Ski areas adjust to significantly slashed snowpack on regional mountaintops

Low precipitation this season has led to weak snowpack on regional mountaintops . And with the lack of fresh powder, skiers aren’t flocking to the slopes as they historically do.

Near Mt. Spokane, Quartz Peak has 73% of its average snowpack, Ragged Mountain in Idaho is at 68%, northern Bunchgrass Meadow is at 55%, Schweitzer Basin is at 48%, and Lookout Pass Ski and Recreation Area only has 33% of the average snowpack for this time of year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Water and Climate Center.

Lookout Pass, located on the Idaho-Montana border, has seen significantly reduced patronage because of the low snowpack. The area has around 60% of its acreage open and reduced its lift fees, both to entice skiers and acknowledging the less-than-premium powder, spokesperson Matt Sawyer said.

The pass historically has 140-150 inches blanket the mountains by late December. This year, it’s had 82 inches.

“We’re suffering for snow, no question,” Sawyer said.

While the ski season typically lasts until April, Sawyer said the winter holidays and corresponding school breaks are ski areas’ busiest period. The unusually low snowpack means they missed a “critical window” of business.

“That 12 days can account for 20 to 25% of revenue for a ski area,” Sawyer said.

At Lookout Pass, a decreased snowfall coupled with warmer temperatures and increased rainfall melted what relatively little snow covered the mountains, leaving 7-8 inches at the base of the mountain and 32 at the top, Sawyer said.

It may be too late to catch up to average total snowfall, around 450 inches.

“To catch up is not really possible. We’ve lost too much to date to catch up,” Sawyer said. “Is there a possibility? Yes, but the odds are slim.”

At 49 Degrees North, a ski resort atop Chewelah Peak, snowpack is around 50% of normal levels, according to spokesperson Rick Brown.

“That can change pretty quickly,” Brown said. “Pretty often we don’t see the majority of our snowfall until we get to January and February.”

The park is also seeing decreased business, but Brown attributed it to perception rather than reality of the conditions: “There’s fun to be had,” he said.

“It’s been lower than normal, and that’s not a surprise, given that a lot of people think there’s not much snow in the mountains,” Brown said.

On the slopes, the park deployed snowmaking machines to generate artificial snow. This season, the area has used 7 million gallons of water to create artificial snow.

“We’re, I guess, both lucky and have planned well over the last few seasons,” Brown said. “We put a lot of energy and investments into our snowmaking systems.”

The resort operates fan guns that spray aerosolized water that freezes into snow in cold temperatures. While microscopically different from earth-made snow, Brown said it’s fundamentally the same.

“We’re essentially blowing water into the air at below freezing temps, and it crystallizes as snow does naturally,” Brown said.

While skiing and ridership is decreased among avid winter recreators, Brown said the low snowpack has created “fantastic conditions to learn” for less advanced skiers

“We have some of the best conditions on the lower portion of the mountain, particularly terrain for newer skiers and riders,” Brown said.

While the rain was a nuisance to ski areas, melting what little snow there was, it kept water levels on the Spokane River relatively steady, much to the benefit of Avista Utilities, with five hydroelectric dams on the Spokane River.

Spokane and surrounding counties saw around 30% more precipitation this December than the average for the month.

Avista communications manager Jared Webley wrote in an email that it’s too early to draw conclusions on the state of energy generation based on winter and spring river flow; snowpack drainage into the Spokane River peaks April 1.

A convergence of weather events precipitated the stark low snow, said Daniel Butler, meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Weather patterns are currently in the El Niño period of the climate cycle, which translates to a drier and milder winter in the northwest. This year’s El Niño is particularly strong – akin to that of 2009, Butler said, and exacerbating the mild conditions the pattern typically brings to the region.

An atmospheric river came through the region in early December, bringing rain at higher elevations that would see snow in other conditions. The rain melted some of the snow in the mountains. Butler estimated the atmospheric river pushed snow levels up by 8,000 to 9,000 feet.

“Sometimes when the storm track is north of us, it can draw moisture from the subtropical region, like around Hawaii, up to our area and bring tons of rain with it,” Butler explained.

“With that comes the warmer temperatures, which contributes to rain at higher elevations, which eats away at that snowpack.”

But there are signs of a possible change in the weather not too far out.

“It looks like we’ll be on the dry side for the next ten days or so,” Butler said on Wednesday. “But there is some growing evidence there could be some significant pattern change in the second week of January, which could bode well for our snowpack.”