November has provided a very promising start to the season.

California: High altitude Mammoth is the best bet, as it received 4 feet of snow from two storms Nov. 18-22 and has 2500+ acres of skiing available. Destination skiers should avoid early season commitments to the Tahoe areas until they receive more snow from colder storms. The snow level was 9,000 feet in the first storm and 8,000 feet in the second. Even Kirkwood received mostly rain at its base. Heavenly got about 2 feet on the upper mountain and has opened the upper lifts on the California side. Mt. Rose is another high base elevation possibility. See Current California Ski Conditions for more details on Southern California and Mammoth.

Pacific Northwest: In Oregon, Mt. Bachelor also benefited from an altitude advantage in the Pineapple Express storm. Its Summit area has enough snow to open when the weather lets up. All lifts except the new Northwest Express can operate, servicing 2000+ acres. The storm was colder in Washington, allowing Baker, Crystal and Stevens to open by Nov. 21 on 40+ inch bases. The Pacific Northwest received some additional snow over Thanksgiving. Blackcomb is about 25% open on snowmaking, but coastal B.C. clearly has much less snow than Washington and Oregon. Whistler may lose its World Cup race, although it received snow last weekend also.

Canadian Rockies and Interior B.C.: Fernie has received snow this week as well as last and probably has the most snow on the ground (60+ inches) of any ski area in North America. I unfortunately have more spotty information on Western Canada than for the American West. Logically, one might expect the other Kootenay areas to have snow, but as yet there is no Internet information available. Big White, Lake Louise and Sunshine are in partial operation.

U. S. Northern Rockies: Schweitzer has a 60+ inch base from the last two weeks' storms also. Grand Targhee reports 30-45 inches, which is below average but probably enough for adequate coverage. Atypically, Big Sky is reputed to have more snow now.

Utah: Alta and Snowbird are now open on close to 50 inches. Recall that more coverage is needed for the expert terrain at these areas. I would expect good conditions on about 75% of Alta and 50% of Snowbird. Check eyewitness skier reports for confirmation. Brighton, Brian Head, Solitude and Powder Mt. are mostly but not completely open. Park City's first World Cup race was rained out on Friday Nov. 22, but they now claim 50% operation.

Northern and Central Colorado: Steamboat and Vail received up to 90 inches snow in November and are in excellent shape. Vail has opened China Bowl for Thanksgiving and has 2500+ acres open. Steamboat was 90+% open for Thanksgiving, including their new expansion. Keystone, Colorado's snowmaking leader, is about 60% open. Breckenridge, Copper Mt., Loveland and Winter Park are roughly half open.

Southern and Western Colorado: This region is far above average so far, particularly the southern areas. Wolf Creek, the historical state snowfall leader with a 77 inch base, and Purgatory are in full operation, and Telluride is 75% open, including the Chair 9 expert terrain. Aspen Mt. and Snowmass were both about 50% open for Thanksgiving, which is much more than normal. Taos is also way ahead of schedule and 75% open, but its steeper terrain requires more coverage.

Northeast: There has been consistent snowmaking for over two weeks plus a substantial storm in the far north of New England this week, primarily benefiting Jay, Stowe and Sugarbush, which currently offers the greatest variety on man-made and natural snow. Killington and Sunday River have comparable terrain open primarily on snowmaking.