The Western winter, if it were a boxer, is on the ropes.
Consistent stretches of low snow, plenty of rain, and the “heat dome” that arrived in March worked together, delivering an unfortunate result: this season has been rough for many—but not all—of our favorite ski areas.
It’s not over yet, though. Towards the tail end of this week, winter caught a second wind, delivering a flurry of storms that staved off spring for a little longer.
The POWDER team can attest firsthand that the snow in Grand Targhee, Wyoming, was plenty deep (we’ve spent the past few days here testing skis). But other ski areas in states like Colorado, California, and Montana also saw a refresh.
While dry weather is back in many forecasts and several resorts are still closing earlier than expected, the return of winter gave skiers a taste of what they’d been missing: powder.
Our advice? If your local mountain is still spinning its lifts, don’t break out the mountain bike quite yet. The final turns of the season might involve better coverage than expected.
The storms also have us dreaming. It is only the start of April, and in some years, April brings solid snow totals. Maybe, just maybe, this latest snow is a sign more powder is on the way for the resorts planning to stay open through late April and beyond.
Now, here’s where the powder fell.
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California
- Palisades Tahoe: 27 inches
- Sugar Bowl: 25 inches
- Mammoth Mountain: 9 to 15 inches
Oregon
- Timberline Lodge: 18 inches
- Mt. Bachelor: 18 inches
- Mt. Hood Meadows: 11 inches
Wyoming
- Jackson Hole: 29 inches
- Grand Targhee: 25 inches
Utah
- Snowbird: 38 inches
- Alta: 28.5 inches
- Brighton: 29 inches
Katie Lyons/Crested Butte Mountain Resort
Colorado
- Crested Butte: 22 inches
- Wolf Creek: 19 inches
- Vail Mountain: 18 inches
Montana
- Big Sky: 24 inches
- Red Lodge: 19 inches
- Montana Snowbowl: 17 inches
Related: Ikon Pass Adds SilverStar Mountain, Expands Reach Into Canada
