2002-03 Ski Season Analysis as of June 15, 2003

The I-70 corridor of Colorado had near record snowfall in the first half of November. After a dry month over most of the West, major storms hit the West Coast during the 3rd week of December and spread into much of the Rockies reduced intensity. Starting around Christmas the storm track finally moved north to help out many areas which had started the season very slowly. This January was one of the driest in history over most of the West, with many areas receiving less than half normal snow and only a handful with close to normal snowfall for the month. The first week of February finally broke the drought in Utah and also improved conditions in Colorado and the Northern Rockies. The next week's tropical storm drenched Southern California but produced some snow for the southern and central Rockies. As of mid-February many regions had subpar conditions, and only a handful of areas had received close to normal season-to-date snowfall.

Over the next 3 weeks there was sufficient new snow to improve conditions at most areas to what we would expect during the prime part of the season, with Colorado receiving the lion's share of snow during this time. During the second week of March snowfall was concentrated in Canada and the Northwest, with warm weather and spring conditions prevailing from Utah and California south. The second half of March was good for most western regions, but particularly for the Continental Divide area of Colorado. For those areas remaining open April was outstanding in much of the West, with many areas getting double normal snowfall and reaching their highest base depths of the season. Overall 2002-03 was a below average season, with just a few regions (Colorado and the Tetons) being modestly above average, and some (Utah and most of Canada and the Northwest) being far below average. Comprehensive snow statistics are finally available and shown in the 2002-03 Ski Season Summary.

2002-03 Season Progress Reports:

  • November 17, 2002
  • December 13, 2002
  • December 20, 2002
  • December 31, 2002
  • January 15, 2003
  • January 29, 2003
  • February 14, 2003
  • February 28, 2003
  • March 14, 2003
  • March 28, 2003
  • April 15, 2003

    At the end of the regional sections, I list selected RSN month-to-date snow totals which were posted during the season. These can have missing data or double counting, but were the best contemporary estimates. The blue tables are "official numbers" compiled by ski patrols or avalanche forecasters, which I use to update my data.

    California: After 2-4 feet of snow in early November the Sierra received no snow at all for a month. During the 3rd week of December the Sierra got up to 10 feet of snow, setting up North America's best holiday ski conditions. There was another 2-4 feet of snow during the holiday period. Low elevations and sunny exposures turned to spring conditions in January but coverage remained solid on a 3-9+ foot base and a powder/packed powder surface was restored by several small February storms totaling 2-3 feet at most areas. Despite 2 feet of snow in mid-March snowfall for the 3 months since New Year's was less than half normal, so by the end of March coverage was solid and surface conditions best only at high altitude locations like Mammoth and Kirkwood. In April the Sierra had record snowfall of 6-10 feet, more than in the previous 3 months combined. Southern California had a poor season, not as dry as last year, but the biggest storm of the season poured rain for 3 days in the ski areas in February. See Current California Ski Conditions for more details on Southern California and Mammoth.
    RSN December Snow: Northstar 133, Heavenly 125.
    RSN January Snow: Northstar 10, Heavenly 8.
    RSN February Snow: Northstar 19, Heavenly 24.
    RSN March Snow: Northstar 22, Heavenly 17.

    Area

    Nov

    Dec

    Jan

    Feb

    Mar

    Apr

    Total

    Pct. of Normal

    Squaw 8,000

    48

    139

    20

    35

    24

    128

    394

    88%

    Mammoth

    32

    140

    12

    37

    25

    90

    336

    94%

    Southern Cal

    3

    18

    0

    21

    12

    21

    75

    57%

    Pacific Northwest: Normally the most reliable region by early December, the Northwest had a tough start this year, much drier and warmer than normal. Only Mt. Baker reached full operation in mid-December. Whistler was headed for its worst Christmas in over 20 years until Santa delivered 4.5 feet of snow December 24-25. Mt. Bachelor gradually accumulated snow through Christmas but had 6 feet of snow before New Year's to bring its base up to 8 feet. Only the Whistler alpine had close to normal snow in January, with excessive rain throughout the region at lower elevations. Hardpack and spring conditions were widespread during the dry first half of February, but then 7-9 feet of new snow since brought the best conditions of the season to Washington and Oregon. Whistler was short on snow in February but its alpine region was hit with 11 feet of snow in March and 6 feet in April. The Whistler base had mostly rain during these storms with some flooding. Elevation was the key to Northwest snow conditions throughout this season, as evidenced by the wildly divergent percentages of normal snowfall shown below. Mt. Bachelor has had a snowy April and will have excellent skiing through Memorial Day.
    RSN December Snow: Whistler 118, Mt. Bachelor 127.
    RSN January Snow: Whistler 80, Mt. Bachelor 35.
    RSN February Snow: Whistler 20, Mt. Bachelor 52.
    RSN March Snow: Mt. Bachelor 87.

    Area

    Nov

    Dec

    Jan

    Feb

    Mar

    Apr

    Total

    Pct. of Normal

    Alyeska

    33

    114

    50

    87

    55

    26

    365

    69%

    Whistler Alpine

    43

    132

    70

    21

    132

    76

    474

    117%

    Whistler Base

    0

    46.4

    28.8

    3.4

    21.3

    4.1

    104

    53%

    Mt. Rainier

    51

    149.5

    55

    77.8

    153.6

    84.8

    571.7

    90%

    Mt. Hood

    30.5

    94

    15

    51

    98

    61

    349.5

    80%

    Canadian Rockies and Interior B.C.: This region had a very poor start but gradually accumulated a snow base since mid-December. Lake Louise (143 inches snowfall, 73% of normal) has it usual low year rock problems, but recent conditions are reported much better than in January. Sunshine, Big White, Red and Fernie reached full operation by mid-January, but the latter two areas were hit by Northwest rain to 7,000 feet in late January. Like the Northwest, the first 2 weeks of February were dry with variable surfaces, but everything was greatly improved over the next month. Snowfall continued through March, but with some rain at low elevation. April was above average but not as dramatic as on the West Coast.
    RSN December Snow: Sunshine 32.
    RSN January Snow: Fernie 50, Red Mt. 55, Sunshine 36.
    RSN February Snow: Fernie 30, Red Mt. 19, Sunshine 55.
    RSN March Snow: Fernie 76, Red Mt. 35, Sunshine 63.

    Area

    Nov

    Dec

    Jan

    Feb

    Mar

    Apr

    Total

    Pct. of Normal

    Big White

    28.4

    33.1

    51.8

    33.3

    49.6

    17.8

    214

    77%

    Fernie

    29.1

    58.3

    58.3

    41.3

    78.4

    44.5

    309.9

    82%

    Sunshine

    22

    27.6

    39

    30.3

    53.9

    28

    200.8

    85%

    U. S. Northern Rockies: Jackson closed April 6 with 367 inches of season snow (103% of normal). Powder was abundant and conditions excellent from mid-January through early March, almost unique in the West during this time. Targhee was similarly blessed since mid-December in its usual drought-resistant mode. Big Sky and Bridger received only moderate snows in January, but a 3-4 foot storm in early February brought decent coverage to much of their expert terrain for the first time this season. Montana had 4-5 feet new snow in March and another foot in early April. Kootenay areas had a similar dry start to western Canada, with consistent snowfall commencing only in mid-December, and the same setback of the late January rain. Big Mountain (218 inches snow at April 13 closing, 75% of normal) fared a bit better than its Canadian neighbors, due to higher altitude and less rain this season. Schweitzer did not open until just before Christmas but was then in full operation through early April. Sun Valley benefited from December storms moving northeast from California to establish a base for the rest of the season.
    RSN December Snow: Big Sky 30.
    RSN January Snow: Schweitzer 54, Big Sky 37, Targhee 93.
    RSN February Snow: Schweitzer 23, Big Sky 57, Targhee 95.
    RSN March Snow: Schweitzer 38, Big Sky 63.

    Area

    Nov

    Dec

    Jan

    Feb

    Mar

    Apr

    Total

    Pct. of Normal

    Grand Targhee

    42

    102

    126

    106

    95

    51

    522

    113%

    Sun Valley

    17.5

    59

    24.3

    22

    34.7

    35

    192.5

    105%

    Utah: Utah's early season started slowly, despite Alta receiving 43 inches in October. With base depths in the 4-foot range, only Alta and Brighton likely had decent coverage with during the busy Christmas season. After the driest January in my 36 years of data, Utah finally was hit with a 2-4 foot dump in early February. Snowfall since then was normal, improving coverage and maintaining the surface, though Utah was very warm with spring conditions between storms in March and April. Overall this was Utah's worst season since 1991-92, very unusual when some neighboring regions were above average.
    RSN December Snow: Snowbird 43, Park City 36.
    RSN January Snow: Snowbird 25, Park City 25.
    RSN February Snow: Snowbird 77, Park City 57.
    RSN February Snow: Snowbird 85, Park City 66.

    Area

    Nov

    Dec

    Jan

    Feb

    Mar

    Apr

    Total

    Pct. of Normal

    Alta

    40

    74.5

    30.5

    86

    97

    72

    400

    77%

    Northern and Central Colorado: After a few lean early seasons this region had near record snowfall in November. Most areas had more terrain open at Thanksgiving (98% in Vail's case) than they did at Christmas 3 of the past 4 years. That snow got chewed up over the ensuing dry month and was gradually refreshed by about 1 foot new per week from mid-December to mid-February. But over the next 3 weeks there were 4-7 feet of new snow to put the whole region into great shape. There was a huge dump of 6-7 feet on Continental Divide at A-Basin, Loveland and Winter Park during the 3rd week of March. Since then storms continued with an average 3 feet of snow through early April. With the excellent spring season A-Basin will run to July 4 this year, though everyone else except Loveland closed after Easter.
    RSN December Snow: A-Basin 24, Copper 21, Keystone 19.
    RSN January Snow: A-Basin 32, Copper 43, Keystone 19.
    RSN February Snow: A-Basin 53, Copper 75, Keystone 40.
    RSN March Snow: A-Basin 100, Copper 80, Keystone 52.

    Area

    Nov

    Dec

    Jan

    Feb

    Mar

    Apr

    Total

    Pct. of Normal

    A-Basin

    79

    24

    35

    54

    102

    70

    364

    113%

    Vail

    76.2

    51.8

    40.1

    80.5

    77.2

    71

    396.8

    111%

    Winter Park

    71.6

    52

    37.6

    68.1

    114.2

    69

    412.5

    115%

    Southern and Western Colorado: Wolf Creek can claim another year as North America's early season leader. It reached full operation as of November 9 after 6 feet of snow in October. After over 3 months of barely half normal snow, there was over 6 feet of snow in late February/early March. Total from November 1 to April 6 closing was 258 inches (76% of normal). The rest of the region had 1-3 feet of snow in early March, on secure base depths after February snowfall of 7 feet at Taos and 5 feet elsewhere. March is historically the best month in this region, and this was the best spring in at least 5 years, enhanced by 2-5 feet of snow in late March, and 1-2 feet in early April. Gothic is between Aspen and Crested Butte and normally gets more snow than either.
    RSN December Snow: Aspen 22, Crested Butte 22, Durango 40, Telluride 34, Taos 19.
    RSN January Snow: Aspen 24, Crested Butte 26, Durango 11, Telluride 18, Taos 34.
    RSN February Snow: Aspen 54, Crested Butte 63, Durango 57, Telluride 51, Taos 84.
    RSN March Snow: Aspen 74, Crested Butte 44, Durango 36, Telluride 51, Taos 60.

    Area

    Nov

    Dec

    Jan

    Feb

    Mar

    Apr

    Total

    Pct. of Normal

    Gothic

    51

    29.5

    18

    84

    42.5

    53

    278

    82%

    Taos

    43

    33

    15.5

    86

    55

    22

    254.5

    95%

    Northeast: Northern New England had a nice run of cold weather at the start of November plus over a foot of natural snow. As a result Killington was 30% open and Okemo 15% November 9, likely records for that early. After a one week thaw melted out half of that terrain, cold and snowy weather over the next month brought the major Vermont areas to 80+% open. Mid-December rain and variable weather degraded surface conditions between storms but did not reduce the number of open runs. From Christmas through mid-January there were several major storms in New England, with southern areas benefiting the most and January snowfall exceeding most of the West. Late January weather was mostly dry but very cold, and during the first half of February the northern areas received 2-3 feet of new snow. The big President's weekend storm hit mainly the southern areas, similar to early January. In late February the south received heavy rain, while the north got rain/snow mix. The north had more new snow in early March (2+ feet) plus colder weather, so late season conditions were much better than in the south. The second half of March was very warm, and many trails were closed by the end of the month. Those which retained coverage added 1-2 feet of snow during the first week of April. This was an above average eastern ski season primarily due to consistent cold temperatures. While the mid-Atlantic and urban Northeast had a snowy winter, the historically snowiest areas of northern Vermont were actually drier than normal.
    RSN December Snow: Stowe 58, Killington 68, Stratton 53, Sugarloaf 7.
    RSN January Snow: Stowe 65, Killington 59, Stratton 40, Sugarloaf 13, Snowshoe 54.
    RSN February Snow: Stowe 51, Killington 33, Stratton 39, Sugarloaf 27, Snowshoe 53, Mt. St. Anne 35, Mt. Tremblant 33.
    RSN March Snow: Stowe 41, Killington 16, Stratton 14, Sugarloaf 30, Snowshoe 23, Mt. St. Anne 26, Mt. Tremblant 41.

    Area

    Nov

    Dec

    Jan

    Feb

    Mar

    Apr

    Total

    Pct. of Normal

    Jay

    40

    47

    56

    48

    57

    20

    268

    79%

    Sugarbush

    42

    50

    55

    32

    24

    19

    222

    87%

    Snowshoe, WV

    26

    42

    60

    57

    20

    10

    215

    144%

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