Western North America Conditions 2025/26

EMSC said:
Never seen such an email with tons of available slots from Mustang before.
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Strange.

EMSC said:
People ditching due weather? Lots of guys aging out all at the same time? Pushed on prices too much and this is the result? A bit of each?
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Assume. All day, heli-operators have pushed prices too high. Some cat operations are pushing it.

EMSC said:
My brother booked a different remote style operation recently (heli in/out) that is way less fancy/upscale for lodge/food. Price was cheaper for a 4 day than Mustang is for a 3 day... (Skeena cat).
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That's some of the Mustang guys?

My brother looked into White Grizzly - reasonable $, but steep, lots of trees, and further south. It's interesting, skiers will sign up for a 3-day package, but no one wants to do 4 days of its terrain. Lots of spots remain open far into the season.


Opposite scenario: If you can get 3-4 skiers together for an Italian heli operation, you can pick your dates based on snowfall. And no up front commitment. For Heli-Courmayeur, it's almost the same price as a ski guide in Switzerland for 12k vertical feet. And half the price as a Canadian Day operation.

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EMSC said:
Never seen such an email with tons of available slots from Mustang before.

People ditching due weather? Lots of guys aging out all at the same time? Pushed on prices too much and this is the result? A bit of each?

My brother booked a different remote style operation recently (heli in/out) that is way less fancy/upscale for lodge/food. Price was cheaper for a 4 day than Mustang is for a 3 day... (Skeena cat).
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I was hearing a few reasons when I was at Mustang a few weeks ago that included injuries and newborn arrivals (booking 1 year out, prior to conception, may factor in here). I also suspect costs are starting to factor in as well as current global politics.
 
ChrisC said:
All day, heli-operators have pushed prices too high. Some cat operations are pushing it.
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I found some old invoices in e-mails. For my prime February dates, per day cost:
first year 2013: $900CDN
last year 2020: $1,450CDN, that's 7.05% per year over 7 years
website 2026: $2,100CDN, that's 6.37% per year over 6 years
 
EMSC said:
Never seen such an email with tons of available slots from Mustang before.

People ditching due weather? Lots of guys aging out all at the same time? Pushed on prices too much and this is the result? A bit of each?

My brother booked a different remote style operation recently (heli in/out) that is way less fancy/upscale for lodge/food. Price was cheaper for a 4 day than Mustang is for a 3 day... (Skeena cat).
Click to expand...

I've been to Skeena twice, once in 2020 and then again in 2022. It's located well north of the other BC cat operations. The accommodations were certainly more basic than other cat skiing operations I've visited, with the beds in two-person huts and a walk through the snow to access the latrines. The terrain is great, plenty of both alpine and tree skiing, and the tenure is even bigger now. The evening entertainment was an acoustic guitar, games of hammer nail ('Hammerschlagen'), and lots of Canadian beer. I think the facilities have been developed since I visited. I hope it's not gotten too civilized though — I'd miss that raw, rowdy, edge-of-the-world vibe.

Please share your what your brother's experience was like after he does his trip! If he's got an extra day in the nearby town of Smithers, it's worth it to buy a day pass at Hudson Bay Mountain ski hill. Just two t-bars and fixed grip triple, but it's so remote that you get the mountain to yourself. We hit it on a day with -25ºF temps, clear skies, and a foot of fresh snow. Run after run of untracked blower until I felt like my fingers would break off with one more frigid ascent on that relic triple chair. Bring hand warmers.

—Chris
 
jamesdeluxe said:
I wish that Monarch were on my Indy Pass. Not gonna pay $80 advance and drive two extra hours to ski groomers with 74 inches YTD (but better than Sunlight at 39 inches!). Loveland is at 89 inches although we know that doesn't tell the whole story with the big wind gusts.
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Are you over 68? Monarch sells a season pass for $25 to people 69+. Monarch is opening up the new lift and terrain in No Name Bowl this weekend.

My ski buddy who lives in Albuquerque will be skiing Monarch for a couple days before heading to Crested Butte in the next week. The plan was made months ago and he hates changing plans. Bill is a New Yorker who went to the same boarding middle school I did up in Lake Placid, NY. He graduated from North Country School a few years before I did. He moved to NM long ago.
 
MarzNC said:
heading to Crested Butte in the next week.
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There is zero chance any of the North Face/High Lift terrain will be open that soon. The skiing will be a slightly larger version of Monarch.

Are you (MarzNC) still going to Big Sky? I will probably pass through there between Canada and Snowbird the first week of March.

Snowave:
We're now almost certainly going to cancelling our Bachelor trip for Feb 9-14.
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I was going to be passing through there during that week too, but probably not now.
 
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Tony Crocker said:
There is zero chance any of the North Face/High Lift terrain will be open that soon. The skiing will be a slightly larger version of Monarch.

Are you (MarzNC) still going to Big Sky? I will probably pass through there between Canada and Snowbird the first week of March.
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Bill knows that. It's an easy day drive from Albuquerque. He really likes the town of CB. He's been to CB more than once when he didn't ski any upper mountain terrain. Booked in a lodge in town this trip. I'm sure he'll have a good time.

My late Jan into early Feb trip was cancelled weeks ago. However, the lack of snow at either Big Sky/Bridger and Monarch/Crested Butte is not the primary reason. My husband had unexpected major surgery a month ago that will require a lengthy recovering period.

I know someone from NYSkiBlog who will be at Big Sky for the first time in a few days. A couple who I introduced to Alta several years ago. They were just starting to explore resorts out west after one of them retired after having a teaching career.
 
Big Sky is certainly low tide with reported 29 inch base depth, but it's 83% open including maybe half the Lone Peak runs. Most people will need some Ptex after they ski up there.
 
Some end of January ugliness, halfway through the average snowfall season (more in some regions):

2025-26
worst
worst

Area​
Nov-Jan
Rank
Nov-Jan
season
comments

Bachelor​
73​
52/53
42​
76-77
11 in Feb77

Hood Mdws​
91​
37/38
90​
00-01
no 77data

Schweitzer​
91​
20/20
91​
00-01
no 77data

Brundage​
78​
17/17
88​
23-24
seas since 89

Alta Collins​
129​
46/46
138​
17-18
no 77data

AltaGuard​
121​
78/80
81​
76-77

Park City​
63​
51/52
37​
76-77

Brian Head​
49​
35/35
51​
13-14
no 77/81data

Breck​
80​
37/37
112​
11-12
no 77/81data

Copper​
86​
44/45
72​
12-13
no 77/81data

Loveland​
79​
51/53
66​
80-81

Steamboat​
101​
44/45
102​
11-12
no 77/81data

Vail​
86​
38/39
79​
17-18
no 77/81data

Winter Park​
104​
49/51
90​
11-12

Gothic​
79​
49/52
65​
76-77

Taos​
53​
54/55
33​
17-18


Bold numbers are record low snowfalls through January where data includes 1976-77.
Italic numbers are record low snowfalls through January where data does not include 1976-77.

Notice that where 1976-77 data is available, it's usually significantly worse than this year. In Colorado 1976-77 is in the same ballpark as 1980-81, 2011-12, 2017-18 and this year.

Why is LCC's snowpack holding up well? Long term Alta water content average is 8.2%. This year so far it's 12.4%, not far off Mammoth's 13.1%
 
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Tony Crocker said:
Big Sky is certainly low tide with reported 29 inch base depth, but it's 83% open including maybe half the Lone Peak runs. Most people will need some Ptex after they ski up there.
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I was there in Jackson & Big Sky in late Feb 2018. Big Sky was reporting a 125-inch base. Still lots of rocks! An East Coast chairlift rider asked me: How can there still be rocks with over a 100-inch base?

Again, it's where Big Sky measures snow, and the wind is removing snow from some areas and depositing it on others.

Big Sky is analogous to some European areas (Zermatt, Monterosa, La Grave, more) in how rocky (shale?) the underlying terrain is and how much snow it takes to cover some of it to make it skiable.
 
Tony Crocker said:
Why is LCC's snowpack holding up well? Long term Alta water content average is 8.2%. This year so far it's 12.4%, not far off Mammoth's 13.1%
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My brother was at the Winter Sports Market trade show (North America's largest ) in SLC and did some gear testing at Brighton for 2 days.

Said BCC/Brighton was covered, well enough, but incredibly hard and somewhat icy. Almost impossible to test Big Mountain and Freeride skis. Even All Mountain.

The locals are abstaining from skiing, complaining. He took a slightly more optimistic view: 'You have some snow!' And are a bit spoiled most years.
 
ChrisC said:
I was there in Jackson & Big Sky in late Feb 2018. Big Sky was reporting a 125-inch base. Still lots of rocks! An East Coast chairlift rider asked me: How can there still be rocks with over a 100-inch base?

Again, it's where Big Sky measures snow, and the wind is removing snow from some areas and depositing it on others.

Big Sky is analogous to some European areas (Zermatt, Monterosa, La Grave, more) in how rocky (shale?) the underlying terrain is and how much snow it takes to cover some of it to make it skiable.
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Big Sky also has a unique rocks called andesite that is sharp like shale, but hard like granite. It also cuts like a knife. When I worked in a medical there in December 2002, I recall suturing many lacerations from those rocks.
 
Alta is still skiing surprisingly well...the whole place is open...very dry chalky snow. Backside is the go to...
Have to make the best of it...
 
kingslug said:
Alta is still skiing surprisingly well.
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Interesting, haven't we been hearing complaints from Snowbird, or maybe that was just BCC which doesn't have quite as favorable altitude (Solitude) or exposure (Brighton)? Jimk is home from Europe, we should hear more about Snowbird soon. Mammoth is skiing well too, but I've seen this scenario (midwinter drought but with a decent snowpack) there several times.
 
From Snowbrains which I always take with some skepticism:

"Utah’s snowpack has fallen to its lowest levels on record for this point in the season, with nearly half of the state’s monitoring sites now reporting all-time lows, according to data shared by KSL News. As of February 1, 67 of Utah’s 139 snowpack measuring sites are at their lowest levels ever recorded for the October 1-February 1 period since statewide tracking began in 1981. When averaged statewide, snowpack sits at just 57 percent of normal, making this the weakest start to winter Utah has seen in the modern record."
 
The whining I'm hearing the most from Utah Ski Divas is from those who live in the Ogden Valley. These are people who moved to Utah from either the west coast or east coast because of the mountains for skiing and other recreational activities.
 
Heading to Snowbird next Thursday evening. Looking positive. I'd have. canceled if it was going to be dry and just gone to Mammoth.

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