2024-25 Ski Season Progress Report as of January 31, 2025

Late October 2024 and early November saw moderate snowfall mostly in northern regions but then trending southeast into Colorado and New Mexico. Wolf Creek and Pajarito had widespread natural snow runs open by Nov. 10. Mid-November storms concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, but later in the month spread inland, especially to central Colorado. Areas in or close to full operation at the end of November included Mt. Baker, Mammoth, Lookout Pass, Grand Targhee and Wolf Creek, with Whistler and Mt. Bachelor having deep enough snowpacks to be set for the holidays. December snowfall up to Christmas was concentrated in the Pacific Northwest with moderate snowfalls in adjacent regions while the Southwest was bone dry. Northwest storms were more intense during the holiday week and spread into more regions.

Early January snowfall was strongest in the US Northern Rockies. Mid-January was mostly dry except in the north central U.S. Rockies, while the rest of the month the entire West averaged less than 6 inches of snow with only a handful of areas getting as much as a foot. Variable conditions developed aside from the most favorable altitudes/exposures. February will start off with an Atmospheric River with high rain snow line in California and Utah, with drought persisting to the south and cooler weather and moderate snowfalls to the north. Snowfall totals in italics are estimates from Open Snow.

California: Several small snowfalls through mid-November assisted snowmaking openings. Stronger storms over the last week of November totaled 4 feet at Mammoth and 1-3 feet at Tahoe based upon elevation, leaving Mammoth with by far the best conditions in the region. After two dry weeks it snowed 3+ feet northwest of Tahoe and about 2 feet elsewhere, followed by 1-2 feet Christmas Week. Low elevations at Tahoe still need more snow as Palisades' base has had only 23% as much snow as higher up vs. long term average of 61%. New Year's base depths averaged 2-4 feet at Tahoe and 4-5 feet at Mammoth. Early January snowfall was up to a foot, but there has been less than 4 inches snow since January 7 aside from an isolated one foot storm east of Tahoe Jan. 25. The upcoming AR will be mostly rain below 8,000 feet. See Current California Ski Conditions for more details on Southern California and Mammoth.

Pacific Northwest: This was the strongest November opening in the region in over a decade with multiple storms. Mt. Baker was fully open for Thanksgiving, while Whistler and Mt. Bachelor attained 4+ foot bases. 2-3 feet of snow fell in the first half of December, and another 2 feet since then. Mt. Bachelor's Dec. 10 Summit opening was the earliest in over a decade. This region had the most snow (5+ foot bases) by Christmas. During the holiday week it dumped 5 feet in Oregon and 2-3 feet farther north. Early January snowfall averaged 1.5 feet but conditions are variable after less than a foot the rest of the month.

Canadian Rockies and Interior B.C.: November snowfall was high from the Northwest storms along the U.S. border and west of the Selkirks but closer to average farther east. Fernie, Whitewater and the upper half of Revelstoke attained 4+ foot bases. West of Rogers Pass an average 1.5 feet of snow fell during the first half of December, 2 feet more before Christmas, and 1.5-2 feet during the holidays, leaving average bases of 5 feet. Sun Peaks and Silver Star were 90+% open on 4 foot bases at Christmas, while areas east of Rogers Pass averaged 3 foot bases. Only upper parts of Revelstoke had more than 1.5 feet of snow during the entire month of January, resulting in widespread hardpack conditions.

U. S. Northern Rockies: The Interior Northwest was loaded with snow from the November storms and an excellent holiday destination with another 3 feet in December before Christmas and 4 foot bases. Lookout Pass opened weekends starting Nov. 9. Farther south November snowfall was no better than average. Targhee reached full operation in early December but Jackson was very limited until after a 3 foot storm during the third week of December. 2-3 feet fell during the holiday week to bring excellent skiing to the entire region by New Year's. Early January snowfall ranged from a foot near the Canadian border to 3+ feet at Big Sky and in the Tetons. Those same areas had up to 2 feet in mid-January, with less than a foot farther north. Late January snowfall ranged from almost nothing in the north to up to 9 inches in the Yellowstone and Teton regions.

Utah: Utah's November was slightly below average in both snowfall and end of month open terrain. Alta opened more than half of runs in early December but other areas were very limited with base depths less than 3 feet. December snowfall before Christmas was less than 2 feet. 3 feet fell during the holiday week, but not much more terrain opened until after New Year's. Average 2 feet of snow fell in early January. Mid-January snowfall was 2-3 feet in the Cottonwoods and one foot elsewhere. No more than 6 inches fell in late January.

Northern and Central Colorado: The first snowmaking openings were A-Basin and Keystone Nov. 2. Snowfall was consistent and above average from late October through mid-November and topped off by 2-3 feet the last week of November, the snowiest November since 2010. However, December snowfall up to Christmas averaged only one foot, so base depths settled down to less than 3 feet. Up to 2 feet fell during the holidays, continuing gradual terrain openings. Most areas were close to full operation after 2 feet of early January snow. Mid-January snow averaged 1.5 feet and late January 6-9 inches.

Southern and Western Colorado: Wolf Creek opened October 22 on 26 inches of snow and was close to full operation by Nov. 10. Pajarito, New Mexico opened one top to bottom lift and about 3/4 of terrain Nov. 9 on 44 inches snowfall. But New Mexico had almost no snow for the next 6 weeks. Aspen and Crested Butte had similar high November snow as the I-70 areas while southern Colorado had less but was still above average. December snowfall before Christmas was a foot at Aspen but no more than 3 inches farther south. Aside from Wolf Creek, the Southwest at Christmas had base depths around two feet. Holiday week snowfall averaged 1.5 feet in Colorado but less than a foot in New Mexico. Early January snowfall ranged from over a foot at areas exposed to northwest flow to just a few inches in the far Southwest. Crested Butte's North Face opened Jan. 7. Only Aspen and Monarch had as much as a foot of snow in mid-January. New Mexico finally got 1+ foot in late January but the Colorado areas averaged only 6 inches.

Northeast: No one opened during a warm October in New England or eastern Canada. November snowmaking was intermittent, so Nov. 15 Killington opened 3%, Sunday River 2% and Whiteface opened 7% weekends. Some areas missed Thanksgiving openings with ongoing warm weather in November. The first week of December was colder with 1-3 feet of natural snow. Some trail counts declined during the second week with mixed precipitation. Northern Vermont had a good Christmas with clear weather after 1.5 - 2 feet of new snow, but conditions and open terrain degraded with rain Dec. 29-31. January was consistently cold and often windy, with 6-8 feet of snow in Northern Vermont and 3 feet elsewhere. Percents open: Okemo 91%, Hunter 85%, Sunday River 81%, Sugarloaf 60%, Tremblant 100%, St. Anne 76%.

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