October was mostly average, with small amounts of snow in many regions but nothing that will impact the season. At the end of the month a major storm hit the West Coast, but snow levels averaged 9,000 feet, so only Mammoth was able to open some natural terrain from it. Last week the storm moved on to Utah, where the Cottonwood Canyon resorts received nearly 4 feet of snow, allowing Snowbird to open Nov. 7. The storm continued into Colorado, but the snowfall there averaged about a foot.
California: Mammoth received 21 inches of snow near its Main Lodge and opened a run Nov. 2. But much
of the upper mountain opened Nov. 7 (I estimate about 1/3 of terrain is open), and the base looks to be 3-4 feet up there.
Pacific Northwest: There has been snow in the Whistler alpine, but it is sticking with its
scheduled Nov. 20 opening. Mt. Bachelor received 30 inches from last week's storm but also shows no
sign of opening before Thanksgiving week.
Canadian Rockies and Interior B.C.: Lake Louise opened a run on snowmaking Nov. 8 but has only had
6 inches natural snow. 8 inches at Sunshine and 3 at Kicking Horse last week.
U. S. Northern Rockies: 7 inches at Targhee and 24 at Jackson from last week's storm. 7 inches at Whitefish.
Utah: Last week's storm dropped 41 inches at Alta, 30 at Solitude and 46 at Snowbird, which opened Nov. 7. Only a few
runs in the Gad Valley are open now, but once the Peruvian side is controlled expect close to half the area to be skiable.
Northern and Central Colorado: Loveland and A-Basin opened their first snowmaking runs Oct. 15.
Loveland is currently 6% open and A-Basin 3%. This week Copper (3%) and Breckenridge (1%) also opened on snowmaking.
Snowfalls since Nov. 1: Loveland 7, Breckenridge 18, Copper 12, Steamboat 15.
Southern and Western Colorado: Aspen had 11 inches last week. Wolf Creek has opened, but it's somewhat
marginal on 20 inches total snow.
Northeast: Natural snow of in late October totalled 11 inches at Stowe and Jay Peak. Sunday River
opened Oct. 31 and Killington opened Nov. 2 on snowmaking. Weather has turned warm and rainy, so Killington
closed after 5 days.