Skiers, snowboarders and winter sports enthusiasts across the Northwest, this has not been the best season to get out and play in the snow — because there is very little of it to play in.
Snowboarder Becca Gale was out on Mount Hood in January.
“You would be just going down a run just like normal, and there'd be just like a dirt path in front of you that you'd have to suddenly avoid,” Gale said.
At this point in the season, Washington state has the third lowest level of snowpack on record, according to Karin Bumbaco, the Washington deputy state climatologist. The other lowest snowpack years occurred in 2005 and 2015, and increasing global temperatures indicate that there could be more decline in the future.
“ Even if we have normal snow from now through April, almost all of the basins in Washington state would still remain below 75% of normal snow pack by April 1,” Bumbaco said.
That means ski areas across the Northwest are having to create their own snow.
White Pass Ski Area installed new snow-making machines before the 2025-2026 season began. Kathleen McGuire, who is director of skier services for White Pass, said they feel it's the reason they’ve been able to stay open.
“ I think a lot of our neighbors haven't had such good luck,” McGuire said. “Comparatively speaking, in the PNW, we're holding up well and we're seeing lots of visitors from other ski areas.”
White Pass opened on Dec. 20, which is about 10 to 15 days later than their average start. McGuire said they’ve been able to maintain what Mother Nature has given them and use the snow-making machines to supplement.
The machines work like this: water is sprayed through the machine when it is 25 degrees or below outside. The water freezes as soon as it hits the air, falling frozen onto the ground, where crews can use equipment called snowcats to spread the snow across ski runs.
“ The teams are out there with shovels and snowcats and everything else trying to get it prepped for the next weekend,” McGuire said. “So it is a lot more work than normal. But it's worth it because we've definitely seen our visitorship be extremely strong on the weekends.”
Still, McGuire said it hasn’t been an average year and while they’ve sold out many Saturdays this year, their visitorship isn’t what it normally is. The ski area has closed some lifts during the week to conserve the snow they do have.
The Summit at Snoqualmie only has two of its four ski areas open because of the poor conditions. That’s meant longer lines to get on the lifts that are running, said Karter Riach, the vice president of marketing and sales at Snoqualmie.
“Things get a little bit congested on Saturdays and Sundays, and that's probably one of the toughest things in a season like this, is trying to provide as much as possible and create as good of an experience as we possibly can, given the situation,” Riach said.
Riach said the ski area has also had to significantly reduce staffing and staff hours due to reduced operations.
Ski areas around the Northwest were also impacted by major flooding in December.
Mt. Baker Ski Area reopens on Saturday, following repairs on state Route 542.
Temporary repairs allowed Mt. Baker to open on Dec. 22, much later than its typical start date before Thanksgiving, said Amy Trowbridge, who is the marketing and communications director for the ski area.
Trowbridge said Mt. Baker had three good weeks after opening, but January was drier and warmer with some rain. The ski area has had to adjust, but has kept most runs open.
Still, it's all relative. Part of the reason winter sports enthusiasts love the Northwest is because the area typically gets good mountain snow. On average, Mt. Baker receives a significant amount of snowfall, with 15-year averages at 688 inches. So far, the mountain has seen 274 inches since September, which, although much less than their normal, still surpasses the average at other ski areas across the U.S.
“ Surprisingly, even though this is a below average year for us, we're actually doing much better than most of the other ski areas in the U.S.,” Trowbridge said.
