There has been a consistent northern storm track in November. The Northwest, Northern Rockies, western Canada and Northern and Central Colorado all have more terrain open than normal now with good conditions. Farther south it has been very dry and there are many areas where skiers should avoid advance commitments before January.
California: Mammoth opened a few runs on snowmaking Nov. 10. The Sierra has had
less than a foot of snow in November and it has been warm, so Thanksgiving will be a bust and there is a
40-50% chance that Christmas will be bad also.
is .
Pacific Northwest: Mt. Baker opened Nov. 8 with a 5-7 foot base. Crystal opened Nov. 4 on
about 4 feet as did Blackcomb and Timberline on lesser amounts. Mt. Baker is 100% open while Mt.
Bachelor, Mt. Hood, Crystal and Stevens are 1/2 to 3/4 open. Blackcomb is only 10% open, but 43% of
Whistler/Blackcomb will be open for Thanksgiving. Season snowfall has been in the 5 foot range
at most areas and at least 8 feet at Mt. Baker.
Canadian Rockies and Interior B.C.:Lake Louise is 39% open (26 inches snowfall) and
Sunshine and Sun Peaks are 70% open. Fernie has had 61 inches snowfall and is headed for an above
average December opening.
U. S. Northern Rockies: Targhee is 70% open with 86 inches snowfall. Big Sky and Big Mountain
(54 inches snowfall) are about 10% open but with more snow than normal. Jackson Hole is not open
but has had 66 inches of snow. Sun Valley has had 36 inches of snowfall.
Utah: Alta's 2-3 foot base is just short of what it needs to open. Brighton is 11% open
on 20 inches of snow. In a slow starting season advanced/expert skiers should avoid Snowbasin and
the Park City group before January.
Northern and Central Colorado: Loveland and A-Basin had a couple of runs open on mostly snowmaking since mid-October.
November snowfall has been much above normal. Area, season snow, percent open: Breckenridge 60 inches, 20%. Copper 60 inches 26%,
Keystone 63 inches 26%, Loveland 53 inches 48%, Vail 78 inches 19%, Winter Park 68 inches 45%.
Southern and Western Colorado: Aspen and Crested Butte are close to normal but everything farther south has been drier
than normal. Only Wolf Creek is open, and with only 34 inches snowfal it is limited. Advanced/expert terrain is often not open
until January in these areas in normal years, so that advice applies even more strongly this year.
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 have opened on snowmaking this weekend, with
Sunday River, Okemo, Killigton and Hunter having the most open, but no one more than 9%. 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.