2005-06 Ski Season Progress Report as of November 30, 2005

There was 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. Boreal was the only other area to make enough snow to open for Thanksgiving. After 1-2 feet in the past few days and a similar storm expected later this week, most areas will open limited terrain this weekend. With the slow start a major dump is still needed to open steep terrain, so advanced skiers should avoid commitments before January. Season snowfalls: Mammoth 23 inches, Squaw 30 inches, Kirkwood 34 inches. See Current California Ski Conditions for more details on Southern California and Mammoth.

Pacific Northwest: Mt. Baker opened Nov. 8 with 100% of terrain and a 5-7 foot base. Crystal opened Nov. 4 on about 4 feet as did Blackcomb and Timberline on lesser amounts. Area, season snow, percent open: Whistler 64 inches, 43%; Stevens Pass 84 inches, 47%; Crystal 84 inches 60%; Mt. Hood 74 inches 60%; Mt. Bachelor 80 inches, 90%. Overall above average with earlier than normal openings.

Canadian Rockies and Interior B.C.:Lake Louise is 42% open (29 inches snowfall) and Sunshine is 75% open and Sun Peaks 84% open. Fernie has had 67 inches snowfall and is headed for an above average December opening.

U. S. Northern Rockies: Grand Targhee is 100% open on 133 inches snowfall. Big Sky is 56% open, very unusual for this early, and Big Mountain is 35% open on 61 inches snowfall. Jackson Hole has had 83 inches snow and will open this weekend. Sun Valley has had 74 inches and is 27% open. A very strong start for the whole region.

Utah: Utah was much drier than normal for most of November and thus Alta opened a week later than scheduled. There has substantial snow in the past few days, so Alta is now 76% open on 74 inches snowfall and Snowbird is 41% open on 62 inches snowfall. Snowbasin and the Park City group have had only about half as much snow and are only 5-15% open. It is likely that much advanced terrain at these areas will not open before January. Brian Head has had only 16 inches and will open on snowmaking this weekend.

Northern and Central Colorado: Loveland and A-Basin had a couple of runs open on mostly snowmaking since mid-October. November snowfall was much above normal. Area, season snow, percent open: Breckenridge 74 inches, 68%. Copper 72 inches 50%, Keystone 71 inches 86%, Loveland 63 inches 86%, Vail 98 inches 46%, Winter Park 90 inches 48%.

Southern and Western Colorado: Aspen (45 inches snowfall, 20% open) and Crested Butte (37 inches, 31%) are close to normal but everything farther south has been drier than normal. Wolf Creek is 40% open with only 34 inches snowfall and Telluride 3% open with 30 inches. 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 opened on snowmaking the weekend before Thanksgiving, by which time the snowmaking leaders were about 20% open with cold temps and some new snow. Several areas closed with rain today and trail counts will be lower when they reopen. Season snow including the October storm: Jay (avg.) 43, Sugarbush 36, Stowe 45 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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