Western North America Conditions 2025/26

[Tony Crocker]

Schweitzer is going to get more rain than snow out of current storms. Mammoth is in far better shape right now.

If you're willing to bite the bullet on the late airfares, Banff really looks like the right choice.

(spoiled LA resident who never has connections)

I wish. It's not true when you want to ski the Alps. Also often not true when you want to use FF miles. I think the areas where we get the best break having direct flights from LAX are Asia and the South Pacific. For flights that long, it's extra appreciated not having to make a connection. It's the mirror image of James' convenience traveling to Europe from NYC metro.

 

[sibhusky]

Whitefish 48% open on 17-37 inch base (perhaps Sibhusky can comment)

I've skied two days and it was a mixed bag on both due to conditions. The last two days I skipped due to rain. Back at it tomorrow.

It's been very warm so far and yet I know that every single year that we have a ragged opening, somehow it's fine for the Christmas visitors and then they hit it hard everywhere and after they leave there's this drought that seems to occur and we're skiing on really beat conditions that we didn't help create..Grrr.

So I just recognize that this is the pattern and in a few weeks it'll be fine. It's good for me to get back to my Pocono roots now and then. Helps keep me on my toes.

 

[berkshireskier]

I’m fine with the really cold, I’ve skied in Jackson on -10-20F days and snowbird below 0. Easy to just buy all sorts of nice stuff, including my nice heated gloves that are truly amazing. Issue for us is the kids. We buy them stuff but it’s just not reasonable to get them everything they need for that cold given we don’t often encounter it and they’ll grow out of it.

Right now I’m just going to wait and see, like Tony said, a week out we should know temps and I’m fine buying more expensive airfare or even with a connection (spoiled LA resident who never has connections).

Another idea looking at open snow, Schweitzer. Thoughts? I’d obviously hold out till last minute but I have been there and think the kids would really like the moderate steeps and tree runs.

View attachment 48258

What brand of heated gloves do you own? As I have gotten older, my hands (fingers, especially) get cold much faster and I'm considering buyting heated gloves (I don't like mittens). I've read reviews of many different gloves but it seems like there are always mixed reviews on almost all of the heated gloves.

 

[socal]

I bought the Outdoor Research Prevail heated gloves. Link Here, I think I got them on sale but they're really great. They did break at the end of my second season, one of the rubber "buttons" you use to control them stopped working but they replaced them free of charge. You need to be thoughtful with the amount you use them, so i'll turn them up to high to warm up, then either off or low for long periods. The battery is just not large enough to run them on a long ski day. With that said, they're awesome.

 

[Tony Crocker]

Today's progress report is hopefully the low point of the season. How bad is it? Overall not uniformly bad in all regions like two years ago, but the worst regions are more extreme. As we know the Northeast is having a huge start and western Canada is above average. The regions currently as bad as benchmark 1976-77 are Utah and the washed out PNW. The Northwest may be in line for some big dumps over the next two weeks. However, Crystal and Stevens have road damage from the recent flooding that could take some time to repair. Tahoe and most of Colorado will be awful for the holidays but both regions have had at least three other seasons with comparable starts. Targhee at 63% open is second lowest mid-December percent in the past 30 years. I suspect it will get close to 100% by Christmas with storms over the next week, even if those storms rain at lower areas.

 

[jasoncapecod]

there is a real possibility that it might rain to the top of alta on xmas day. The warm up is impressive

 

[jamesdeluxe]

there is a real possibility that it might rain to the top of alta on xmas day. The warm up is impressive

I've mentioned before experiencing one of those in January 2003; however, 1.5 feet fell the following day.

 

[jasoncapecod]

I've mentioned before experiencing one of those in January 2003; however, 1.5 feet fell the following day.

not this time

 

[Tony Crocker]

there is a real possibility that it might rain to the top of alta on xmas day. The warm up is impressive

Where are you getting this? AI? OpenSnow Utah forecast one hour ago is here. Current snow Utah level is 9,000+ but storm is mostly farther north so even above 9K it will be 3-6 inches max. The storm this weekend is expected to have snow level 8,000 feet with Utah once again on the southern edge and getting no more than a foot at highest elevations. The snow level is expected to remain at 8,000 feet (Alta's base is 8,500) until Christmas, then start dropping. No numbers are quoted that far out but from the graph below of Alta 8,700 feet you can see it is expected to produce much more snow than the previous marginal storms.

In no way do I suggest that Utah skiing is worth even considering before January. Whenever that first big dump happens, snow stability will be awful and it will take days to get terrain open safely.

The issue in Utah is that the November storm was too far south and most of December's too far north. There are indeed many rain horror stories over the past month: Oregon snowfall so far has been a mind-blowing 2 inches at Bachelor and 5 at Mt. Hood, both of which average over 100 by this time. Also not open yet is Brundage (snowave, know if that is a record?). Washington has had more snow than Oregon but so much rain that no one is open and the roads to Crystal and Stevens are damaged. Schweitzer is 1% open. Lookout Pass has had 90 inches of snow but it rained 8 inches last week and damaged the snowpack enough to shut down the area. Even with the continuous storminess in Canada, lower altitudes have gotten a lot of rain. Red Mt. is not open and Fernie only 22% open. The Tetons have been rained upon to 8,500 feet a couple of times this month too. Perhaps it's a blessing that Utah remained dry during those events.

 

[jasoncapecod]

Where are you getting this? AI? OpenSnow Utah forecast one hour ago is here. Current snow Utah level is 9,000+ but storm is mostly farther north so even above 9K it will be 3-6 inches max. The storm this weekend is expected to have snow level 8,000 feet with Utah once again on the southern edge and getting no more than a foot at highest elevations. The snow level is expected to remain at 8,000 feet (Alta's base is 8,500) until Christmas, then start dropping. No numbers are quoted that far out but from the graph below of Alta 8,700 feet you can see it is expected to produce much more snow than the previous marginal storms.


View attachment 48325
In no way do I suggest that Utah skiing is worth even considering before January. Whenever that first big dump happens, snow stability will be awful and it will take days to get terrain open safely.

Euro and gfs
Freezing levels are very high
All that said, it still is a week away

 

[Tony Crocker]

Freezing levels are very high

Now, and abnormally so. Why would anyone expect them to stay this high for a week at this time of year without a specific forecast predicting that? The predictions say the rain/snow line will be higher than average but below Alta's base by this weekend, which is within the range of credible weather forecasts. Even currently the statement

there is a real possibility that it might rain to the top of alta on xmas day.

is bizarre considering the top of Alta is 10,500 and current rain/snow line is 9,000.

Euro and gfs

are among the sources of that 51 run ensemble graph I posted above.

 

[socal]

Mammoth is starting to look like an option for the week after new years if the christmas storm delivers. Also, Schweitzer could be too. I'll just wait obviously, but some options looking up. Mammoth would be the convenience call for sure.

 

[Tony Crocker]

Schweitzer is sitting at ground zero with 1% open now. Mammoth will ski very well with just a couple feet more new snow, though probably needs more than that to open chair 22.

Banff is even better than we discussed last week with 3 feet of snow since then. A 4-5 foot base at those places before Christmas is very rare.

 

[socal]

True, so it looks like Mammoth if its good, if not Banff if it's not <0, if not, a beach.