2005-06 Ski Season Progress Report as of January 31, 2006

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, while the later storms dumped on previously dry Utah. The second week of December was mostly dry but there was moderate snow in the week before Christmas in several regions. Christmas week was 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. A final intense storm hit much of the West over New Year's weekend, with a break in weather for the next few days. For the rest of January the Pacific Northwest has been continuously stormy, with considerable snowfalls in most other regions. The far Southwest continues to lag behind, with some areas restricted on less than half normal snow.

More areas are posting season snowfall since 2003-04, so I track the less reliable numbers from RSN on a more selective basis. I now include season snowfall from several areas italicized from SnoCountry and RSN through December. The Snocountry season totals are only reliable enough to use beyond New Year's for a handful of areas.

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 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 Christmas week storms were stronger, averaging 3+ feet, folowed by huge dumps of 3-10 feet over New Year's weekend. Snow levels fluctuated, but were occasionally as high as 9,000 feet. High elevation base depths reached 12+ feet, but holiday conditions were still sketchy below 7,000 feet and just adequate up to 8,000 feet. Mid-January storms of 3-5 feet were colder and improved the lower elevations, along with another 2-3 feet in late January. See Current California Ski Conditions for more details on Southern California and Mammoth.
RSN December Snow: Heavenly 75, Northstar 78, Sierra-at-Tahoe 80.
RSN January Snow: Heavenly 95, Northstar 78, Sierra-at-Tahoe 95.

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 had 3-6 foot bases for the holidays with variable surface conditions due to low elevation rain. Whistler had only 20 inches in the first half of December, and then it rained to the top on Christmas. Christmas to New Year's storms finally opened up the Whistler alpine with up to 7 feet of snow, but lower elevations were variable and snowmaking dependent. Mt. Bachelor and Mt. Hood had more snow and less rain than other Northwest areas through the holidays. In January Whistler and the Washington areas were pounded with up to 15 feet of snow and now have outstanding conditions.
RSN January Snow: Mt Bachelor 74.

Area	Season Snow	Pct. of Normal	Pct. of Area Open
Whistler	299	128%	100%
Stevens Pass	368	134%	100%

Canadian Rockies and Interior B.C.: Snow was above average in November but far below average in most of December. Skiers reported that low snow sectors like the front of Lake Louise, lower half of Kicking Horse and upper parts of Panorama were sketchy through the holidays. Conditions dramatically improved in January with at least 4 feet of snow in the Banff region and as much as 10 feet in some Kootenay areas.

Area	Season Snow	Pct. of Normal	Pct. of Area Open
Lake Louise	83	87%	95%
Kicking Horse	191	126%	100%
Fernie	247	109%	100%

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 had 3-5 feet more through the holidays, and another 6-11 feet in January. So far this is the best season in the region since the records of 1996-97.
RSN January Snow: Bridger 56, Big Sky 78.

Area	Season Snow	Pct. of Normal	Pct. of Area Open
Big Mountain	260	141%	100%
Grand Targhee	353	133%	100%
Jackson Hole	310	140%	100%
Sun Valley	198	180%	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 were in full operation for the holidays after 2+ feet the week before Christmas. About 2 feet of very wet snow fell during Christmas week and 3+ feet over New Year's. A mid-January storm dropped another 3 feet in the Wasatch, with 3-5 feet later in the month. Brian Head was in the southwest drought through early January but reached full operation with 5 feet later in the month.

Area	Season Snow	Pct. of Normal	Pct. of Area Open
Alta	342	127%	100%
Snowbird	305	132%	100%
Brighton/Solitude	334	160%	100%
Park City/The Canyons	238	155%	100%
Snowbasin	232	136%	100%
Brian Head	103	64%	100%

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 was close to full operation for the holidays with the best season start since 1995-96. Steady January snowfall totalling 5-8 feet has continued the strong season.

Area	Season Snow	Pct. of Normal	Pct. of Area Open
Beaver Creek	205	118%	100%
Breckenridge	223	152%	100%
Copper Mt.	244	181%	100%
Keystone	194	192%	100%
Loveland	215	131%	100%
Steamboat	302	152%	100%
Vail	261	137%	99%
Winter Park	246	129%	90%

Southern and Western Colorado: Aspen and Crested Butte have been well above average from the northern storms, but everything farther south was much drier than normal through the holidays. Advanced/expert terrain is often not open until January in these areas in normal years, and the southern Colorado areas are barely in full operation after an average January. Farther south in Arizona and New Mexico the season remains a complete bust.
RSN January Snow: Telluride 63.

Area	Season Snow	Pct. of Normal	Pct. of Area Open
Aspen	200	175%	100%
Crested Butte	179	153%	100%
Durango	80	66%	100%
Wolf Creek	133	75%	100%
Taos	54	40%	50%
Arizona Snowbowl	20	17%	0%

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 well 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. Conditions degraded some Chrismas week with a mix of rain and snow but improved during a colder first week of January. Mid-January saw more rain than snow and trail counts declined, but there has been some improvement in both temperatures and natural snow later in the month. Percents open: Killington 73%, Okemo 87%, Stratton 89%, Sugarloaf 60%, Sunday River 85%, Hunter 80%, Mt. St. Anne 92%, Tremblant 96%, Snowshoe 98%. 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.
RSN January Snow: Stratton 38, Okemo 24, Sunday River 32, Mt. Ste. Anne 37, Snowshoe 29.

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