Finding a little pow in Steamboat 23 Dec. Image:: Steamboat!
Weekly Snow Wrap
Weekend snowfalls, top 5 in North America: 1 - Whistler, British Columbia with 63cm, 2 - Grouse Mountain, British Columbia and Eaglecrest, Alaska with 53cm, 3 - Whitewater, British Clumbia and Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec with 50cm 4 - Fernie, British Colombia with 48cm and 5 - Stowe, Vermont with 45cm.
On the forecast:
It's all about British Columbia this week, particularly Whistler where it should snow over a metre before the end of next weekend. The far north west coast of the United States should benefit from the same storms.
Highlights this week:
Whistler and the rest of British Columbia receiving some decent, season changing snowfalls.
If we could pick anywhere this week, we'd be: Whistler of course!
British Columbia
Status: All the major resorts open with majority of trails operational.
Recent snow: Snow all across British Columbia these past couple of days, Wistler scored the most, with just over 60cm, Whitewater did well with 50cm and most resorts came in with around 20cm.
Coming snow: It is going to snow all week in BC - there's a metre on the cards for Wistler and more like 30cm for the other resorts in the state, falling right across the next seven days.
Conditions generally: BC is undoubtedly the best snow region in North America right now and there's powder to be had right across the state. Base depths are up around the one metre mark - Whistler's is more like 2m.
Sebastian Lutz in Whitewater on Christmas day - jealous. Image:: Micah McKimm/Whitewater
Alberta
Status: All Alberta's main resorts are operational and running at well above half capacity - up to about 85% mostly.
Recent snow: There's been about 20cm in the past few days across the Banff area.
Coming snow: Consistent snow for the next seven days, nothing heavy, 6cm on Thursday, 4cm next Tuesday and around 2cm - 3cm every other day.
Conditions generally: With snow depths of a little over one metre and fresh top ups every day the Banff resorts are doing quite well.
California
Status: Most of the California resorts have at least some lifts running now, but only runs with snowmaking capacity are open at most of them.
Recent snow: It hasn't snowed recently in California, for resorts like Mammoth and the Lake Tahoe resorts that makes it a dry December.
Coming snow: Nothing until 2012 and probably not until the second week of the year at least.
Conditions generally: There's no disguising it, conditions are dismal - record setting kind of dismal. Any resort with a base over 50cm is doing well by the standards of California at the moment - standards are low!
Perfect weather for park sessions- Snowmass park 28 December. Image:: Aspen
Colorado
Status: Colorado resorts are open - Aspen has 68% of trails open, SolVista 80% but Breckenridge only 48% and Winter Park only 20%.
Recent snow: Sunshine and clear skies has been the order of the week, and the fortnight, for most of Colorado.
Coming snow: Apart from a couple of centimetres on Thursday there's no snow on the forecast this week.
Conditions generally: Average at best,most base depths are well below 1m and off piste riding is pretty much non existent.
Utah
Status: From 13% of trails at Canyons to 75% of trails at Alta, the amount of terrain the resorts are able to open in Utah varies greatly.
Recent snow: Nothing recently in Utah except a centimetre or two at Canyons.
Coming snow: A few flurries on Thursday and then nothing for the rest of the week.
Conditions generally: Not brilliant. Snowbird has the deepest base depth at only 86cm.
North West - Wyoming, Idaho, Montana
Status: The resorts in the area have about half their terrain open.
Recent snow: 43cm at Jackson Hole, 20cm across parts of Montana and a little less in Idaho.
Coming snow: A few centimetres on Thursday but nothing significant for the week.
Conditions generally: Despite the recent snow, base depth levels are not great, under 1m for most resorts, including the big 'uns like Jackson Hole and Sun Valley.
