As Northwest snowpack grows, ski resorts open early

Fresh white powder falling onto Northwest mountaintops last month created the perfect conditions for several ski resorts to open early this season.

“This was Brundage Mountain’s earliest opening in 19 years, and second earliest opening in four decades,” said April Whitney, a spokesperson for Brundage Mountain Resort in McCall, Idaho. “We have 100% of our lifts in operation and almost every run open.”

Northern Idaho’s snowpack is sitting near or over 100%.

“The snowpack is looking really good across pretty much all of Idaho, except in eastern Idaho in the Snake River headquarters,” said Erin Whorton, a hydrologist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service. “This early snowpack season has been really great for winter recreation.”

Further north in Sandpoint, Schweitzer Mountain Resort also opened sooner than usual after early season snow.

“What we’ve affectionately been calling ‘Snowvember’ brought over 6 feet of natural snow, allowing us to open top to bottom terrain much earlier than in recent years,” said Taylor Prather, a spokesperson for Schweitzer Mountain Resort.

An atmospheric river — acting like a river in the sky — brought big moisture to the Northwest region at the end of November. That helped build up the snowpack across several states, Whorton said.

Seasonally early snow also fell in Washington in the Cascade Mountain Range at White Pass last month. And colder temperatures helped it stick around on the slopes, said Andy Mahre, marketing manager for White Pass Ski Area.

“It allowed us an early opening weekend, followed by daily operations a week later,” Mahre said. “It’s been a great start to the season so far.”

Throughout Washington state, snowpack levels are mixed, Whorton said.

“If you’re in southern Washington, the snowpack is above normal, in northern Washington, it’s near normal, but in central Washington, it’s a little bit below normal,” Whorton said.

Oregon’s snowpack is well above normal levels statewide, she said.

Related: Mount Hood, Central Oregon ski seasons start early

Despite Idaho’s good snow so far, Whorton said the state is still below normal for total water year precipitation.

“What we see is we have pretty dry conditions across Idaho, which is different from our snowpack,” Whorton said.

A dry and warm October set Idaho back in terms of fall rains, said Whorton.

Idaho is still suffering from drought, and there are dry soils across areas of the Northwest, she said. Much of the state is either zoned as “abnormally dry” or is under drought conditions.

“We would much rather see snowpack, snowfall and snowpack building during the winter months because the snowpack acts as a natural reservoir,” Whorton said.

The runoff from the snowpack melting helps feed the rivers and streams, said Robin Fox, the service hydrologist for the National Weather Service office in Spokane.

“Our long range forecasts from the Climate Prediction Center are leaning toward us remaining mild in January, but then cooling down,” Fox said. “We’ll probably have a better chance of snow as we get into 2025.”

For Northwesterners living at lower elevations dreaming of a white Christmas, Fox said that so far, it’s not leaning in that direction.

“We’re going to be seeing little bits of snow, but it does look like we’re going to be milder than normal,” she said.

Snowpack in the Northwest will officially be measured at the end of December through May or June, Fox said.

For holiday travelers, Fox said to make sure your vehicle is safe and ready for winter driving, and to check the forecast before hitting the road.

This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.

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