2005-06 Ski Season Progress Report as of December 31, 2005

There were 2 northern storm tracks in November and the first week of December. Both hit Washington, Oregon, the Northern Rockies, and Northern and Central Colorado, and most areas in these regions were close to full operation by mid -December. The earlier storms hit western Canada, but those areas are now below average. The later storms dumped on previously dry Utah, which is now above average. The second week of December was mostly dry but there was moderate snow in the week before Christmas in several regions. Christmas week has been stormy but warm in most of the West, with some rain at lower West Coast elevations but 3 feet of snow up higher, and cement-like snow at some areas in the Rockies. The far Southwest continues to miss out, with some areas restricted and with less than half normal snow.

With more areas posting season snowfall since 2003-04, I am no longer tracking the less reliable numbers from RSN, except in regions where no nearby area has up-to-date information. I am now including season snowfall from some areas italicized from SnoCountry.

California: Mammoth opened a few runs on snowmaking Nov. 10. Boreal was the only other area to make enough snow to open for Thanksgiving. After 3 feet the following week, most Sierra areas opened for the first weekend of December, but with less than half of terrain. A surprise storm last weekend dropped 3 feet at higher elevations Dec. 18-19, so Mammoth, Kirkwood, Mt. Rose and the upper parts of Heavenly were in decent shape by Christmas. The storms this week have been stronger (3+ feet so far), with the largest hitting now on New Year's Eve. Snow levels have fluctuated, but have been as high as 8,000 feet often enough that the lower Tahoe areas are still having some problems. High elevation base depths are now as much 8+ feet and growing. See Current California Ski Conditions for more details on Southern California and Mammoth.
RSN December Snow: Heavenly 75, Northstar 78, Sierra-at-Tahoe 80.

Pacific Northwest: Mt. Baker opened Nov. 8 with 100% of terrain and a 5-7 foot base. Crystal opened Nov. 4 on about 4 feet as did Blackcomb and Timberline on lesser amounts. Another 2-3 feet of snow fell on Washington and Oregon areas in early December, and these areas have 3-6 foot bases for the holidays. Surface conditions are variable due to recent low elevation rain. Whistler had only 20 inches in the first half of December, and then it rained to the top on Christmas. This week's storms have finally opened up the Whistler alpine with up to 3 feet of snow, but lower conditions are not great. Mt. Bachelor has the deepest 88-96 inch base as it had had more snow and less rain than other Northwest areas.

Area	Season Snow	Pct. of Normal	Pct. of Area Open
Whistler	115	75%	55%
Crystal Mt.	145	109%	90%
Stevens Pass	146	86%	100%
Mt. Bachelor	156	114%	100%

Canadian Rockies and Interior B.C.: Snow was above average in November but far below average in December. Reported percents open: Sunshine 94%, Big White 90%, Sun Peaks 85%, Red Mt. 60% and Silver Star 85%, Kicking Horse 61%, Panorama 41%, Kimberley 47%. Skiers report that low snow sectors like the front of Lake Louise, lower half of Kicking Horse and upper parts of Panorama are sketchy after the dry December. Base depths are around 3 feet at most areas.

Area	Season Snow	Pct. of Normal	Pct. of Area Open
Lake Louise	42	65%	60%
Fernie	123	86%	95%

U. S. Northern Rockies: This region has had a very strong start since early November. Big Sky opened Lone Peak at the end of November, a rare occurrence. Jackson Hole opened all lifts December 10. All areas were close to full operation with excellent conditions by mid-December, and most of these areas have had 3-5 feet of snow since then.

Area	Season Snow	Pct. of Normal	Pct. of Area Open
Big Mountain	113	95%	85%
Bridger Bowl	125	127%	100%
Big Sky	140	158%	100%
Grand Targhee	244	154%	100%
Jackson Hole	172	128%	100%
Sun Valley	130	194%	100%

Utah: Utah was much drier than normal for most of November and thus Alta opened a week later than scheduled. But huge dumps from late Thanksgiving weekend through early December brought season totals above normal. The Cottonwood Canyon areas have since been in full operation, and the other Wasatch areas are in full operation for the holidays after 2+ feet the week before Christmas. About 2 feet of very wet snow fell during Christmas week. Brian Head is south of the storm tracks and still very limited.

Area	Season Snow	Pct. of Normal	Pct. of Area Open
Alta	198	114%	100%
Snowbird	173	116%	100%
Brighton	192	136%	100%
Park City	113	118%	100%
Snowbasin	131	123%	100%
Brian Head	36	36%	25%

Northern and Central Colorado: Loveland and A-Basin had a couple of runs open on mostly snowmaking since mid-October. November snowfall was much above normal, and by December 1 this region had as much terrain open as at an average Christmas. With another 5-8 feet (10 at Steamboat) in December, everyone is close to full operation for the holidays with the best season start since 1995-96.

Area	Season Snow	Pct. of Normal	Pct. of Area Open
Beaver Creek	133	118%	95%
Breckenridge	152	163%	93%
Copper Mt.	164	187%	100%
Keystone	135	223%	100%
Loveland	156	148%	95%
Steamboat	203	162%	100%
Vail	192	158%	99%
Winter Park	178	144%	85%

Southern and Western Colorado: Aspen is well above average and Crested Butte slightly above average from the northern storms, but everything farther south has been much drier than normal. Advanced/expert terrain is often not open until January in these areas in normal years, and in some southern areas it has been so dry as to consider the possibility that some expert terrain will never get covered this season, as in 1977 and 1990.

Area	Season Snow	Pct. of Normal	Pct. of Area Open
Aspen	130	172%	90%
Crested Butte	81	109%	75%
Durango	38	46%	20%
Telluride	53	69%	70%
Wolf Creek	72	65%	100%
Taos	28	32%	25%

Northeast: The remnants of Hurricane Wilma turned into a Nor'easter that dumped 2-4 feet of snow in parts of New England, prompting Wildcat (24 trails) and Killington (22 trails) to open more terrain on October 29-30 than would be normal for Thanksgiving. Unfortunately both areas closed Oct. 31, and ensuing warm weather wiped out most of the natural snow. Several areas opened on snowmaking the weekend before Thanksgiving, by which time the snowmaking leaders were about 20% open with cold temps and some new snow. Several trails closed with rain at the end of November, but first half of December snowfall and snowmaking conditions wee above average, opening about half of terrain. The week before Christmas brought 2-3 feet new snow to much of Vermont, bringing many areas to 90+% open. Last week's good conditions have been degraded by this week's rain. Percents open: Killington 75%, Okemo 79%, Stratton 81%, Sugarloaf 60%, Sunday River 57%, Hunter 93%, Mt. St. Anne 98%, Tremblant 55%, Snowshoe 100%. 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: Killington 44, Stratton 24, Okemo 28, Sunday River 33, Mt. Ste. Anne 60, Snowshoe 30.

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