From mid-December to early January the West was fairly quiet while the East and Midwest got the most snow. Storms in the second and fourth weeks of January first hit California and then mainly the Southwest. California received the strongest storms in February to early March, with most other regions close to average with smaller snowfalls. Canada was the exception with most areas under half normal snowfall in February. The past week has brough the most snow to Colorado.
Only a few areas post season-to-date snowfall on their websites. At the end of the regional sections, I list selected Ski Central or RSN month-to-date snow totals for other resorts, making educated guesses as to which resorts have supplied complete data for the month.
California : Season snowfall: 169" lower and 294" upper Squaw (82% of normal), 373" Mammoth (132% of normal). Both January storms were unusually low in water content and hit Mammoth more than Tahoe. Thus January base depths were still a far below normal 4-6 feet after the December drought. The coverage problems are over now (base depths are a typical 6-13 feet) after 6-12 feet in February and 2-4 feet in early March. Southern California had a near record snow month in February. As in 2000, a period of clear weather is taking hold in mid-March. See Current California Ski Conditions for more details on Southern California and Mammoth.
Ski Central December Snow: Alpine Meadows 42, Northstar 28, Heavenly 14.
Ski Central/RSN January Snow: Alpine Meadows 88, Northstar 75, Heavenly 57, Kirkwood 100, Arizona 74.
Ski Central/RSN February Snow: Alpine Meadows 97, Northstar 76, Heavenly 64, Kirkwood 121, Sugar Bowl 137, Arizona 53.
Ski Central/RSN March Snow: Alpine Meadows 38, Northstar 33, Heavenly 18, Kirkwood 60, Sugar Bowl 36, Arizona 24.
Pacific Northwest: Skiing is good at the 2 major destinations despite a below average year. Whistler/Blackcomb is in full operation on 6 feet of base but with spring conditions after a dry February. W/B may lose lower mountain coverage early this year, but the alpine should hold up at least through the mid-April World Ski and Snowboard Festival. Mt. Bachelor's base is 6-7 feet as it was been grazed by the northern edge of some of the California storms, and it should manage through Memorial Day. After a skimpy January, Washington got a much needed 2+ feet in early February and had good coverage for a month. In March the snow base is being reduced by warm weather faster than new snow has been added, so some off trail skiing is sketchy again.
Ski Central December Snow: Whistler 42 (likely incomplete), Baker 59, Stevens 47, Crystal 49, Hood Meadows 50.
Ski Central/RSN January Snow: Alyeska 148, Whistler 61, Baker 74, Stevens 41, Crystal 30, Bachelor 35, Hood Meadows 38.
Ski Central/RSN February Snow: Alyeska 82, Whistler 18, Baker 62, Stevens 61, Crystal 40, Bachelor 73, Hood Meadows 24.
Ski Central/RSN March Snow: Alyeska 72, Whistler 8, Baker 32, Stevens 15, Crystal 16, Bachelor 23, Hood Meadows 20.
Canadian Rockies and Interior B.C.: The Kootenay region is winding down its worst season in at least 24 years with current marginal conditions at Fernie and Red Mt. deteriorating as the weather gets warmer. Banff/Lake Louise (89 inches YTD snow, 52% of normal) has also been poor but will preserve its skimpy base better with cooler weather and higher altitude. The Okanagan is somewhat better off than the Banff and Kootenay regions, as Big White finally reached full operation at the beginning of February on a 5-foot base. Cat and heliskiing operations have had adequate snow this season only above 6,000 feet.
Ski Central December Snow: Lake Louise 26, Silver Star 34.
Ski Central/RSN January Snow: Sunshine 22, Big White 34, Fernie 14.
Ski Central/RSN February Snow: Sunshine 33, Big White 34, Fernie 27.
Ski Central/RSN March Snow: Sunshine 13, Big White 10, Fernie 1.
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 on Nov. 11. Big Sky has been at least 90% open since Christmas. Jackson has had 226 inches snowfall so far this season (72% of normal), and opened the tram Dec. 23. January was much drier than normal throughout the region, as super reliable Grand Targhee fell short of its previous 24-year low January snow total of 55 inches. Schweitzer and Big Mountain (YTD snow 143", 55% of normal, base 3-4 feet) are now losing snow like their Canadian neighbors and should be avoided. While the entire region has been below average since New Year's, Big Sky and Grand Targhee should have adequate coverage (41-88 inches) and snow preservation at altitude for another month. Sun Valley has received 114 inches this season, 73% of normal.
Ski Central December Snow: Big Sky 35, Targhee 50.
Ski Central/RSN January Snow: Schweitzer 26, Big Sky 19, Targhee 44.
Ski Central/RSN February Snow: Schweitzer 41, Big Sky 39, Targhee 48.
Ski Central/RSN March Snow: Schweitzer 5, Big Sky 8, Targhee 5.
Utah: Alta has received 317 inches since Nov. 1 (80% of normal) after the 65-inch head start in October. January's storms brought modest snowfalls to the Wasatch but hit Brian Head hard. Cottonwood areas base depths are 7-8 feet after average February snowfall. Snow Basin, Park City and The Canyons are fully open, with base depths of 5-6 feet but conditions variable.
Ski Central December Snow: Brighton 92, Park City 83, Brian Head 25.
Ski Central/RSN January Snow: Brighton 46, Park City 36, Snowbird 61, Brian Head 115.
Ski Central/RSN February Snow: Brighton 70, Park City 67, Brian Head 87.
Ski Central/RSN March Snow: Brighton 15, Park City 12, Snowbird 13, Brian Head 9.
Northern and Central Colorado: YTD snowfall totals, 2+ feet recent snow: Breckenridge 174.5" (85% of normal), Vail 259" (93% of normal), Winter Park 294.5" (106% of normal), Steamboat 264" (94% of normal). Virtually all terrain is now open. February conditions were similar to the past 2 years, which had poor holiday skiing but lots of snow in January. This year was the opposite: a strong start but about half normal snow from Christmas through January. March has started strong and is historically the best ski month for most of these areas.
Ski Central December Snow: Copper 64, Keystone 48, Loveland 76.
Ski Central/RSN January Snow: Copper 16, Keystone 22, Loveland 18.
Ski Central/RSN February Snow: Copper 55, Keystone 40, Loveland 57.
Ski Central/RSN March Snow: Copper 25, Keystone 32, Loveland 25.
Southern and Western Colorado: Wolf Creek's Rockies-high base depth is 119-133 inches. It has been in full operation since early November with 327" since Nov. 1 (115% of normal) after 54" in October. The January storms from California hit New Mexico and southern Colorado hard, and conditions have been excellent since. Recent storms have increased the base at Durango and Telluride to 5-7 feet, and to 8-9 feet at Taos. The January storms were centered south of Aspen and Crested Butte, but February snows brought the base up to 4-5 feet and finally opened all of the expert terrain.
Ski Central December Snow: Aspen 28, Crested Butte 55, Telluride 27, Durango 42, Taos 30.
Ski Central/RSN January Snow (note the dramatic north/south split): Aspen 23, Crested Butte 21, Telluride 71, Durango 77, Taos 86.
Ski Central/RSN February Snow : Aspen 37, Crested Butte 56, Telluride 57, Durango 50, Taos 58.
Ski Central/RSN March Snow : Aspen 21, Crested Butte 25, Telluride 22, Durango 31, Taos 42.
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. December snowfall was near record high. Base depths did not reflect this, due to the one weekend (Dec. 16-17) of torrential rain. After the holiday dump of up to 2 feet, nearly all areas have been close to full operation. Conditions since Christmas were excellent with ongoing new snow and cold temperatures in January. After a limited freezing rain event, New England enjoyed an epic first week of February with up to 4 feet of powder. The remainder of February saw several episodes of rain/snow mix, with more snow at the northern areas. March began in New England with a 4-foot dump similar to February's. The surface was predicted to be damaged by rain this week, but so far the current storm is snow in Vermont through Maine. Base depths are very high, so a longer than normal spring is likely. As my report is an overview, I strongly recommend checking Vermont No-Bull Ski Report or 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.
Ski Central December Snow: Mont-Sainte-Anne 46, Tremblant 31, Sugarloaf 64, Jay 95, Stowe 89, Sugarbush 72, Stratton 49, Snowshoe, WV 34.
Ski Central/RSN January Snow: Mont-Sainte-Anne 35, Tremblant 22, Sugarloaf 53, Jay 77, Stowe 62, Sugarbush 48, Stratton 43, Snowshoe, WV 39.
Ski Central/RSN February Snow: Mont-Sainte-Anne 38, Tremblant 30, Sugarloaf 58, Jay 86, Stowe 88, Sugarbush 52, Stratton 51, Snowshoe, WV 17.
Ski Central/RSN March Snow: Tremblant 5, Sugarloaf 25, Jay 59, Stowe 49, Sugarbush 40, Stratton 51, Snowshoe, WV 43.