2003-04 Ski Season Progress Report as of November 16, 2003

Wolf Creek and Utah's Cottonwood Canyons have had the most snow so far in November. Elsewhere it is still too early and snowfall has not been sufficient to discern a clear trend to the season.

California: Since Halloween there have been several small storms totalling 3-4 feet. Boreal, Sierra-at-Tahoe and Kirkwood are about 40% open. Mammoth is 17% open with 41 inches snowfall. 10% of Squaw is open on 38 inches snowfall. This is an above average start, but substantially more snow is needed for most advanced terrain. See Current California Ski Conditions for more details on Southern California and Mammoth.

Pacific Northwest: No one is open now, as snow levels have been high so far. However a large multiday storm began at Whistler this weekend. No snowfall amounts are available yet..

Canadian Rockies and Interior B.C.: Lake Louise is 10% open, mostly snowmaking runs with 20 inches natural so far. Sunshine is 16% open. No one in interior B.C. is open and snowfall is below average so far.

U. S. Northern Rockies: Targhee has a 3-foot base and Jackson has had 41 inches of snow so far, so they are on track for normal late November and early December openings respectively. Farther north it has been drier, with 20 inches snow so far at Big Mountain.

Utah: Alta has had 79 inches snowfall so far and will open next weekend. Brighton is 56% open. Snowbird, Solitude and Park City have opened ahead of schedule, though only 10-15% of terrain so far. Overall Utah is having the most promising start of any region, with 5 feet of snowfall at the upper elevations of the Park City areas and at least 6 feet throughout the Cottonwood Canyons.

Northern and Central Colorado: Snowfall has been average (2-3 feet) so far in November at most areas. Winter Park has had the most snow (49 inches) but is only 5% open. Loveland is 12% open on 34 inches snowfall. The Summit County areas each have a handful of runs open on mostly snowmaking.

Southern and Western Colorado: Wolf Creek is once again North America's early season leader. It reached full operation this weekend on a 59-61 inch base with 87 inches total snowfall. The rest of the region has had only average snowfall of 2-3 feet and no one else is open.

Northeast: With a warm late October and change in Killington's early season strategy, no Eastern area opened before November 9. Though snowfall has been normal (33 inches at Stowe), periods of rain and warm weather have slowed opening of terrain. Current percents of area open: Mt. Ste. Anne 19%, Sunday River 8%, Hunter Mt. 8%, Killington 8%, Okemo 13%. 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.

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