week has slowed further run openings. Snowshoe is 40% open. As my report is an overview, I strongly recommend checking Vermont No-Bull Ski Report or New England Ski Guide's Weekend Forecast for up to date information in this region, where both weather and surface conditions can change so rapidly.