Winter finally arrives with a powder bang! Downhill skiing, xc skiing, snowshoeing, snow biking are doable right now!

Mid-week pow day at Bogus Basin. Private Idaho! 

Hi all, 

Well, Old Man Winter, or perhaps it was the Norwegian Snow God, Ullr, took his time to wake up from a long summer snooze, but in the last 5-10 days winter has kicked with a major powder bang statewide, thank goodness! 

In the Central Mountains, West-Central Mountains, and Boise Mountains, 2.5-3 feet of new snow has fallen or more, depending on location, and that has suddenly allowed most of Idaho's ski areas to open for the season, plus that snowfall has put the mountains in shape for xc skiing, snowshoeing and snow-biking. 

See my post at the Idaho Daily Snow for the latest snow forecasts for Idaho. 

Earlier this week, Bogus Basin opened the Pine Creek chairlift for the season, and on Saturday, they'll open Bitterroot and Superior lifts, basically the whole mountain. Fun fun fun! Might even have some sunshine at Bogus this weekend on Friday and Saturday. Bogus is reporting a 25-inch base, with 7" in the last 24 hours, and six lifts in operation. Remember it's still early-season conditions. 

Brundage Mountain Resort and Tamarack Resort opened on Tuesday of this week with over 30" of new snow since the previous Friday ... from "zero to hero," is how spokeswoman April Whitney put it for Brundage. Tamarack got even more snow than Brundage in that series of storms, and it was amazing for skiers/riders to enjoy copious amounts of powder on opening day! 

Sun Valley, Galena Summit and the Wood River Valley also have shared in the powder goods, with over 2.5 feet of new snow falling in that area and counting. That has allowed the Galena and BCRD to groom a large portion of the Wood River and Galena Lodge xc trail system. They're open 7 days a week. 

The McCall Nordic report indicates that all of the key xc areas are working on getting up and running, including Ponderosa State Park, Bear Basin, Tamarack Resort Jug Mountain Ranch.

I have not gotten a report from the Idaho City Park and Ski areas, but I saw that the Mores Creek Snotel site has 34 inches of snow near Mores Creek Summit, so all of that area should be in good shape for xc skiing, snowshoeing and backcountry skiing. Try to find a grooming report to see if IDPR has been up there grooming trails to the backcountry yurts. 

Be aware that there's substantial avalanche danger following the big snow storms! See the latest reports from the Sawtooth Avalanche Center and Payette Avalanche Center. It may be best to stick to lower-gradient slopes and do some touring to avoid any potential danger. 

In case you were wondering, interesting to see the latest Idaho snowpack map ... we are catching up! 

Snow forecast in Idaho through 12/26. These are cumulative totals from today.