Managing the fickle winter of 2026

[jimk]

How did you do dealing with the fickle winter of 2026? It sounds like the East did better than average, while the West was subpar. I suppose a significant part of the answer depends on where you did your skiing? Did you have a mostly enjoyable ski season, or was it quite disappointing? Any lessons learned?

Briefly, I had 68 total ski days and the majority of my skiing took place in Utah. It was acceptable, but definitely subpar. However, I took two rather well timed trips, 11 days in late January in the Alps, and 2.5 weeks around the first of April in the Banff/Jasper area. Both trips led to better skiing than if I'd stayed in Utah. Banff and Jasper area skiing was significantly better and the highlight of my season. The outcome of these two trips was mostly luck, particularly Canada since that was planned many months in advance. The Europe trip was much more short notice and in response to low snow in the Wasatch.

No significant injuries or illness over the course of the winter was also a plus. However, I definitely felt my age (70+) with more muscle fatigue than in the past. It also seems to take forever to get into "ski shape". Until April in fact
Nonetheless, every ski season is a blessing and I'm very grateful for each one.

This is kind of a funny/bittersweet summary of the Best-Worst Season at Alta which made me think of this topic: https://www.alta.com/stories/best-w...HF1qr-K5hnr&brid=YWdncwEhLktRs-iyxzVUUL4OlKnh

 

[Tony Crocker]

That's a very detailed summary from Alta. But I think the headline has it right:

If this is as bad as it gets, we have it pretty good.

In my detail tracking since 2005, this season is about on a par with 2017-18 as Alta's worst. 2014-15 may have been the other one with the least snow, but it had more early snow for some decent skiing in December, while 2017-18 and 2025-26 were strictly in WROD mode until Christmas.

The flexibility of retirement allows us not to be committed to fixed in advance dates and locations for most of the season. So overall this was an average season for me in terms of ski quality as evidenced by 12.2% powder vs. 11.9% lifetime. Much of that was due to the 6 days of cat skiing in Canada, and I was very lucky to get 3 of those at the last minute. Key factors:
1) I only had one day in SoCal's worst ever season, that being to keep my grandfathered Mountain High pass alive. This is not an anomaly. I had zero SoCal days in 2005-06, 2012-13 and 2017-18 and just one in 6 other seasons.
2) Mammoth's season may have been below average but like Alta it was a standout vs. many places. I've skied 15 days there in 2025-26 vs. 3 and 4 in the much worse 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons.
3) I had 12 days in Canadian areas that were having a good season.
4) I got lucky with a refresher storm at Tahoe on the way to Canada, greatly improving conditions for 3 of those 4 days.
5) This was probably my worst overall week at Iron Blosam, but really only for two days where it did not warm up and most of the hill stayed frozen. I took one of those days off as I was tired from the month long road trip. Bridger Bowl during the prior week was the only other day this season that I would classify conditions as bad. And surely a powder day at the Yellowstone Club 3 days later more that offsets that.
6) While the US West was melting down in late March, we had 10 days of nearly all winter conditions in the Alps. The last 7 of those days were chosen on short notice to locations with recent new snow.

No significant injuries or illness over the course of the winter was also a plus. However, I definitely felt my age (70+) with more muscle fatigue than in the past. It also seems to take forever to get into "ski shape".

I have a lot to say on this subject, but I'll save it for the season recap.

 

[Harvey]

It sounds like the East did better than average

Snowfall was ~average or below. Cold was historically consistent in the heart of the winter.

So I would agree with your statement.

 

[Tony Crocker]

More details on Utah 2025-26 vs. other seasons here.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

How did you do dealing with the fickle winter of 2026?

The western conditions thread is so long at this point so Tony, can you distill (no spreadsheet tables necessary) -- of the various western North America regions, which fared the worst this season compared to their average stats? Colorado's I-70 resorts and the Inland Northwest (Mt Spokane, Schweitzer) must be near the top.

It sounds like the East did better than average,

Snowfall was ~average or below. Cold was historically consistent in the heart of the winter.

It's fascinating to consider how many ski areas were built mid-century in the northeast (NELSAP estimates 300+ in New York State alone) and that a sizable number survived for decent stretches of time without snowmaking. One assumes that consistently cold winters like 2025-26 were the reason. I have so many favorites, like this one just north of the MA state line, which apparently went out of business after 40 years due to nearby competition, not strictly a lack of snow.

 

[ChrisC]

The western conditions thread is so long at this point so Tony, can you distill (no spreadsheet tables necessary) -- of the various western North America regions, which fared the worst this season compared to their average stats? Colorado's I-70 resorts must be near the top.

Ask an AI agent to summarize Tony's post in this thread from May 1st forward (that have a table in them)

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Ask an AI agent to summarize Tony's post in this thread from May 1st forward (that have a table in them)

See? This ^^ is why you make the big money!

Based on Tony Crocker’s season-progress posts plus the page-29/30 thread discussion, the biggest underperformers versus long-term norms in Western North America were pretty clear:

Colorado (worst relative loser overall)
Colorado was repeatedly cited as having one of its weakest seasons relative to normal, especially early and mid-season. By holiday and January benchmarks, it was running far behind average snowpack and terrain openings, with conditions compared to early December in a normal year. Southern and central Colorado were especially poor. Even though spring helped some, Colorado never really erased the deficit.

Utah (particularly holiday through February)
Utah had one of its worst holiday seasons since at least 1980–81, according to Crocker, and while late-February storms improved things, much of the season was defined by below-average snowfall and prolonged dry spells. The Cottonwoods recovered somewhat better than lower-snow regions, but statewide Utah was still significantly below normal overall.

Arizona / Southern Rockies
Arizona Snowbowl and the broader southern Rockies were hammered by warmth and lack of consistent storms. They were among the furthest below normal percentages, though less discussed because they’re smaller markets. This region was likely among the worst in percentage terms.

Interior Pacific Northwest (especially lower-elevation WA/BC)
Washington and parts of coastal BC had damaging rain events to high elevations during key windows, which wrecked snow quality and retention even when precipitation totals weren’t disastrous. Not always the lowest snowfall, but snowpack quality and preservation were poor relative to average.

Best / least bad:
• California (especially Sierra) – rough stretches, but major storms salvaged much of the season
• Banff / Alberta – comparatively strong
• Northern Rockies (Montana, parts of Wyoming) – mixed but generally better than CO/UT

Bottom line:
The worst relative-to-average regions were:

1. Colorado
2. Utah
3. Arizona / Southern Rockies
4. Lower-elevation Pacific Northwest

In blunt terms: Colorado and Utah were the headline disappointments, with Colorado probably the season’s biggest western loser versus its historical baseline.

 

[Tony Crocker]

Not a great AI summary above.

Southern and central Colorado were especially poor.

It was Front Range/I-70 that had its worst ever season. Southern and western Colorado were worse in 1976-77 and 1980-81.

Arizona Snowbowl and the broader southern Rockies were hammered by warmth and lack of consistent storms. They were among the furthest below normal percentages, though less discussed because they’re smaller markets. This region was likely among the worst in percentage terms.

Arizona Snowbowl's 57 inches in November were the most of any ski area in the western US! It was not a good year overall with only 95 inches over the next 5 months though. New Mexico sucked, but not so different than last year or 2017-18.

Best / least bad:
• California (especially Sierra) – rough stretches, but major storms salvaged much of the season
• Banff / Alberta – comparatively strong
• Northern Rockies (Montana, parts of Wyoming) – mixed but generally better than CO/UT

Banff/Alberta were not "least bad." They had an outstanding season on an absolute scale, including record high for November + December.

Bottom line:
The worst relative-to-average regions were:

1. Colorado
2. Utah
3. Arizona / Southern Rockies
4. Lower-elevation Pacific Northwest

The real answer to the question of worst region?
1) Colorado, Front Range/I70 in particular
2) Oregon, often missed storm tracks to both north and south and also had some rain.
3) Lower elevation areas in Utah, California and Pacific and Interior Northwest.

The overriding story of 2025-26 was abnormally high temperatures and low elevation rain, not drought. That explains:
1) Cottonwoods vs. other Utah areas. There's no way anyone should classify the Utah Cottonwood ski areas in same bucket as CoIorado this year. They were close to full operation from first week of January through late March and had enough base left to enjoy a decent April. Snowbasin, Park City and Deer Valley had low snowfall but were much worse due their low altitude being responsible for some rain and vulnerability to the March meltdown.
2) Mammoth vs. Tahoe.
3) Altitude/temperatures ruled the U.S Northern Rockies too. I experienced a big difference between Big Sky vs. Bridger on consecutive days. I posted the Interior NW comparison of Whitefish vs. Schweitzer. I'd guess there were lots of days when skiers saw the altitude difference within Jackson Hole and Sun Valley.

Interior Pacific Northwest (especially lower-elevation WA/BC)
Washington and parts of coastal BC had damaging rain events to high elevations during key windows, which wrecked snow quality and retention even when precipitation totals weren’t disastrous. Not always the lowest snowfall, but snowpack quality and preservation were poor relative to average.

This is overall accurate, but the PNW has these excessive rain seasons occasionally. 2004-05 and 2014-15 were much worse because snowfall was much lower in Washington and coastal B.C. along with the too much rain. Oregon was the worst in 2025-26 because its snowfall was as low as those other two years.

The SWE maps some of us posted through the season often showed a diagonal band of red running from Oregon through Utah into Colorado. Most Colorado areas can't handle a 60% season. But 60% in the Cottonwoods is still 300 inches (that's above average in most of Colorado). As long as enough of that snow falls by early January to put down a base, the Cottonwoods will have a decent season on an absolute scale.

 

[BryanL]

I skied mostly at Alta this winter, even though I live in the village at Solitude. I found the conditions at Soli to be much worse with poorer coverage and heavier snow, graupel or rain, plus it was far more crowded (being an unlimited Ikon resort). Alta had excellent coverage. Of course, Alta always does better but the differences were more pronounced this year. However, even at Alta, most of my "powder" days weren't light fluff. Their snow's water content averaged 2X the norm and we had multiple storms with rain up to the top of the mountain. It was insanely disappointing when the snow failed to appear, but it was a fun winter regardless. I'm wrapping up my season at Mammoth now, where the snow is burning off super fast.

 

[Tony Crocker]

The western conditions thread is so long at this point so Tony, can you distill (no spreadsheet tables necessary) -- of the various western North America regions, which fared the worst this season compared to their average stats? Colorado's I-70 resorts and the Inland Northwest (Mt Spokane, Schweitzer) must be near the top.

I started this exercise in preparation to sending Joel Gratz a lot of detail once I have all the 2025-26 data. Last summer they published a feature about the best overall western snow seasons and surprisingly did not get it right that 2010-11 was the outlier standout. I'm sure OpenSnow will be doing the opposite feature this summer, and I've given them the heads-ups that I can help with the accuracy. For history OpenSnow depends heavily on SNOTELs, which work OK in the high altitude Rockies but not so well in places that get rain along with the snow. And the SNOTELs started in 1978-79 and ramped up over the next decade. That means no SNOTEL data for the key 1976-77 season.

So, here's the executive summary of worst ski seasons by region (Part 1):

Northern and Central Colorado:
2025-26 is one of about 4-5 seasons with the lowest early season snowfall. But it was the warmest of those, and there is no precedent for a Colorado snowpack being decimated as severely in March as in 2025-26. The prior benchmark 1976-77 and 1980-81 seasons had adequate March snowfall for decent late season skiing, but are still roughly tied for second place as worst seasons for the region.

Southern and Western Colorado:
The 2025-26 snowfall pattern was similar to the above region, but Aspen and Telluride got slightly more terrain open than most of the Front Range areas. These areas were slower getting terrain open in 2017-18, offset by the March meltdown in 2025-26. By contrast, 1976-77 and 1980-81 were more severely dry, both managing around 90 inches of snow through the end of February at Gothic and Red Mt. Pass, which usually get a little more snow than the nearby ski areas. So for this region, 1976-77 is worst, 1980-81 second (more March snow than 1976-77), 2017-18 and 2025-26 tied for third.

New Mexico:
Taos has had 5 seasons with 72 inches or less of snowfall through the end of February. 2005-06 was the lowest of these at 57 inches but it had a big March. In terms of open terrain, 2017-18 is clear cut the worst season. The other three, 2005-06, 2024-25, and 2025-26 are similar, and by snowfall pattern 1980-81 belongs in that group too.

Utah:
1976-77 remains the clear cut worst, with Alta snowfall through December being 30.5 inches and Park City snowfall through January being 37 inches. All of the recent bad seasons have those areas at least half open at the end of those months. While Snowbird was slower opening terrain in 2017-18 than in 2025-26, the opposite was true for Alta, Park City and Snowbasin. Considering less total snowfall and the March meltdown, 2025-26 is Utah's second worst season and 2017-18 is third.

 

[jimk]

I skied mostly at Alta this winter, even though I live in the village at Solitude. I found the conditions at Soli to be much worse with poorer coverage and heavier snow, graupel or rain, plus it was far more crowded (being an unlimited Ikon resort). Alta had excellent coverage. Of course, Alta always does better but the differences were more pronounced this year. However, even at Alta, most of my "powder" days weren't light fluff. Their snow's water content averaged 2X the norm and we had multiple storms with rain up to the top of the mountain. It was insanely disappointing when the snow failed to appear, but it was a fun winter regardless. I'm wrapping up my season at Mammoth now, where the snow is burning off super fast.

I ski mostly at Snowbird, but also Soli with my Ikon base pass add-on. Yes, it was clear from some of my spring visits that Soli was in much worse shape than Alta-Bird and also Brighton. But I found Solitude to not be very crowded this season compared to the past, although that impression came mostly from visits from mid-winter and later.
I only skied Brighton twice this winter, but it was busy both days. I started at Soli on one of those days and used the connector trail to go back and forth. Soli was surprisingly quiet the same day, with inferior conditions. Brighton seems to have a very well carved-out niche in the market with families, boarders, night skiers, and parking lot partiers.

 

[Tony Crocker]

Part 2:

California:
2025-26 snowfall ranged from less than 60% at low elevation to about 80% at high elevation due storms with high rain/snow lines. with some of these storms being in November/December. Mammoth was only slightly below average in open terrain for the season overall. Palisades' open terrain contracted after rain events, but overall Sierra terrain is most restricted in seasons with severe early season droughts, of which there have been many. Nov.-Jan. snowfall at Alpine Meadows was 44 inches in 2013-14, 52 in 1975-76, 55 in 2014-15, 57 in 1976-77, 62 in 2011-12 and 66 in 1990-91. How would I rank these Tahoe seasons?
1) 2014-15 had the lowest total season snowfall and considerable low elevation rain as well.
2) 2013-14 actually had less open terrain at Palisades than 2014-15, because the upper half of Palisades had 83 inches in Dec. 2014. But lower Tahoe areas had to be worse in 2014-15.
3) 1976-77
4) 1975-76, slightly more Feb. and later snow than 1976-77
5) 1990-91, Feb. very dry though March was huge.
6) 2011-12, Feb. much better than 1990-91, a big March not as much as 1990-91.

Mammoth has some differences, a much drier 1976-77 (moving that season to #1) and a 1986-87 similar to 1975-76. Other seasons are in same order as Tahoe.

Pacific Northwest:
This region is highly drought resistant. 1976-77 is the only year with an early season drought on the level of what other regions get more often. The worst years are the ones with too much rain vs. snow. Even in those rainy years the Whistler alpine builds a snow base, often starting before snow is measured at its snow plot lower down.
So for Whistler:
1) 1976-77 is worst
2) 2004-05, where the Tropical Punch rain set Whistler back to 55% for a few weeks.
3) 2014-15, lowest snowfall of past 46 years, 264 vs. 268 in 2004-05.
4) 2025-26, another rainy year but just over 300 inches.
5) 2013-14, second lowest Nov/Dec at 73 inches, 60% open at New Year's is lowest in my 20 years of records.

Washington State, Northern Idaho:
1) 2004-05, The Tropical Punch and an ensuing dry spell closed ski areas from late January through late March.
2) 2014-15, Some record low snowfalls and lots of rain. Reduced terrain in February and some areas closed early March.
3) 1976-77, Mt. Rainier Paradise, which averages nearly 50% more snow than the ski areas, had 78 inches through February. March was very snowy for a solid late season though.
4) 2025-26, much more snow ~300 inches than #1&2 above, but so much rain that rarely were areas in full operation.

Oregon:
1) 2025-26 was just as rainy as the areas to the north but with much less snow.
2) 2014-15, similar to 2025-26 at Mt. Hood, not quite as bad at Bachelor
3) 1976-77, very dry through February but a snowy March
4) 2004-05, The Tropical Punch was less severe at Mt. Hood and did not get as far south as Bachelor.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Alta had excellent coverage. Of course, Alta always does better but the differences were more pronounced this year.

it was clear from some of my spring visits that Soli was in much worse shape than Alta-Bird and also Brighton

There have been discussions about how/why Alta gets more snow than Snowbird and it's interesting to hear that there's a similar situation in BCC.

 

[jimk]

Both Alta and Brighton have slightly higher base elevations, better exposures, and collect a little more snow sitting at the top of their respective canyons. Snowbird has a slightly higher summit elevation than the others and that helps conditions on the top half of that mtn. In a generous snow year the differences are less noticeable.
And of course, the delta in conditions between the Cottonwoods and elsewhere in UT is also quite large.

 

[berkshireskier]

Not a great AI summary above.

It was Front Range/I-70 that had its worst ever season. Southern and western Colorado were worse in 1976-77 and 1980-81.

Arizona Snowbowl's 57 inches in November were the most of any ski area in the western US! It was not a good year overall with only 95 inches over the next 5 months though. New Mexico sucked, but not so different than last year or 2017-18.


Banff/Alberta were not "least bad." They had an outstanding season on an absolute scale, including record high for November + December.

The real answer to the question of worst region?
1) Colorado, Front Range/I70 in particular
2) Oregon, often missed storm tracks to both north and south and also had some rain.
3) Lower elevation areas in Utah, California and Pacific and Interior Northwest.

The overriding story of 2025-26 was abnormally high temperatures and low elevation rain, not drought. That explains:
1) Cottonwoods vs. other Utah areas. There's no way anyone should classify the Utah Cottonwood ski areas in same bucket as CoIorado this year. They were close to full operation from first week of January through late March and had enough base left to enjoy a decent April. Snowbasin, Park City and Deer Valley had low snowfall but were much worse due their low altitude being responsible for some rain and vulnerability to the March meltdown.
2) Mammoth vs. Tahoe.
3) Altitude/temperatures ruled the U.S Northern Rockies too. I experienced a big difference between Big Sky vs. Bridger on consecutive days. I posted the Interior NW comparison of Whitefish vs. Schweitzer. I'd guess there were lots of days when skiers saw the altitude difference within Jackson Hole and Sun Valley.

This is overall accurate, but the PNW has these excessive rain seasons occasionally. 2004-05 and 2014-15 were much worse because snowfall was much lower in Washington and coastal B.C. along with the too much rain. Oregon was the worst in 2025-26 because its snowfall was as low as those other two years.

The SWE maps some of us posted through the season often showed a diagonal band of red running from Oregon through Utah into Colorado. Most Colorado areas can't handle a 60% season. But 60% in the Cottonwoods is still 300 inches (that's above average in most of Colorado). As long as enough of that snow falls by early January to put down a base, the Cottonwoods will have a decent season on an absolute scale.

Still snowing at Banff Sunshine. Six inches in the past two days. From their webcams, it still looks like the middle of Winter there.

Trail Conditions, Weather & Grooming Report & Cams | Sunshine Village

See the conditions report, 5 day weather forecast, and lift & run status. Or check it out for yourself via our live webcams.

www.skibanff.com

Today is the last ski day of their "normal" season but they are going to try to reopen from June 20 to July 4.

 

[Tony Crocker]

they are going to try to reopen from June 20 to July 4.

Not an exciting prospect, per my recent inquiry. The summer skiing will be 700 vertical at a very intermediate 4-1 lift ratio. My summer experience tells me those runs better be salted or they will ski like glue at that mellow intermediate pitch.

 

[Tony Crocker]

Part 3:

US Northern Rockies:
This is a difficult region to generalize because:
1) Only Jackson and Targhee have season 1976-77 data. For many places, extensive data exists only Dec.-Mar.
2) This is a region where more areas have independent weather patterns.

2025-26 snowfalls by area:
Whitefish: 64% of normal Dec.-Mar., 5th lowest season out of 36
Bridger Bowl: 59% Dec.-Mar, tied for 1st lowest season out of 53. FYI Bridger snowfall was above average Jan.-Mar. 1977
Sun Valley: 68%, Dec.-Mar., 9th lowest season out of 47
Areas with Nov.-Apr. data:
Brundage: 58%, the lowest season out of 38
Big Sky: 77%, 4th lowest season out of 40
Jackson: 69%, 4th lowest season out of 59, but in reality 2nd worst to 1976-77 due to the low elevation rain.
Targhee: 68%. 4th lowest season out of 50

If you aggregate the areas, the region as a whole comes out to 67%, which is tied with 1976-77 and 2014-15 as the worst overall season for the region. 1991-92 was the worst season Dec.-Mar. at 53%, but overall it was 72% due to a snowy November.

Overall U.S. West:
Going through all of the regions and the relatively severity of the bad seasons in each region:
1976-77 is still clear cut #1. There is no place other than NM that it was not one of the worst 3 seasons.
2025-26 and 2014-15 are tied for second and far ahead of any other seasons. 2025-26 was much worse in UT, CO, NM. 2014-15 was much worse in CA and slightly worse in much of the PNW. Interior B.C. had more rain and less snow in 2014-15 than this past season.

 

[tseeb]

Caught this on my phone on drive between South Lake Tahoe and Mammoth early on May 17.

Will try to get report up from skiing Sunday 5/17 at Mammoth when high winds closed most of the lifts for a while.
Where I spent night my car thermometer said it was 19F when I got up. Clear and sunny with much lighter winds.

 

[MarzNC]

Both Alta and Brighton have slightly higher base elevations, better exposures, and collect a little more snow sitting at the top of their respective canyons. Snowbird has a slightly higher summit elevation than the others and that helps conditions on the top half of that mtn. In a generous snow year the differences are less noticeable.
And of course, the delta in conditions between the Cottonwoods and elsewhere in UT is also quite large.

The steepness of the advanced/expert terrain is a factor. I may have had a better time skiing Alta in April than some late season travelers who are better skiers because the terrain I like is not the steepest terrain. The coverage on the terrain of off-piste terrain I enjoy was fine. I've never seen so much brown on the peaks across the road from Alta/Snowbird.

Get the same situation at Taos when it's warm enough to cause melt/freeze cycles before a big snowstorm. The steepest terrain doesn't hold new snow as well.