North America Weekly Roundup #269

Pacific Northwest Dominates Snow Stats: 5 Feet of Fresh Powder Ushers in La Niña Winter

• East Coast Rebounds: After delays from a warm fall, snowfall has revitalized the East, with Killington ready to host the Women's FIS World Cup and Sugar Mountain kicking off in North Carolina.
• Thanksgiving Surge: Major ski areas like Aspen Snowmass, Mammoth Mountain, and Whistler Blackcomb have launched early, thanks to heavy snowfalls and La Niña conditions.
• Record Openings: The U.S. Rockies now boast over a dozen ski areas open, led by Colorado, while the Pacific Northwest is seeing the deepest snow in the world with 5 feet of powder in some spots.

North America Overview

Most of North America's leading resorts have opened already, with those in the US or catering to the US destination market putting in an extra push to do so for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, which is just getting started. The past week has seen significant fronts push in from the West and East coasts, bringing some significant snowfalls for some and colder temperatures for others. This has been particularly welcomed on the eastern side of the continent, where a previously warm fall caused issues and delayed target opening dates, although more centers have opened there this week too. The Pacific Northwest continues to post the most impressive snowfall stats, with some centers opening with five feet (1.5m) or more of snow lying up top already—the most in the world to date in terms of fresh accumulations.

Rockies Report

Not a lot of fresh snowfall in the southern half of the region, but still almost all positive news from the Rockies with more centers starting their seasons, some, like Aspen Snowmass, going a few days earlier than planned and crediting several feet (60cm) of pre-season snowfall over the past few weeks. Colorado now has more than a dozen centers open, more than any other state, province, or region, and whilst most have only opened limited terrain so far, Wolf Creek (26/28” / 64/69cm), which was the first ski area to open with natural snowfall in North America a month ago, is the first to report every one of its slopes is now open for the season. Big-name resorts including Alta (15/20” / 38/50cm) opened in Utah, and Park City Mountain (16/16” / 41/41cm), America's largest ski resort, also opened for its 24-25 run.

Rockies Forecast

Temperatures will remain below freezing at ski areas, just about, day and night, with the numbers going low enough for more snowmaking. There are some natural snowfalls in the forecast too.

West Coast Report

More ski areas have been opening along the West Coast, with half a dozen Californian ski areas now open, as well as iconic Oregon ski areas including Mt. Bachelor (38/57” / 95/142cm) and, up in Washington State, Mt. Baker, which has the reputation for getting the most snow in North America (and the world). Mt. Baker is looking forward to a bumper season with the La Niña forecast. In California, Heavenly (10/20” / 25/50cm) and Northstar (10/22" / 25/55cm) both opened early ahead of a much-heralded 'atmospheric river' of weather that started moving in off the Pacific. They join Mammoth Mountain (72/76" / 80/90cm), among others. Timberline (12/64" / 30/160cm) is currently posting the deepest base in North America and the second-deepest in the world, just behind Switzerland's year-round ski area above Zermatt. It's worth noting that all the Pacific Northwest ski areas have opened with the healthiest fresh snow levels in the world, a likely testament to the early influence of La Niña. The numbers are a little less spectacular further south in California.

West Coast Forecast

Temperatures will range from the high teens to low 40s Fahrenheit in the West, with a mix of light to moderate snow showers and sunshine in the southern part of the region, then colder, with less sunshine and more snowfall further north.

Midwest Report

The ‘weather bomb’ that hit the northeastern US last week did bring the first snowfall to ski slopes in the Midwest after the warm, wet conditions that have dominated much of the fall so far. Several resorts reported some snow on the ground and temperatures cold enough for snowmaking, although for some, that didn't last long as things warmed up again. However, Minnesota’s Andes Tower Hills (4/4" / 10/10cm) declared itself open at the weekend, with a thin covering of rather wet-looking snow it reported as being 'early season conditions' and suited to advanced skiers only.

Midwest Forecast

Hopefully, a promising picture for the latter half of this week, with temperatures set to tip more consistently into below-freezing territory after wavering on either side through November. There's also some snowfall in the forecast. Hopefully, this combination will allow more centers in the region to finally open.

East Coast Report

There’s been some snowfall in the East from a ‘weather bomb’ that moved in from the northeast, which has raised spirits after a number of areas, including Sugarbush in Vermont, announced they had to delay planned opening dates due to the too-warm-for-snowmaking conditions that have dominated much of fall. New York State's Whiteface was among the areas posting a 10" (25cm) accumulation on Friday, transforming things for the better. At 

Killington, there's a lot of excitement ahead of the resort hosting the next round of the women's 24-25 FIS World Cup this weekend, with Mikaela Shiffrin closing in on her 100th win. It got the FIS go-ahead at the end of last week to stage the races, with officials saying conditions are good. In the south of the region, Sugar Mountain Ski Resort in Avery County, North Carolina, opened at the weekend too after 7” of natural snowfall there. However, the news isn't all good; in Massachusetts, Ski Butternut closed at the weekend as a 1,300-acre wildfire that started last Thursday burns nearby.

East Coast Forecast

A promising-looking end to the week with temperatures dipping down to the low 20s Fahrenheit and snowfall, sometimes heavy, in the forecast through to the start of December on Sunday.

Western Canada Forecast

Good early-season conditions continue in Western Canada, with low temperatures and more snowfall taking some areas to the 3m/10 feet season snowfall to date figure. Safety experts, though, are warning of above-average avalanche danger already and advising skiers to stick only to officially open terrain. After Alberta hogged the headlines in terms of open resorts, the focus has switched to BC with the first centers open, including North America’s largest, Whistler Blackcomb (0/131cm / 0/51”), which opened earlier than planned last Thursday, thanks to nearly 90 inches (228cm) of recent snowfall and the hard work of its snowmaking and grooming teams. The resort kicked off the season with more than 620 acres and quickly expanded its footprint to more than 1,935 acres on Friday. Other early-openers included Big White and Silver Star (40/60cm / 16/24”), starting their lifts a week early, crediting the great early conditions. Sun Peaks opened as planned on Saturday though, with all lifts open, including the new West Bowl Express. 70+ runs were available from day one, and all of the resort’s Nordic trails were open, groomed, and track-set. It wasn’t all about BC though. Back in Alberta, Marmot Basin had an emotional season start after the trauma of the Jasper National Park fire earlier in the year, which at one point threatened its existence.

Western Canada Forecast

Staying cold, typically in the -5 to -15°C range, but also fairly dry for the latter half of the week, with a mixture of sunny and overcast conditions.

Eastern Canada Report

After the warm weather that's dominated eastern Canada and led to some centers delaying opening plans, it has been a cold week for most areas, with temperatures in the -5 to -15°C range allowing snowmaking systems to fire up. The region's largest resort, Quebec's Mont Tremblant, set its opening date back from last Friday, the 22nd, to this Thursday, the 28th, but now appears to be good to go. Sommet St. Sauveur is open, albeit with limited terrain so far, the first in the East.

Eastern Canada Forecast

It’s looking fairly promising for the latter half of this week and into the start of December, with cold temperatures, lows around -5°C, and light to moderate snowfalls in the forecast.