2011-12 Ski Season Progress Report as of December 10, 2011

Late October 2011 will be remembered for its snowfall in the eastern metro areas, which also opened a few eastern ski areas. Aside from Wolf Creek, no western areas had a meaningful snowpack at the end of October to get a jump on the upcoming season. I was out of the country the entire month of November and unable to follow progress in snowfall or ski area openings during that time. November snowfall reflected a classic La Nina pattern with an outstanding start in the Pacific Northwest and much of western Canada, drier in regions farther south. The first 10 days of December have been unusually dry over nearly the entire West. Some snow has gotten through to the Southwest, bringing most areas there close to average but only Wolf Creek far above average. There are many resorts that will be in limited operation for the holidays unless there are substantial dumps over the next 2 weeks.

California: There was an 18+ inch storm during the firm week of October but it all melted up to at least 10,000 feet by the end of the month. Mammoth had about half normal snowfall in November and Tahoe was even drier. No snow so far in December, so advance commitments should be avoided until well past the holidays barring a major dump earlier. Mammoth has the most terrain open as its high altitude has allowed nearly nonstop snowmaking in December. See Current California Ski Conditions for more details on Southern California and Mammoth.

Area	Season Snow	Pct. of Normal	Pct. of Area Open
Squaw 8,000	16	20%	2%
Northstar	22	39%	4%
Mt. Rose	24	38%	8%
Kirkwood	34	39%	3%
Mammoth	32	46%	11%
Southern Cal	23	166%	0-58%
Arizona Snowbowl	65	160%	75%

Pacific Northwest: The entire region had an excellent start in November. Mt. Bachelor's snowfall was close to average but eyewitness reports show a solid base that could open the entire mountain, weather and demand permitting. Farther north November snowfall was well above average. Mt. Baker and Mt. Hood are 80% open. Base depths are in the 3-4 foot range and conditions are now more hardpacked due to no new snow in December.

Area	Season Snow	Pct. of Normal	Pct. of Area Open
Whistler	123	122%	82%
Crystal Mt.	114	129%	87%
Stevens Pass	97	93%	73%
Mt. Bachelor	68	77%	35%

Canadian Rockies and Interior B.C.: November snowfall was high through most of the region. Base depths are in the 3+ foot range and more terrain than normal is open early despite modest snowfalls of no more than 9 inches in December. Big White is 20% open, Silver Star 95% and Sun Peaks 84%. Revelstoke and Kicking Horse snow totals are likely inflated by including October, but both are 50+% open.

Area	Season Snow	Pct. of Normal	Pct. of Area Open
Lake Louise	70	161%	75%
Sunshine	85	145%	62%
Revelstoke	134	136%	50+%
Kicking Horse	119	174%	59%
Whitewater	84	98%	85%
Red Mt.	52	85%	Dec. 17
Fernie	73	91%	84%
Castle Mt.	51	86%	14%

U. S. Northern Rockies: Snowfall in November was close to average at areas reporting. Jackson opened a bit early with more terrain than normal available. Schweitzer is off to a good start with the Northwest influence. But in Montana areas are in very limited operation, 7% at Big Sky. December has been dry throughout the region with no more than 5 inches anywhere.

Utah: Utah's November was close to average. As expected Alta, Brighton and Solitude have the most open terrain and operations are very limited elsewhere. There has been nore more than 3 inches in the Wasatch so far in December. Normal snow would open most terrain by Christmas in the Cottonwood Canyons and at Brian Head, which has had 23 inches in December. Elsewhere full operation is quite unlikely until well past the holidays.

Area	Season Snow	Pct. of Normal	Pct. of Area Open
Alta	79	72%	50%
Snowbird	81	87%	13%
Brighton/Solitude	72	69%	40%
Park City	45	70%	16%
Snowbasin	63	98%	27%
Brian Head	75	112%	26%

Northern and Central Colorado: Snowfall totals are slightly below average but open terrain paints a worse picture. Most of these areas are about 25% open at Thanksgiving (based upon 20+ years of data) so no more than that much open on Dec. 10 is a very slow start and the pace will need to pick up for much advanced terrain to get open before the holidays. Loveland had 46 inches in October but only 36 inches in November. It is possible that other area snow totals may include some October snow that probably did not last.

Southern and Western Colorado: The Gothic Snow Lab between Crested Butte and Aspen (snowier climate than either) had 24.5 inches in October, 36.5 in November and only 6 so far in December. Aspen/Snowmass is 35% open. Farther south December snowfall was closer to normal, so Taos is 39% open. Wolf Creek's 50 inches of December snow is nearly twice as much as any other area in North America. At other areas I would not expect much expert terrain open by the holidays without substantially more snow.

Northeast: The late October storm dropped 15 inches at Killington, which opened Oct. 30. Sunday River, Mt. Snow and Plattekill also opened on a limited basis. The natural snow was much less than in October 2005, so operations were more limited and any natural base soon dispappeared. November and early December have been very poor with low snowfall and current operations are very restricted. Percents open: Okemo 6%, Stratton 6%, Hunter 8%, Sunday River 14%, Sugarloaf 4%, Tremblant 13%, Ste. Anne 8%. 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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