The 2016/17 ski season was one of the best in North America history!
The 2016/ 2017 ski season gave us record breaking snowfall totals. They called it SNOWMAGEDEON, Janu-BURIED, Febru-BURIED, Miracle March, Awesome April, May Madness, and even June & July blew everybody’s minds. Many resorts extended their seasons, with five resorts still open. Squaw Valley, CA (#5) was open past 4th of July for the first time in their history. The biggest total? Over 72 FEET!
**These numbers are directly from each ski resorts website, reflecting snow totals on their upper mountains.
Top 10 Snowfall Totals in North America:
***
1. Mt. Baker, WA: 866″
2. Sugar Bowl Resort, CA: 795″
3. Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe, NV: 768″
4. Boreal Mountain Resort, CA: 751″
5. Squaw Valley, CA: 728″
6. Alpine Meadows, CA: 710″
7. Northstar, CA: 709″
8. Kirkwood, CA: 702″
*** 2nd largest snowfall in recorded history
9. Brighton, UT: 674″
10. Heavenly, CA/NV: 659″
*** Most snow in recorded history
Honorable Mentions:
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Mt. Hood, OR: 649″
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Sierra at Tahoe, CA: 625″
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Mammoth Mountain, CA: 618″
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Mt Bachelor, OR: 604″
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Alta, UT: 596.5″
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Jackson, WY: 593″
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Alpine Measures relatively low on the mountain while Northstar measures at the very top.
Mid-mountain snowfalls 2016-17, Nov. 1 – Apr. 30
1. Mt. Baker 871
2 Sugar Bowl 725
3 Squaw (8,000) 721; Squaw’s base got 419
4 Brighton 654
5 Mt. Rainer Paradise (not lift served) 640
6 Kirkwood 625
7 Mammoth 620
8 Alta 594
9 Mt. Rose 592
10 Northstar 587
11 Snowbird 562
12 Solitude 560
13 Hood Meadows 556
14 Alpine Meadows 552
15 Central Sierra Snow Lab (near Donner summit) 551
16 Mt. Bachelor 538
17 Crater Lake (not lift served) 522
18 Bear Valley 520
19 Sierra at Tahoe 510
20 Whistler 501
Mid-mountain totals were 488 at Heavenly and 447 at Jackson
Northstar’s total is bogus – 1 inch less than Alpine?
Pure non – scientific marketing numbers that continually make their way into the media.
Geography Science tells us that mountains east of the crest and at lower elevations get less snow.