Industry News
This list is especially interesting this year since this was such a difficult winter for so much of the USA. The majority of North America saw below average snowfall, including all ski resorts on this list. That said, there were zones that did better than others.
Wyoming did well this year reaching 200 inches of snowfall early in the season and ending up above 300″.
You can’t ignore the East Coast. The East Coast was famous for big storms this year and some of those storms translated to big snow in the mountains there. Jay Peak ended up only 5″ below their average annual snowfall.
Utah had a late season surge that brought their numbers up above 300″, but still well below average.
Normally, the Pacific Northwest and California dominate this list. Not this year. This year, there isn’t a single West Coast ski resort on this list.
Hopefully next year we see a big pattern change with numbers at or above average at ski resorts in the USA.
(note: we obtained these numbers by calling ski resorts and acquiring snowfall data from their websites)
TOP 10 SNOWFALL TOTALS FOR THE USA IN 2014/15:
#1 = Alyeska, AK = 490″
#2 = Jay Peak, VT = 373″
- Jay Peak, VT this winter.
#3 = Snowbird, UT = 341″
#4 = Alta, UT= 324″
#5 = Grand Targhee, WY = 323″
#6 = Breckenridge, CO = 321″
#7 = Loveland, CO = 319″
#8 = Jackson Hole, WY = 316″
#9 = Arapahoe Basin, CO = 311″
#10 = Brighton, UT = 284″
#10 = Stowe, VT = 284″
Alyeska had 478 at the top of lift service but only 176 with a ton of rain mid-mountain.
Jay had 373 at the top but only 214 at the base. That’s an average of 294.
There are some other issues. I’ve sent an e-mail with details.
Where was Mt. Bohiemia, Michigan?
Sad…even Stowe beat Kirkwood. Lets hope for a real El Nino year.
I’m pretty sure Alaska is on the west coast. In fact I don’t think you can get much further west unless you’re talking about Hawaii. So um yeah. Geography.
Hey Eric, true Alaska is on the West Coast. But, traditionally in the USA, Alaska is nearly always considered separately from the West Coast of the USA since it’s so isolated from the rest of the USA. Thus, we’re using the same ideology here. Thanks.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Coast_of_the_United_States
Grand Targhee got what they claimed, although much less than the typical year. They always get it. They had folks coming there from Alaska, California, Colorado and Utah this year because of low snow totals there. God bless the “Ghee”!
I still think a few resorts are lying about what they really got. Maybe Stowe and Jay Peak got what they claim but Snowbird, Alta, Grand Targhee? I checked in on weather and conditions into March and they were a disaster. Hard to believe they cleared 200 let alone 300.
living up in Alta all winter I can say that the number for Alta and The Bird are pretty accurate. The Alta snowfall total is (and has always been) recorded at a small plot in the trees just above the Collins mid-station. So if you only drove up the road to the base area there was likely about 50 inches less snowfall down there. As for the bird, their total is usually lower than Alta’s, however they stay open later, and this late season was good and bumped up that total. I hope this clears up some of you questions. I cannot speak to Targhee, other than to say that in my past experience (in past seasons) with Targhee they are not big inflaters.