2014-15 Ski Season Progress Report as of December 23, 2014

In most ski regions this was a warmer and drier than normal October and early November. However, there was substantial snowfall in the northern and central Rockies in the rest of November to put the season on a normal track in many regions. Open terrain for Thanksgiving was mostly on snowmaking but with some natural base at many areas. The first half of December was mostly dry in the Rockies, leaving most areas below average as of mid-December. Over the past weekend there has been a strong storm of unusually dense snow in parts of Utah and much of Colorado just in time for the holiday season.

California: The first Sierra winter storm hit November 1-2. Tahoe ski areas got 3-8 inches. The storm track was centered farther south so Mammoth got 12 inches. Unfortunately the next week was record warm, and the next storm missed Mammoth and was mostly rain at Tahoe. There have been three storms so far in December in the 1-2 foot range plus a couple smaller events. Snowfall has been concentrated near the Sierra Crest west of Lake Tahoe, with much lesser amounts at the resorts near and east of the lake, as noted in the tables below. Advanced terrain is still sketchy or closed, as base depths are no more than 4 feet at high elevation and in some cases less than 2 feet lower down. Squaw has had only 1/3 as much snow at its 6,200 foot base as higher up. 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

99

85%

47%

Northstar

33

42%

34%

Mt. Rose

64

62%

62%

Sierra-at-Tahoe

57

62%

72%

Heavenly

27

31%

6%

Kirkwood

99

83%

85%

Mammoth

53

58%

77%

Southern Cal

18

83%

0-35%

Pacific Northwest: The entire early season has been characterized by storms with a high rain/snow line. Thus the Whistler alpine has a solid 52-inch base. Mt. Bachelor's Summit opened Dec. 13 and has a 6-7 foot base, but the recent storm iced the Summit lift and it will take some time to reopen. Other Northwest areas have had excessive rain and only opened this week on a limited basis with base depths less than 3 feet.

Area

Season Snow

Pct. of Normal

Pct. of Area Open

Whistler

112

81%

73%

Crystal Mt.

78

63%

25%

Stevens Pass

65

44%

21%

Mt. Bachelor

104

86%

70%

Canadian Rockies and Interior B.C.: There is quite a bit of terrain open in this region though most of the snow came in November. Base depths are a still low tide 3 feet in Alberta and closer to 4 feet in interior BC. Lower areas near the US border have had some of the rain from the Northwest storms. Silver Star is 47% open and Sun Peaks is 85% open. Revelstoke, Sun Peaks and the Okanagan have the best holiday conditions.

Area

Season Snow

Pct. of Normal

Pct. of Area Open

Big White

85

89%

68%

Lake Louise

55

97%

77%

Sunshine

73

92%

75%

Revelstoke

118

97%

100%

Kicking Horse

94

108%

77%

Whitewater

100

84%

51%

Red Mt.

69

83%

7%

Fernie

86

76%

56%

Castle Mt.

50

62%

70%

U. S. Northern Rockies: There were several storms in November in Wyoming and Montana. There was not much early December snow except for Sun Valley getting snow from the south. Big Sky is 58% open. Idaho skiing has improved with recent storms except at the panhandle areas which probably had some Northwest rain. The Tetons got about 3 feet last week.

Area

Season Snow

Pct. of Normal

Pct. of Area Open

Grand Targhee

117

85%

100%

Jackson Hole

111

98%

99%

Schweitzer

52

61%

21%

Sun Valley

76

129%

81%

Utah: The season started dry but the Cottonwood areas got a mid-November 3 foot dump. Other areas did not get so much and have had very limited skiing mostly on snowmaking. The recent storm dumped 2-3 feet of heavy snow in the Cottonwoods, bringing the base up to 4-5 feet, and a foot of fluff is predicted to top that off over Christmas. All 4 areas should be close to full operation once snow is stabilized. The areas outside the Cottonwoods are still quite restricted because some of that storm was rain up to 8,000 feet and bases remain under 3 feet. These areas are unlikely to get fully open until sometime in January.

Area

Season Snow

Pct. of Normal

Pct. of Area Open

Alta

116

76%

95%

Snowbird

116

94%

40%

Brighton/Solitude

81

61%

67%

Park City group

55

66%

24%

Snowbasin

54

60%

25%

Brian Head

39

46%

13%

Northern and Central Colorado: A-Basin opened one snowmaking run on October 17 and is now 52% open. Most of November was stormy in this region, so much more terrain than usual was open for Thanksgiving. There was little snow the first half of December so base depths settled to the 2 foot range. Last weekend's dump of up to 3 feet of dense snow has pushed the base depths into the 4 foot range for likely very good holiday skiing at most areas.

Area

Season Snow

Pct. of Normal

Pct. of Area Open

Beaver Creek

114

118%

90%

Breckenridge

141

159%

80%

Copper Mt.

130

158%

82%

Keystone

87

130%

73%

Loveland

114

121%

36%

Steamboat

105.5

96%

92%

Vail

128

121%

96%

Winter Park

12.5

116%

77%

Southern and Western Colorado: November snowfall was above average north but below average south. Snowfall and open terrain have lagged the Front Range areas. Last weekend's storm brought 2+ feet to Aspen and Telluride and lesser amounts elsewhere. Base depths are in the 3 foot range, so much advanced terrain is still sketchy until there is more snow. Taos is 53% open with a 37 inch base.

Area

Season Snow

Pct. of Normal

Pct. of Area Open

Aspen/Snowmass

80

118%

80%

Gothic Snow Lab

87.5

90%

N/A

Crested Butte

81

119%

33%

Telluride

108

145%

77%

Durango

44

61%

84%

Wolf Creek

77

74%

70%

Northeast: October was too warm for any areas to open by the end of the month. November was good for snowmaking but there was intermittent rain along with some snow late in the month. The first half of December was colder with 2-3 feet of snow, so skiing was much better than normal for early season. Unfortunately widespread rain is falling just before Christmas. Percents open: Okemo 94%, Stratton 70%, Hunter 74%, Sugarloaf 83%, Sunday River 57%, Tremblant 48%, Mt. St. Anne 49%.

Area

Season Snow

Pct. of Normal

Pct. of Area Open

Jay Peak (mid)

82

98%

94%

Stowe

89

97%

89%

Sugarbush

80

109%

90%

Killington

61

91%

85%

Cannon Mt.

44

112%

96%

Whiteface

56

99%

57%

Le Massif

80

118%

73%

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