Western North America Conditions 2025/26

Sbooker said:
So the top picture is Kachina from a distance. I can't see the lift towers at all?
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Here's a picture of Kachina Peak before it was opened for hiking. There are obviously more towers below and above the three I marked with rectangles. The circle is the top of the lift. The least difficult way down is on the other side of the lift. The summit is over 12,000 ft. Even after acclimating for a few days at 9000 ft, you definitely feel the difference after getting off the lift.

Given the wind was picking up today, not likely that the Kachina lift will open this week. May not be enough cover on the areas that most people ski after riding the lift.

Kachina Peak view from near Lift 4 top, February 21, 2026
TSV Kachina towers 21Feb2026 - 1.jpeg
 
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Sbooker said:
The second and third pics are the other runs you referred to? The cover in the third pic looks to be great.
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This photo is Upper Hunziker. Snow was still quite nice this afternoon. There are a few exposed rocks on the backside of some bumps. More towards the middle than on the sides. It's been my favorite run this week. Did Lower Hunziker quite a few times since that doesn't require any uphill effort to get into.
TSV 23Feb2026 views - 5.jpeg


I took several of the Ski Divas here for Women's Ski Week to Upper Hunziker right after lunch today. I checked it out in the morning. Still good cold snow. My ski buddies, Bill and Jason, went along too. We've been skiing TSV since 2017.

The women were all first timers to Taos. They are in different lesson groups, but all had been taken to Lower Hunziker already. What you can't see from the Lower Hunziker entrance is the second part of the upper section, which is noticeably steeper.
 
kingslug said:
The snow dried out overnight. Collins side was crunchy but everything else was good.
Catherines was very good
View attachment 49678View attachment 49679View attachment 49680
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I don’t have much experience with rained on snow (that i know of). You’re suggesting snow can be rained on and then dried out to become less dense again? Wind performs this drying out process?
I’m assuming light powder snow can never be transformed back to its lovely original texture once it has been rained on?
 
Sbooker said:
I don’t have much experience with rained on snow (that i know of). You’re suggesting snow can be rained on and then dried out to become less dense again? Wind performs this drying out process?
I’m assuming light powder snow can never be transformed back to its lovely original texture once it has been rained on?
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It can definitely dry out but never goes back to fluffy.
 
Sbooker said:
Wind performs this drying out process?
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Sublimation: when snow evaporates without going through the liquid stage. Low humidity is essential and a light breeze might help. Stronger winds would likely stiffen the rain crust. I saw this at Island Lake in 2003. There was a low elevation rain crust that was about 100 feet lower overnight between one day and the next.
 
kingslug said:
Its the big difference between the east and west.
After a rain or super wet snowfall in the east..
You can see your self the next day..looking down.
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Not always, but it really depends on the timing of when they run the groomers over the snow. When they groom the wet and let it setup overnight, it can be awful. If it dries out before grooming, then it can be much better.
 
MarzNC said:
This photo is Upper Hunziker. Snow was still quite nice this afternoon. There are a few exposed rocks on the backside of some bumps. More towards the middle than on the sides. It's been my favorite run this week. Did Lower Hunziker quite a few times since that doesn't require any uphill effort to get into.
View attachment 49655

I took several of the Ski Divas here for Women's Ski Week to Upper Hunziker right after lunch today. I checked it out in the morning. Still good cold snow. My ski buddies, Bill and Jason, went along too. We've been skiing TSV since 2017.

The women were all first timers to Taos. They are in different lesson groups, but all had been taken to Lower Hunziker already. What you can't see from the Lower Hunziker entrance is the second part of the upper section, which is noticeably steeper.
Click to expand...


So it appears that Taos is still doing the "open to hikers" first before they open the lift, or is it because the base is so low they don't want that many people up there?

When I was there in spring 2019 (after a nice dump + a solid base) I was infuriated that they let hikers go track it up before opening the lift for everyone else. It was my last day, and they never opened it. I complained to the front office, and got an main explanation from someone that it was a situation where when they built the lift, the hikers wanted to still have first dibs before everyone else, so they agreed to open it for a day for hikers, then the next day or so after for the lift. I was still pissed off.... why bother putting a lift in there (that probably only operates a few weeks a year, on avg) if you're not going to operate it and let people hike up for turns.
 
Sbooker said:
This dumb Aussie had no idea that Louisiana or Florida ever got snow. Thanks for sharing.
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Dont go planning winter sports in those areas. There are 2 outliers ski areas, on opposite side of the country, in the very south of the USA. Cloudmont in Alabama and Mt Lemon near Tucson, Arizona. Certainly interesting areas to read about in areas not typically associated with snow.
 
I skied Sol/Bright today, 27 Feb 2026. Started at Solitude, UT and used the connector trail and mostly stuck to groomers. Brighton's trails had softer and better snow, but lots of skier/boarder traffic. Soli was pretty firm in many places except Sunshine Bowl. My first visit to Brighton this season. It was mobbed compared to Soli. Probably the longest mid-day, weekday lines I've seen this season, particularly for a non-powder day. Not terrible though, maybe 10 min max. The parking lot was packed and full of picnickers and grills. Looked like the best of times :-) Anecdotally, I'm hearing that Brighton has decent visit numbers this season compared to many other Utah ski areas, maybe marginally better conditions too? I can only guess that their clientele of youth/boarder crowd, families, night skiers are continuing to stay active even in a low tide season?

Avi debris under Soli Summit chair; where the guy in blue is it might have been 4-5 feet deep, significant!

27 feb 2026 avi debris summit chair soli.jpg


Not sure, but believe the near cliffs in this photo are where a little girl perished in an avalanche last week. Sad, but you can see how close it is to inbounds terrain
avi tragedy terrain brighton 27 feb 2026.jpg


Crest lift line
crest lift line brighton 27 feb 2026.jpg


Soli Eagle chair empty in early afternoon.
eagle chair 145pm soli 27 feb 2026.jpg
 
MarzNC said:
Given the wind was picking up today, not likely that the Kachina lift will open this week. May not be enough cover on the areas that most people ski after riding the lift.
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The Kachina lift opened Feb. 26 per skitaos Instagram, very surprising with the modest 35 inch base.

On a related subject, the North Face of Crested Butte remains closed.
 
Maybe the Spring Breakers are starting to arrive in the Wasatch? Or the locals are starting to burn up their Ikon days, thinking it's now or never??
 
snowave said:
So it appears that Taos is still doing the "open to hikers" first before they open the lift, or is it because the base is so low they don't want that many people up there?

When I was there in spring 2019 (after a nice dump + a solid base) I was infuriated that they let hikers go track it up before opening the lift for everyone else. It was my last day, and they never opened it. I complained to the front office, and got an main explanation from someone that it was a situation where when they built the lift, the hikers wanted to still have first dibs before everyone else, so they agreed to open it for a day for hikers, then the next day or so after for the lift. I was still pissed off.... why bother putting a lift in there (that probably only operates a few weeks a year, on avg) if you're not going to operate it and let people hike up for turns.
Click to expand...
Yep, the process for opening Kachina Peak is based on opening it first for hiking only. That way, the snow is settled in by people who know what they are doing. There have been a few steep areas around the mountain that TSV ski patrol "skier packed" the old fashioned way after the latest snow storm, one ski length at a time.

Many of the Ski Week instructors don't take their students up the Kachina lift the first day it opens. Even when there is plenty of snow up there.

It wasn't that long ago that there were two fatalities because of an avalanche in one of the Chutes (between 2 and 3?). I was there a few days later. Shook everyone up for a while before they groomed out the slide path, which came down onto the groomed area near the top of Lift 4.
 
Tony Crocker said:
The Kachina lift opened Feb. 26 per skitaos Instagram, very surprising with the modest 35 inch base.
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I have friends who skied it that day. A few for the first time. They went with people who could guide them into the areas with minimal exposed rock. All said the snow was good.

That day I and Olesya were having a great time skiing Wolf Creek. No worry about exposed rocks. Spring skiing conditions, so it was more fun after lunch was more areas had softened snow. Still cold snow in certain places off the ridge.
 
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