Slopes hope November snowstorm start of good ski season


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SALT LAKE CITY — Nathan Rafferty woke up to a text message Tuesday that might alarm most people.

But then, the Ski Utah president said the warning texted to him at 7:35 a.m. by the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office means the upcoming ski season is off to a great start before it even officially begins.

"Both canyons — 4x4 or chains due to weather," he said, reading from his phone.

"That's a good one. We all like to hear that," he told those gathered at a Ski Utah season opening press conference. "Snow to start a season is pretty good."

Snow totals reported to Rafferty kept increasing all morning Tuesday from different resorts. The snow was especially welcome as Rafferty recited last year's disappointing snowfall statistics.

"We'll call it lackluster," he said of the 2014-15 ski season. "It wasn't quite where we were hoping it was going to be. It was about 41 percent of average — the second lowest in 24 years."

But even with fewer inches of snow, Alta still had the most snowfall last season than any other resort in North America, he said.

"So sometimes even not our best is good enough for the rest of the country. We ended up having a great year," Rafferty said, adding that it was a top-10 ski season with more than 4 million visits.

"Those of us who live and work here, every week we want to see a foot of new snow. But it's a good reminder that people who come on their ski vacations to Utah aren't turned off by 45-degree weather, blue sky," he said. "Our resorts did an incredible job of getting all the slopes open, and people aren't at work, and they shop and dine and have fun up in the mountains."

The lack of snow did keep some away. Utah saw about a 5 percent decline in skiers, almost exactly what the country saw as a whole.

A Park City trolley drives down Main Street as snow falls in Park City on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015. (Photo: Chris Samuels, Deseret News)
A Park City trolley drives down Main Street as snow falls in Park City on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015. (Photo: Chris Samuels, Deseret News)

But Rafferty anticipates a record-breaking year for the 2015-16 ski season.

In part, the resorts hope that hundreds of millions of dollars spent to improve the ski and snowboard experience will bring about that record-breaking year.

"We haven't seen this level of anticipation since the Olympic year (2002)," he said. "With more upgrades, there is a palpable anticipation for this year."

Park City Mountain Resort alone added $50 million worth of upgrades to its lifts and restaurants and in its efforts to combine the newly purchased Canyons resort with Park City, he said.

"Ski resorts have invested incredibly heavily on snowmaking systems. The technology, the efficiency of those makes for a great ski experience no matter what happens," Rafferty said.

The Utah resorts are coming off their third consecutive record-breaking year in offseason reservations.

"We feel very confident about the upcoming ski season," Rafferty said. "Even if we have an average year for snow, we'll be excited."

The snow totals are coming in and the pictures are beautiful. Snowbird is up to 10", Deer Valley #RyanMayfield 8",...

Posted by Kevin Eubank on Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Exactly what an El Nino advisory issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will actually mean for Utah's ski resorts is anyone's guess.

El Ninos typically mean an increase of storminess and precipitation for the southwest because of increased ocean temperatures. Historically, Utah experiences a 50-50 chance of good and not-so-good precipitation from El Ninos, said KSL meteorologist Kevin Eubank.

"You can't use El Ninos as a predictor for Utah to have an above normal year or a predictor of a below normal year," Eubank said. There have been times when Utah has had wet years that coincided with El Nino years, he said, but there is no reliable long-term predictive model for snowfall.

Long-term models show that southern and central Utah are set for an above normal precipitation year, and northern Utah is set for a normal year with an equal chance for an above average or below average precipitation year, Eubank said.

2015-16 estimated resort opening dates
  • Alta - Nov 20
  • Beaver - TBD
  • Brian Head - Nov 27
  • Brighton - Nov. 20
  • Cherry Peak - TBD
  • Deer Valley - Dec 5
  • Eagle Point - Dec 20
  • Nordic Valley - Dec 19
  • Park City - Nov 21
  • Powder Mountain - Nov 25
  • Snowbasin - Nov 25
  • Snowbird - Nov 21
  • Solitude - Nov 21
  • Sundance - Dec 4

"We don't need a crazy record year," he said of northern Utah ski resorts. "We need a normal year. That's all we need and the resorts will do just fine."

Snowfall along the Wasatch Front should be winding down Wednesday with scattered lake-effect snow bands lasting in the morning. High temperature will top out in the 40s for the rest of the week, and there should be some sunshine and 50s for the weekend, Eubank said.

Contributing: Jed Boal


Chris Larson is a BYU news media major interning with Deseret News. Contact him at chlarson@deseretnews.com

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