2004-05 Ski Season Progress Report as of January 16, 2005

The Sierra had the most snow in October since at least 1945. These storms also dumped substantial snow in Utah. Thus Mammoth, Kirkwood, Brian Head and Utah's Cottonwood Canyons were in full operation with excellent conditions for Thanksgiving. November snowfall was well below average throughout the West until a strong final week, so skiing was still limited in other regions. After a snowy first week of December high pressure set in for over two weeks. Thus many resorts were subpar at Christmas in terms of both open terrain and surface conditions. For the next 2 weeks big storms finally hit the West, once again heaviest in the Sierra and Utah, but also huge in the Southwest.

California: The October storms centered on Mammoth, which had 82 inches of snow and was 40% open for Halloween. Tahoe areas on the Sierra Crest had 4-6 feet of snow and were also partially open at least on weekends since Halloween despite only 2 feet on November snow. After a 2-4 foot storm most Tahoe terrain including KT-22 and Mott Canyon opened the second weekend of December. Two+ weeks of warm and dry weather brought hardpack/spring conditions to low elevations and sunny exposures, and conditions at Christmas were about average at most Sierra resorts. Christmas week brought massive dumps of 3-7 feet, followed by another 5-10 feet in the first 2 weeks of January. See Current California Ski Conditions for more details on Southern California and Mammoth. Arizona Snowbowl was in full operation for Thanksgiving, very unusual, and has continued to benefit from the Southwest storm track.
RSN December Snow: Northstar 112, Sierra-at-Tahoe 137.
RSN January Snow: Northstar 121, Sierra-at-Tahoe 104.

Pacific Northwest: November storms had fairly high snow levels and were mostly rain in the ski areas. Early December storms dropped 1-3 feet but still substantial rain at low elevation. This was a very poor holiday season by the standards of the usually snowy Northwest despite some new snow in late December. So far in January snowfalls have been modest, and base depths of 2-4 feet at areas like Crystal Mt. and Mt. Hood mean thin cover and only 1/2 to 2/3 of terrain skiable. Only Mt. Baker (62-72 inch base)and Mt. Bachelor (58-60 inch base) are 100% open.
RSN January Snow: Mt. Bachelor 11.

Canadian Rockies and Interior B.C.: Big White, Silver Star and Sun Peaks are all at least 95% open on 4-6 foot bases and good conditions. East of the Selkirks areas are mostly open but with thinner than normal base depths of 2-4 feet. Kootenay areas like the Northwest had too much early season rain. Fernie improved with 2 feet new snow Christmas week and 1.5 feet last week and Red Mt. got 2 feet in early Janaury and has a 60 inch base.
RSN December Snow: Sunshine 30.
RSN January Snow: Sunshine 6.

U. S. Northern Rockies: The Tetons have had 7+ feet of snow since Christmas, so Jackson Hole reached full operation at New Year's. Most of Tahoe's storms have continued on to Sun Valley, which is now having an excellent season on a 55-98 inch base. Schweitzer had a more NW rainy weather pattern and was only 32% open for the holidays, but is now 95% open on a 41-63 inch base after 2.5 feet inearly January. Big Sky is 72% open with a few inches new each week over the past month.
RSN December Snow: Big Sky 26, Bridger 55.
RSN January Snow: Big Sky 18, Bridger 31, Schweitzer 33.

Utah: 4-8 feet of snow fell in October, opening Brighton for Halloween and Snowbird a week later. The Wasatch had 2-4 feet in early December, but some hardpack/spring conditions emerged in sun-exposed areas after a week of warm and dry weather. Utah got 2-4 feet new Christmas week plus another 5-7 feet in the first half of January. The Park City areas were 70% open by mid-December and 90+% by New Year's.

Northern and Central Colorado: After a slow start these areas got 2-3 feet at the end of November and close to 2 feet in early December. After a couple of dry weeks, the region had a below average holiday. Much expert terrain has opened in early January, when most areas got 3-5 feet of snow.
RSN December Snow: Loveland 35.
RSN January Snow: Loveland 36.

Southern and Western Colorado: Wolf Creek is 100% open on a 128-139 inch base and 10 feet of Janaury snow. Durango and Telluride benefited from several early Southwest storms and were in full operation for Christmas. The Southwest areas were hit with another 4-8 feet in the past 2 weeks. These storms were more widespread, finally opening Crested Butte's North Face and most of the expert terrain at Snowmass and Taos.

Northeast: November 9 was Killington's opening day, same as last season, and the East struggled with frequent rain for the next month. After a week of snow and cold, eastern skiing was set back again with widespread rain just before Christmas. With erratic natural snow and rain, percents open show the effect primarily of snowmaking: Killington 48%, Okemo 82%, Stowe 83%, Stratton 802%, Sugarloaf 41%, Sunday River 83%, Hunter 81%, Mt. St. Anne 86%, Tremblant 90%, Snowshoe 67%. 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 29, Stratton 24, Sugarloaf 39, Sunday River 27, Mt. Ste. Anne 35, Snowshoe 28.
RSN January Snow: Killington 20, Stratton 14, Sugarloaf 6, Sunday River 17, Mt. Ste. Anne 14, Snowshoe 2.

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