It’s no secret that powder days are considered the “holy grail” of skiing. Many skiers are chomping at the bit for powder days once the first snowstorm arrives. But it begs the question, what ski resorts receive the most snow each year? It should come as no surprise that the ski areas of Western North America are the snowiest ski resorts, and receive the most snowfall on average. Yet each ski season has its surprises.
So how do North America ski resorts stack up historically for snowfall? Read on as we explore some of North America’s snowiest ski resorts, and read Meteorologist Chris Tomer’s long-range forecast for insight into this season.
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The Snowiest Ski Resorts In North America
The snowiest ski area in North America is Alyeska, Alaska, where the annual snow dump on the ski slopes averages around 650 inches of snowfall. It has jumped as high as 848 inches, and surpassed 700 inches during the 2024 ski season, but that’s not the norm. Nonetheless, most seasons see well over 400 inches of snow. So if your decision is based on whether you can guarantee you will find natural snow during your winter vacation, head to the Great Land (which is what Alyeska means in Aleut). Alyeska is located just 30 miles from Anchorage in Girdwood and offers 1,600 skiable acres, with plenty of steep and deep. If that’s not enough, Girdwood is the gateway to Alaska’s incredible Chugach Mountains, home to more than 700,000 acres of backcountry skiing.
» View Alyeska Lodging Options
Fittingly, we head to Canada next, where British Columbia is no slouch in the snow department. Whistler Blackcomb logs in with an average snowfall of 408 inches, while Revelstoke receives an impressive 400-500 inches of snow on average. Revelstoke continues to hold the Canadian record for the most snow dropped in a single season, recording an astonishing 80 feet of snow during the 1971-1972 ski season. British Columbia is the snowiest Canadian province, by far. The SkiBig3 resorts, over in Alberta, get about half the snowfall of British Columbia’s snowiest resorts.
» View Whistler Lodging Options or Revelstoke Lodging Options.
The Snowiest Ski Resorts In the U.S.
Can the ski resorts in the Lower 48 compete? Yes, many can. In fact, Mt. Baker in the North Cascades of Washington is considered one of the snowiest ski areas in the world, where it averages a whopping average annual snowfall of 650-700 inches. Need more proof? Mt. Baker broke the world record for snowfall in a single season: 1,140 inches, or 95 feet, in the 1998-99 season. The ski area’s summit elevation is 5,089 feet, which shows you that mountains don’t have to reach the sky to generate a lot of snow.
Few other U.S. ski resorts come that close. However, Utah did during the 2022-23 season, with multiple resorts breaking their all-time snowfall records. Little Cottonwood Canyon is where Utah ski resorts like Alta and Snowbird collect snow by the meter. Alta averages 548 inches each season, while next door neighbor Snowbird accumulates more than 500 inches. Alta closed the 2022-23 ski season at a whopping 903″ of snow, while Snowbird broke its record with 838”.
Do those numbers hold up across Utah? Not exactly. The resorts in Summit Country – Park City Mountain Resort and Deer Valley – get about 200 inches less than those in Little Cottonwood Canyon. This is due in part to a difference of about 1,500 feet in altitude. Both Park City and Deer Valley average 300-350 inches of snowfall annually. No matter how you cut through it, there is indeed truth to Utah’s claim of having “The Greatest Snow On Earth.”
» View Park City Lodging Options and Deer Valley Lodging Options
Over in the popular ski state of Colorado, Wolf Creek, near Pagosa Springs, reigns supreme, averaging 400-plus inches of snow each winter. Crested Butte near Gunnison averages 200-plus inches. Winter Park – the Denver favorite – is a sure bet for good snow averaging 300-plus inches, while early-to-open Loveland on I-70 picks up 400-plus inches on average. Vail, Aspen, and Steamboat all average around 300 inches of snow annually.
» View Colorado Lodging Options
And what about California? Mammoth Mountain on average receives 400 inches of snow. It doubled that by the end of the 2022-23 season, with 700″ at the Main Lodge and nearly 900″ at the summit. Further north, Palisades Tahoe also saw more than 700 inches of snow. Like Mammoth, Palisades Tahoe receives 400 inches of snow on average.
» View Mammoth Lodging Options and Palisades Tahoe Lodging Options
Snowmaking Rules The East and Midwest
You won’t find many record breakers in the Midwest, but the temperatures often make for good snowmaking at Midwest ski areas when the snow isn’t flying. Still, Michigan’s Mt. Bohemia averages some 270 inches, aided by generous lake-effect snow. Boyne Mountain, by comparison, averages 140 inches.
» View Mt. Bohemia Lodging Options and Boyne Mountain Lodging Options
The East Coast won’t set many snowfall records despite those occasional Nor ‘easters that are often unpredictable. But the averages are more than sufficient, with many ski resorts in this region having the most sophisticated and powerful snowmaking systems in the world. Jay Peak is considered to be home of the best snow on the East Coast, receiving 350 inches of snow on average. Killington – the Beast of the East in Central Vermont – averages 250 inches, while Stowe to the north accumulates around 314 inches. Sugarloaf, in Maine checks, in at 200 inches of snow on average.
» View Killington Lodging Options, Stowe Lodging Options & Sugarloaf Lodging Options.
You be the judge. You can choose the deepest surface and the snowiest resort, or decide that no matter where you ski or ride these days because of high-tech snowmaking you’ll be just fine.
Header: @Ben W. Murdock Park City Mountain Resort
December 18, 2024
