DAILY SNOW REPORT

No operational changes for today. We’re open at Jackson Creek Summit with early-season terrain, and our crews continue digging out and managing the effects of the recent 30-inch snowfall.

The focus remains on letting the ground freeze and stabilizing the base before expanding terrain. Track packing will continue through the weekend to help set the snow and prepare for rapid progress leading into our December 5th reopening.

What a storm! Over the past 72 hours, Snowriver has been buried under 34 inches of snow, transforming the entire resort into a mid-winter scene almost overnight. It’s an exciting way to kick off the season, but this system brought some challenges that we want to be transparent about as we head into the weekend. 

Snow Report Update [11/28] 

The storm began extremely wet, with nearly 12 hours of rain before the switch to snow. Because the ground hadn’t frozen yet, all that water soaked in, and now we’re dealing with flowing water underneath a deep snowpack. The new snow is actually acting like insulation, slowing the freezing process. As a result, we still have sections of open water, puddles, and small stream channels beneath the snow. Additionally, we saw 50mph gusts and high sustained winds that have distributed the snow unevenly across the trails breaking up the runs with barren sections.  Until the ground locks up, we can’t effectively build out additional skiable trails this weekend, even with the tremendous amount of snow we received.  

The encouraging news is the forecast: Monday and Tuesday nights are expected to drop into the subzero range, which should help the ground freeze quickly and allow that water to tighten up. Once that happens, we’ll be able to start moving snow aggressively and build out additional terrain ahead of our reopening on December 5th. 

Throughout the weekend, our grooming team will be out with our fleet of snowcats track packing the hill setting the snow into place, collapsing air pockets, and helping drive the frost deeper into the ground. This process is essential when we get a storm like this on warm ground; it stabilizes the base, stops the melting from underneath, and sets us up for strong, durable early-season surfaces. 

Meanwhile, our operations crew has been working around the clock to dig out from the storm, plowing the parking lot for the fourth time in two days, clearing walkways, pulling snow off roofs, and unearthing vehicles and equipment. Their holiday hustle is what’s making it possible for us to open tomorrow, and we can’t thank them enough. 

Even though the new snow won’t allow us to open additional terrain this weekend, it has laid an excellent foundation for rapid expansion once the ground freezes. Things are shaping up very well for next weekend, and we’ll keep you updated every step of the way. 

See you tomorrow at Jackson Creek Summit,  and stay tuned for next week’s freeze, which is going to unlock a lot of potential very quickly. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

-Benjamin

Opening Day Outlook [As of 11/25] 

We’re just about ready to kick off another season here at Snowriver, and our team is eagerly awaiting the weather to finally tip in our favor. Our snowmaking team has been working every cold hour we’ve been given so far this season, and coverage is taking shape on Voyageur's Highway. As of today, I’m confident we will be open Friday from 9am-4pm with lift service off the Voyageur Express. We won’t have the Conveyor or Learning Area available to start with but will be working towards opening it by the end of the weekend.  

But the big story right now, the one we know everyone is watching, is the incoming storm system, which is currently forecasted to bring anywhere from 12 to 36 inches of natural snow to the western U.P. If this storm materializes on the higher end of those totals, it could be a game-changer for opening weekend. That amount of snow would give us the opportunity to open additional terrain as soon as Friday. 

That said, we’ve all lived through enough U.P. storms to know one thing: we won’t know what we’ve got until we’ve actually got it. Snow totals, temperatures, and wind direction will ultimately determine what terrain we can safely open. Our commitment remains the same: to open as much terrain as possible, as soon as we possibly can, without sacrificing safety or surface quality. 

Even if the storm underperforms, we’ll still be skiing this weekend at Jackson Creek Summit, offering early-season laps, pass printing, retail specials, and the chance to get your legs back under you over the holiday weekend. We’ll be issuing updates as the storm rolls through again once our crews get eyes on what it leaves behind. Stay tuned — this week has the potential to get very exciting, very quickly. Time for snow dancing! 

-Benjamin