2024-25 Ski Season Progress Report as of December 15, 2024

Late October 2024 and early November saw moderate snowfall mostly in northern regions but then trending southeast into Colorado and New Mexico. Wolf Creek and Pajarito had widespread natural snow runs open by Nov. 10. Mid-November storms concentrated in the Pacific Northwest, but later in the month spread inland, especially to central Colorado. Areas in or close to full operation at the end of November included Mt. Baker, Mammoth, Lookout Pass, Grand Targhee and Wolf Creek. Whistler and Vail have good snowpacks and are gradually opening more runs in December. Early December snowfall was no more than a foot in northern regions while farther south was completely dry. Last week's storms were snowier but still strongest in the northern regions. Snowfall totals in italics are estimates from Open Snow.

California: Several small snowfalls through mid-November assisted snowmaking openings. Stronger storms over the last week of November totaled 4 feet at Mammoth and 1-3 feet at Tahoe based upon elevation, leaving Mammoth with by far the best conditions in the region. After two dry weeks it snowed 3+ feet northwest of Tahoe and about 2 feet elsewhere. Low elevations at Tahoe still need more snow while base depths are 3-4 feet higher up. See Current California Ski Conditions for more details on Southern California and Mammoth.

Pacific Northwest: This was the strongest November opening in the region in over a decade with multiple storms. Mt. Baker was fully open for Thanksgiving, while Whistler and Mt. Bachelor attained 4+ foot bases. 2-3 feet of snow fell in the first half of December, and more is expected this week. This region has the most snow heading into the holidays.

Canadian Rockies and Interior B.C.: November snowfall was high from the Northwest storms along the U.S. border and west of the Selkirks but closer to average farther east. Fernie, Whitewater and the upper half of Revelstoke have 4+ foot bases. An average 1.5 feet of snow fell during the first half of December, but stronger storms are expected this week. Sun Peaks is 87% open. Christmas should be excellent everywhere west of Rogers Pass.

U. S. Northern Rockies: The Interior Northwest was loaded with snow from the November storms and remains a promising holiday destination. Just a few inches fell during the first week of December. Lookout Pass opened weekends starting Nov. 9. Farther south November snowfall was no better than average. Targhee reached operation but Jackson needs much more snow for a decent Christmas. First half of December snowfall averaged 1.5 feet.

Utah: Utah's November was slightly below average in both snowfall and end of month open terrain. Alta opened more than half of runs in early December but other areas are very limited and need much more snow for good holiday skiing. Early December was dry until the recent storms of 20 inches in Little Cottonwood but less than a foot elsewhere.

Northern and Central Colorado: The first snowmaking openings were A-Basin and Keystone Nov. 2. Snowfall was consistent and above average from late October through mid-November and topped off by 2-3 feet the last week of November, the snowiest November since 2010. Mid-December open terrain is average despite less than a foot of snow so far in the month. Base depths have settled down to just under 3 feet, so more snow will be needed to expand open terrain.

Southern and Western Colorado: Wolf Creek opened October 22 on 26 inches of snow and was close to full opertion by Nov. 10. Pajarito, New Mexico opened one top to bottom lift and about 3/4 of terrain Nov. 9 on 44 inches snowfall. But New Mexico has had little snow for the past month. Aspen and Crested Butte had similar high November snow as the I-70 areas while southern Colorado had less but was still above average. First half of December snow has been close to a foot at Aspen but no more than a few inches farther south. Aside from Wolf Creek, the Southwest looks limited for the holidays with base depths around two feet.

Northeast: No one opened during a warm October in New England or eastern Canada. November snowmaking was intermittent, so Nov. 15 Killington opened 3%, Sunday River 2% and Whiteface opened 7% weekends. Some areas missed Thanksgiving openings with ongoing warm weather in November. The first week of December was colder with 1-3 feet of natural snow. Some trail counts declined during the second week with mixed precipitation. Percents open: Okemo 32%, Hunter 34%, Sunday River 30%, Sugarloaf 16%, Tremblant 23%, St. Anne 16%.

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