Western North America Conditions 2025/26

Tony Crocker · Saturday at 3:06 AM

Moving west in Colorado, the data from the earlier seasons is sketchy. Accordingly I compare two independent weather sites to ski areas not too far away that are 75-80% correlated.

Gothic and Aspen

Gothic	Nov.	Dec.	Jan.	Feb.	Mar.	Apr.			Max Base
76-77	22.50	7.00	35.00	26.50	41.00	30.50	162.50		24.20
80-81	22.00	28.50	19.00	21.50	55.50	28.00	174.50		27.80
11-12	39.00	14.00	67.00	64.00	15.00	23.00	222.00		40.90
17-18	22.00	21.70	29.90	44.50	22.00	29.90	170.00		36.60
25-26	8.50	39.50	31.00	31.00	22.00	27.00	159.00		35.80


Aspen	15-Dec	31-Dec	15-Jan	31-Jan	14-Feb	28-Feb	15-Mar	31-Mar
11-12	48%	65%	72%	88%	94%	98%	100%	78%	52.00
17-18	13%	34%	53%	67%	72%	98%	100%	98%	58.00
25-26	14%	42%	82%	84%	87%	92%	84%	29%	42.00

Aspen did better with open terrain in 2025-26 than any of the areas I examined farther east in Colorado. I say both 1976-77 and 1980-81 were worse. Look at those meager maximum base depths and the first 4 months of snowfall at Gothic.

Red Mt. Pass and Telluride

Red Mt. Pass	Nov.	Dec.	Jan.	Feb.	Mar.	Apr.			Max Base
76-77	17.50	5.50	37.50	30.50	24.50
80-81	19.00	21.00	12.00		77.00	17.20
17-18	7.50	9.50	57.50	66.00	26.00	25.00	191.50
25-26	17.00	32.00	32.00	44.00	11.00	25.00	161.00


Telluride	15-Dec	31-Dec	15-Jan	31-Jan	14-Feb	28-Feb	15-Mar	31-Mar
17-18	7%	11%	19%	51%	64%	79%	76%	71%	45.00
25-26	5%	13%	52%	83%	83%	84%	81%	23%	41.00

2017-18 was worst for open terrain with the dreadful Nov/Dec. I'd guess that 1976-77 was a similar start and worst overall. If April 1977 was as much as average at Red Mt. Pass (which it was not at Gothic or Taos), 1976-77 would still be its driest season by a considerable margin.

Taos

	Nov.	Dec.	Jan.	Feb.	Mar.	Apr.			Max Base
76-77	30.00	22.00	52.00	19.00	19.00	4.00	146.00
80-81	42.00	5.00	16.00	3.50	53.50	20.00	140.00
01-02	31.00	48.00	36.00	16.50	14.00	1.00	146.50
05-06	16.00	8.00	24.00	9.00	85.00	10.00	152.00		53.50
17-18	10.00	7.00	16.25	33.00	15.25	10.50	92.00		23.00
24-25	33.00	3.50	26.25	9.00	26.50	14.00	112.25		41.00
25-26	7.00	17.00	24.60	22.50	0.50	16.00	87.60		35.00

	15-Dec	31-Dec	15-Jan	31-Jan	14-Feb	28-Feb	15-Mar	31-Mar
05-06	10%	25%	28%	50%	60%	50%	90%	90%
17-18	8%	12%	16%	23%	25%	44%	41%	41%
24-25	17%	21%	38%	58%	58%	64%	75%	46%
25-26	13%	17%	49%	76%	80%	75%	70%	0%

By all measures 2017-18 is clearly Taos' worst season. Why was this year better with similar snowfall? I'd speculate that the snow had more water content as evidenced by the higher max base depth. Telluride may have benefited similarly. 1976-77 and 1980-81 weren't good but they were not as severe as at many places.

Tony Crocker · Saturday at 5:10 AM

ChrisC said:
I don't know how well Jackson Hole and Grand Targhee skied during mid-winter, but they might have provided some competition at times.

Jackson

								snowfall	snowfall
	Nov.	Dec.	Jan.	Feb.	Mar.	Apr.		at mid	at base
76-77	8.00	28.50	60.00	29.00	42.50	22.00		190.00	83.00
80-81	38.00	67.00	61.00	44.00	23.00	2.00		235.00
86-87	57.00	16.50	65.00	50.60	33.70	9.20		232.00	97.10
06-07	44.00	57.00	26.00	64.00	11.00	35.00		237.00	83.00
23-24	14.20	38.40	66.30	89.70	75.10	20.30		304.00	154.00
25-26	17.80	76.00	39.30	48.20	23.50	48.30		253.10	84.30


	15-Dec	31-Dec	15-Jan	31-Jan	14-Feb	28-Feb	15-Mar	31-Mar	Max Base
06-07	32%	91%	100%	98%	100%	100%	100%	68%	78.00
23-24	32%	47%	85%	84%	93%	98%	95%	94%	92.00
25-26	23%	60%	88%	89%	85%	88%	76%	57%	85.00

There is no question that 1976-77 is worst for both total snow and early season coverage. Note that in the abnormally warm 2025-26 season snowfall at Jackson's base was nearly as low as in 1976-77, and the reality was probably worse due to a few uncharacteristic rain episodes.

Targhee

	Nov.	Dec.	Jan.	Feb.	Mar.	Apr.
76-77	15.00	64.00	120.00	80.00	68.00	25.00		372.00
86-87	48.00	28.00	85.00	55.00	30.00	6.00		252.00
91-92	52.00	59.00	76.00	48.00	11.00	12.00		258.00
25-26	21.00	76.00	53.00	62.00	26.00	79.00		317.00

	15-Dec	31-Dec	15-Jan	31-Jan	14-Feb	28-Feb	15-Mar	31-Mar
25-26	63%	92%	94%	95%	93%	93%	93%	91%

Not much to see here. Shown above are Targhee's only seasons under 300 inches. Was Targhee 90+% open Dec. 31 in 1976 and 1986? We don't know for sure but probably at least 75% and close to 100% by mid-January. Targhee had 63 inches snowfall as of Dec. 15, 2025 and was 63% open. Any other ski area would love to have those 1986-87 numbers be its worst season.

Tony Crocker · Saturday at 6:06 AM

Interior Northwest data is minimal in the farther back years. But the main story in 2025-26 was too much rain. Whitefish's location farther inland and a bit higher than other areas made a big difference.

2025 - 26 % open	15-Dec	24-Dec	31-Dec	15-Jan	31-Jan	14-Feb	28-Feb	15-Mar	31-Mar	max base
Schweitzer	1%	3%	41%	47%	55%	55%	99%	99%	50%	33.00
Whitefish	55%	92%	92%	95%	95%	90%	93%	97%	81%	58.00

Schweitzer reported a 20 inch base on Feb. 14. Surely Whitefish got an attendance bump from skiers fleeing its marginal competition. Most of the interior NW was bad. Mt. Spokane barely opened. The highest snowfall area, Lookout Pass, got over 300 inches of snow but its base never exceeded 43 inches due to so much rain.

jamesdeluxe · Saturday at 12:13 PM

@EMSC's strategy of putting pins in the I-70 voodoo doll panned out. He couldn't have better planned a season to sit out.

MarzNC · Saturday at 4:31 PM

Tony Crocker said:
Taos

[]Nov.[/] []Dec.[/] []Jan.[/] []Feb.[/] []Mar.[/] []Apr.[/] []Max Base[/]
[]76-77[/] []30.00[/] []22.00[/] []52.00[/] []19.00[/] []19.00[/] []4.00[/] []146.00[/]
[]80-81[/] []42.00[/] []5.00[/] []16.00[/] []3.50[/] []53.50[/] []20.00[/] []140.00[/]
[]01-02[/] []31.00[/] []48.00[/] []36.00[/] []16.50[/] []14.00[/] []1.00[/] []146.50[/]
[]05-06[/] []16.00[/] []8.00[/] []24.00[/] []9.00[/] []85.00[/] []10.00[/] []152.00[/] []53.50[/]
[]17-18[/] []10.00[/] []7.00[/] []16.25[/] []33.00[/] []15.25[/] []10.50[/] []92.00[/] []23.00[/]
[]24-25[/] []33.00[/] []3.50[/] []26.25[/] []9.00[/] []26.50[/] []14.00[/] []112.25[/] []41.00[/]
[]25-26[/] []7.00[/] []17.00[/] []24.60[/] []22.50[/] []0.50[/] []16.00[/] []87.60[/] []35.00[/]
[]15-Dec[/] []31-Dec[/] []15-Jan[/] []31-Jan[/] []14-Feb[/] []28-Feb[/] []15-Mar[/] []31-Mar[/]
[]05-06[/] []10%[/] []25%[/] []28%[/] []50%[/] []60%[/] []50%[/] []90%[/] []90%[/]
[]17-18[/] []8%[/] []12%[/] []16%[/] []23%[/] []25%[/] []44%[/] []41%[/] []41%[/]
[]24-25[/] []17%[/] []21%[/] []38%[/] []58%[/] []58%[/] []64%[/] []75%[/] []46%[/]
[]25-26[/] []13%[/] []17%[/] []49%[/] []76%[/] []80%[/] []75%[/] []70%[/] []0%[/]

By all measures 2017-18 is clearly Taos' worst season. Why was this year better with similar snowfall? I'd speculate that the snow had more water content as evidenced by the higher max base depth.

Here's my take based on experience during a few of the Taos low snow seasons. My first trip to Taos was in early Feb 2017, when the relatively new Kachina lift was already open because there was plenty of snow. I've been going almost every year since then in January or February. For me, the reason to return initially was the Taos Ski Week program, not the advanced/expert terrain.

2018 was the second season I skied at Taos and I opted to go for two non-consecutive trips to do two Taos Ski Weeks. I was at Taos in mid-Jan 2018 when intermediate friends wanted to go and returned in early Feb for a second Ski Week when advanced friends planned a trip to TSV. Even by early Feb there was no black terrain open at all due to low snowfall. The only bumps worth using for teaching an advanced Ski Week were on the side of a blue groomer. Lift 4 never opened that week. Whether that was due to low snow or to limit the staffing needed wasn't ever clear. I was just starting to feel confident enough to enjoy skiing Taos black terrain so it didn't make that much difference. Meaning I learned more than enough during the morning lessons in an advanced group to make the trip worthwhile.

The Taos trip in the third week of Feb 2025 was actually less fun than Jan 2018 in some ways, mostly due to expecting better snow conditions off-piste. The warm temps in Jan, including rain, meant that there was New England style ice to contend with under any new snow on the blues and off-piste essentially all of Feb. When it did snow in Feb, the steeper terrain couldn't hold snow that well. I'd become a better skier in the previous 5-6 years, so still enjoyed a few runs in off-piste that I'd come to know well such as Upper Hunziker and going through the Rabbit Hole gate. However, it wasn't worth doing laps in that sort of terrain. In the middle of that trip, I went to Wolf Creek and enjoyed much better snow.

As for 2026, by late Feb there was plenty of black/double-black terrain open at TSV. The temps stayed cold in late January and in February so when it did snow, that snow added to the base. That's why Kachina could open the last week of Feb with plenty of coverage. In general, NM did better than Colorado or Utah. Of course, the heat wave and lack of snowfall in March messed up the western ski resorts in general.

Tony Crocker · 2026-05-04T01:37:34+0100

The Pacific Northwest was not immune to the still worst ever early season drought of 1976-77.

76-77	Nov.	Dec.	Jan.	Feb.	Mar.	Apr.			max base
Whistler			15.35	64.57	94.09	29.13
Snoqualmie	2.00	19.00	23.00	35.00	112.00	0.00		191.00
Paradise	7.00	34.20	25.50	11.00	180.50	36.00		294.20	122.00
Bachelor	5.00	5.00	32.00	11.00	88.00	5.00	0.00	146.00	81.00
Crater Lake	5.50	11.30	30.00	52.50	83.50	8.50		191.30	64.00

As with Vail, there is no reason to believe the missing Nov/Dec 1976 at Whistler had much snow. Whistler finally got going in February and the whole region had a good late season.

04-05	Nov.	Dec.	Jan.	Feb.	Mar.	Apr.			max base
Whistler	31.00	51.00	16.00	18.00	56.00	78.00	18.00	268.00	86.00
Stevens Pass	20.00	45.00	33.00	28.00	51.00	27.00		204.00
Snoqualmie	19.00	57.00	35.00	23.00	65.00	15.00		214.00
Paradise	44.00	77.00	45.00	38.50	96.25	62.25		363.00	95.00
Hood Mdws	13.00	38.00	39.00	28.00	42.00	30.00		190.00	61.00
Bachelor	10.00	54.00	32.00	20.00	54.00	24.00		194.00	83.00
Crater Lake	17.10	74.00	68.20	19.30	76.00	41.80		296.40	91.00

04-05	15-Dec	31-Dec	15-Jan	31-Jan	14-Feb	28-Feb	15-Mar	31-Mar
Whistler	60%	72%	78%	55%	85%	85%	60%	85%
Stevens Pass		open	open	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	reopen
Crystal Mt.	45%	43%	41%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	90%
Hood Mdws	30%	65%	100%	0%	80%	80%	50%	78%
Bachelor	70%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%

2004-05 snowfall numbers are not as low as 1976-77, but the open terrain tells the big story of the season, the late January Tropical Punch 4 days of torrential rain. This was at least as severe as what happened in the Sierra late February 2026. At lower elevations it wiped out the snowpack and shut down skiing, with not much revival due to a dry February and first half of March. Only in late March and April was enough new snow to rebuild the base. The Tropical Punch did not reach as far south as Mt. Bachelor, so it had a decent season despite low snowfall.

Tony Crocker · 2026-05-04T01:37:56+0100

14-15	Nov.	Dec.	Jan.	Feb.	Mar.	Apr.			max base
Whistler	52.00	63.00	39.00	31.00	48.00	27.00	4.00	264.00	77.00
Stevens Pass	44.00	40.00	43.00	13.00	16.00	28.00		184.00	39.00
Snoqualmie	24.00	34.00	16.00	6.00	4.00	20.00		104.00
Paradise	28.00	78.00	35.20	39.30	24.80	41.60		246.90	85.00
Hood Mdws	38.00	76.00	16.50	17.00	23.00	24.00		194.50	55.00
Bachelor	54.00	69.00	11.00	29.00	17.00	20.00	1.00	201.00	53.00
Crater Lake	59.40	33.10	7.10	30.90	22.90	38.00		191.40	42.00

14-15	15-Dec	31-Dec	15-Jan	31-Jan	14-Feb	28-Feb	15-Mar	31-Mar
Whistler	40%	80%	81%	81%	76%	79%	79%	75%	75%
Stevens Pass	0%	45%	41%	69%	73%	69%	0%	0%	0%
Crystal Mt.	0%	100%	100%	54%	21%	40%	20%	20%	20%
Hood Mdws	0%	69%	57%	57%	69%	64%	47%	38%	38%
Bachelor	43%	40%	40%	68%	65%	54%	54%	54%	54%

Many of the 2014-15 snowfall numbers are comparable to 1976-77. And while it didn't have the extreme early drought, it had repeated rain episodes, so often that rarely were any of these areas in full operation. As a result the low elevations melted out in March. Mt. Baker closed the same time Stevens Pass did. Overall this is a strong candidate for the worst Pacific Northwest season.

25-26	Nov.	Dec.	Jan.	Feb.	Mar.	Apr.			max base
Whistler	35.43	98.03	57.09	58.27	38.98	22.00		309.80	93.00
Stevens Pass	22.00	103.00	62.00	35.00	113.00	27.00		362.00	109.00
Snoqualmie	10.00	56.00	38.00	20.00	74.00	16.00		214.00
Rainier	35.70	80.70	68.40	60.90	114.00	49.00		408.70	144.00
Hood Mdws	5.00	40.00	46.00	58.00	57.00	37.00		243.00	89.00
Bachelor	2.00	38.00	33.00	50.00	24.00	47.00		194.00	47.00
Crater Lake	9.60	53.60	44.70	52.80	9.00	46.90		216.60	51.00

25-26	15-Dec	31-Dec	15-Jan	31-Jan	14-Feb	28-Feb	15-Mar	31-Mar
Whistler	35%	88%	79%	83%	87%	90%	91%	92%	88%
Stevens Pass	0%	94%	74%	67%	62%	62%	86%	84%	75%
Crystal Mt.	0%	66%	35%	26%	47%	56%	50%	47%	42%
Hood Mdws	0%	48%	70%	57%	70%	69%	100%	46%	50%
Bachelor	0%	56%	60%	62%	70%	70%	71%	56%	40%

2025-26 was probably as rainy as 2014-15, but there was much more snow from Mt. Hood north. The rain and ensuing bad surfaces made full operation rare, but the low elevation snowpacks did not get wiped out as early as in 2005 and 2015. Mt. Bachelor was as bad as in 2015. The Whistler alpine is clearly the most resilient part of the region during these warm seasons. I had excellent Whistler trips myself in late March/early April of both 2005 and 2015. But I also had an ill-timed Canada trip right after the 2005 Tropical Punch.

EMSC · 2026-05-04T16:57:01+0100

Not that there is much of anything open, but ABasin literally during the day yesterday decided that they will re-open for Fri-Sun May 8-10. A LOT of that has to do with recent cool storms leaving moderate amounts of new snow plus an expected big storm again this week Tues-Wed should provide enough new snow for one final week on the final couple of trails.

MarzNC · 2026-05-04T19:21:04+0100

EMSC said:
Not that there is much of anything open, but ABasin literally during the day yesterday decided that they will re-open for Fri-Sun May 8-10. A LOT of that has to do with recent cool storms leaving moderate amounts of new snow plus an expected big storm again this week Tues-Wed should provide enough new snow for one final week on the final couple of trails.

For Mother's Day, my impression is that it never really matters how little terrain is open.

Skieric · 2026-05-04T20:38:25+0100

Sunshine Village appears to have added another season. Plans to reopen for summer skiing June 20-July 5.

Tony Crocker · 2026-05-05T05:12:56+0100

Skieric said:
Sunshine Village appears to have added another season. Plans to reopen for summer skiing June 20-July 5.

Conversely, Timberline has announced its closing date will be July 19, first ever before August. It closed Aug. 18 in 2005 and Aug. 2 in 2015. A SnowBrains article from 2015 implies that at that time those were the only two failures to make it to Labor Day. Patrick skied Timberline in Septembers of 2006, 2013, 2014, 2017 and 2019. Timberline closed Aug. 30 in 2020 and mid-August every year since. Summers must be hotter because Hood Meadows averaged 483 inches snowfall from 2021-2025. And see above that 2025-26 snowfall of 243 inches is not as low as 190 in 2004-05 or 194.5 in 2014-15.

Alyeska's 213 inches mid-mountain in 2025-26 is 3rd lowest in 46 years of data. 393 inches at top of Alyeska lift service is THE record low.

Western North America Conditions 2025/26

Tony Crocker

Administrator

Tony Crocker

Administrator

Tony Crocker

Administrator

jamesdeluxe

Administrator

MarzNC

Active member

Tony Crocker

Administrator

Tony Crocker

Administrator

EMSC

Well-known member

MarzNC

Active member

Skieric

Active member

Tony Crocker

Administrator

[]Nov.[/]	[]Dec.[/]	[]Jan.[/]	[]Feb.[/]	[]Mar.[/]	[]Apr.[/]	[]Max Base[/]
[]76-77[/]	[]30.00[/]	[]22.00[/]	[]52.00[/]	[]19.00[/]	[]19.00[/]	[]4.00[/]	[]146.00[/]
[]80-81[/]	[]42.00[/]	[]5.00[/]	[]16.00[/]	[]3.50[/]	[]53.50[/]	[]20.00[/]	[]140.00[/]
[]01-02[/]	[]31.00[/]	[]48.00[/]	[]36.00[/]	[]16.50[/]	[]14.00[/]	[]1.00[/]	[]146.50[/]
[]05-06[/]	[]16.00[/]	[]8.00[/]	[]24.00[/]	[]9.00[/]	[]85.00[/]	[]10.00[/]	[]152.00[/]	[]53.50[/]
[]17-18[/]	[]10.00[/]	[]7.00[/]	[]16.25[/]	[]33.00[/]	[]15.25[/]	[]10.50[/]	[]92.00[/]	[]23.00[/]
[]24-25[/]	[]33.00[/]	[]3.50[/]	[]26.25[/]	[]9.00[/]	[]26.50[/]	[]14.00[/]	[]112.25[/]	[]41.00[/]
[]25-26[/]	[]7.00[/]	[]17.00[/]	[]24.60[/]	[]22.50[/]	[]0.50[/]	[]16.00[/]	[]87.60[/]	[]35.00[/]
[]15-Dec[/]	[]31-Dec[/]	[]15-Jan[/]	[]31-Jan[/]	[]14-Feb[/]	[]28-Feb[/]	[]15-Mar[/]	[]31-Mar[/]
[]05-06[/]	[]10%[/]	[]25%[/]	[]28%[/]	[]50%[/]	[]60%[/]	[]50%[/]	[]90%[/]	[]90%[/]
[]17-18[/]	[]8%[/]	[]12%[/]	[]16%[/]	[]23%[/]	[]25%[/]	[]44%[/]	[]41%[/]	[]41%[/]
[]24-25[/]	[]17%[/]	[]21%[/]	[]38%[/]	[]58%[/]	[]58%[/]	[]64%[/]	[]75%[/]	[]46%[/]
[]25-26[/]	[]13%[/]	[]17%[/]	[]49%[/]	[]76%[/]	[]80%[/]	[]75%[/]	[]70%[/]	[]0%[/]