2023-24 Ski Season Progress Report as of December 24, 2023

Late October 2023 saw moderate snowfall in northern and central regions. Early November weather was mostly dry in central and southern regions. Northern regions saw more rain than snow the first week of November but have accumulated some snow since then. All snowfall totals (Italic numbers are from Open Snow) are since November 1 and nearly all open terrain before December was on snowmaking. There were modest storms mid-November through Thanksgiving. High snowfall areas like Alta, Revelstoke and Mt. Bachelor delaying openings were red flags. For Thanksgiving Targhee was 63% open but next in line were Alta at 29%, Wolf Creek at 20% and Sunshine at 19%. This was overall the worst November in western North America since 2007, with no region getting more than 60% of normal snowfall. A series of storms hit the Pacific Northwest during the first week of December, extending inland to the northern and central Rockies. Low altitude resorts had a lot of rain along with the snow. Alta and Targhee were the only areas over half open on 4+ foot bases December 9-10. During the past two weeks scattered storms have averaged only one foot and no one got more than 2 feet. Season snowfall averages only 65% of normal with the highest regions being Utah at 82% and western Canada at 78%. For the holiday week many areas are less than half open with base depths under 3 feet. These areas will not stand up to holiday traffic and should be avoided until at least mid-January.

California: November storms were only a few inches so Thanksgiving skiing was very limited and only on manmade. Early December snow was as much as a foot only NW of Tahoe and above 8,000 feet. It snowed about a foot above 8,000 feet Dec. 20-22 but rained below 7,000. Mammoth, Kirkwood and Mt. Rose are about half open, but base depths are barely over 2 feet. This region should be avoided indefinitely until there is more snow. See Current California Ski Conditions for more details on Southern California and Mammoth.

Pacific Northwest: Only Whistler opened a modest 7% at Thanksgiving, while all other areas delayed opening. Early December storms dumped 2-3+ feet of snow, but also 4-5 inches of rain. Mid-December rain ended with about a foot of snow in Washington and Whistler. Base depths are in the 2-3 foot range and no one is more than half open yet, rare for Christmas in this region.

Canadian Rockies and Interior B.C.: November rain turned to snow earlier in this region for some of the highest early season totals. However November was still only 60% of average. Revelstoke opened Dec. 9, Whitewater Dec.15 and Red is still not open. In early December Fernie and Revelstoke got 3 feet of snow but also low elevation rain. Open terrain expanded the most at Banff and Kicking Horse, which got 2 feet of snow and no rain. Mid-December snow was 1-2 feet. Silver Star expanded to 77% open and Sun Peaks to 72% for Christmas. Base depths average 3 feet, with a little more above 5,000 feet at Fernie, Whitewater and Revelstoke.

U. S. Northern Rockies: November snowfall was less than half normal with the usual exception of Targhee. During early December 3-4 feet of snow fell in the Tetons, bringing Targhee's base to 58 inches. About 2 feet fell farther north with considerable rain below 6,000 feet. Only Lookout got more than a foot in mid-December and base depths aside from Targhee are less than 3 feet.

Utah: November snowfall was about half normal and Alta's opening was delayed one week, but it reached majority operation on a 5 foot base after 6 feet of snow in early December. The other Cottonwood areas got 3-4 feet and were over half open by mid-December. Park City areas are much more limited. Mid-December snowfall was less than a foot.

Northern and Central Colorado: Early snowmaking openings were A-Basin Oct. 29, Keystone Nov. 1, Eldora and Winter Park. Nov. 3. November snowfall was less than half normal so Thanksgiving was very limited. Early December snowfall was 3+ feet at the high snowfall areas Steamboat, Vail and Winter Park and averaged 2 feet elsewhere. Steamboat and Vail reached majority operation mid-December, followed by Winter Park at Christmas, though base depths are not quite 3 feet. Other areas are no more than 1/3 open with bases barely over 2 feet and should be avoided until there is more snow. Only Steamboat got more than a foot of mid-December snow.

Southern and Western Colorado: November snowfall was about half normal. Early December snowfall exceeded expectations with over 2 feet at most areas, though only a foot south of the San Juans. Mid-December snow was close to 2 feet at the southern areas but less than a foot farther north. Aspen, Wolf Creek, Purgatory and Monarch are at least 2/3 open but on less than 3 foot bases.

Northeast: The season started slowly through Thanksgiving. Most of November's snow came in the last week to open more trails. Northern Vermont has had 3 feet in the first half of December, though farther south there was more rain. Trail counts crashed the week before Christmas with heavy rain over the entire Northeast. Percents open: Okemo 36%, Hunter 33%, Sunday River 15%, Sugarloaf 19%, Tremblant 46%, St. Anne 17%.

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