Ullr dumps big *pow* in Idaho's Mountains, ski conditions are gonna be great! Bring a shovel!

Rider carves fresh turns in Sun Valley *pow* (Courtesy SunValley.com) 

Hi all, 

The latest snow storm Tuesday-Wednesday this week was forecast to be a doozy, and by God, it was!!! The Snow God Ullr took a deep breath and let out a big roar - sending oodles of powder snow our way!  

Courtesy Brundage Mountain web cam 12/1/22 

Ha! For those of who like to ski/snowboard/snowshoe/xc ski/make snow angels, and play in the snow, this is "Go Time"! 

Since Tuesday, new snow amounts as of Thursday night: 

• Bogus Basin - 10" last 24 hours, 20" in the last 7 days. They are operating 7 days a week. All front side lifts are open at this point, and backside lifts have yet to open. Nordic trails are open. Night skiing begins Dec. 9. 
• Brundage Mountain - 15" in the last 24 hours, 33" in the last week. They reopen Friday morning for full operations with the Bluebird quad and Centennial lifts running. 
• Tamarack - 9" in the last 24 hours, 13" in the last 48 hours. They plan on opening on Dec. 9.
• Sun Valley - 4" in the last 24 hours, 7" in the last 48 hours, 10" in the last 72 hours. I bet the snow might be deeper than that, looking at the pics on their Facebook page.  Sun Valley is operating daily.  
  
  See my latest report on the Idaho Daily Snow.  

Courtesy Bogus Basin web cam

So basically, we've gotten at least a foot of new snow in the last week, if not 2-3 feet in the highest elevations. Snow bases are now in the 30-40" range already and growing. All of this new snow is going to set up our ski areas and the Idaho mountains for a great winter and ski season! And it's only Dec. 1! 

Personally, I'm planning on downhill skiing at Brundage Friday and Saturday, and also do some xc skiing with Wendy and Huck at the Bear Basin Nordic Center. Once all of the Nordic trails are groomed in the McCall area on Friday and Saturday morning, the conditions should be excellent. See McCall Nordic for all of the latest grooming reports.

   

Wendy and Ellie at Bear Basin on Saturday 

FYI - Near Idaho City, the Idaho Park and Ski Trails aren't groomed yet ... I checked with IDPR staff, and they reported that because Idaho Highway 21 got closed by the big snow storm, they can't get the groomer up on site to roll the trails at Gold Fork, Skyline, Banner, etc. There's plenty of snow base now so those trails will be in great shape once they're groomed.   

That said, people can still go backcountry skiing, Nordic touring and snowshoeing at More's Creek Summit, Beaver Creek Summit and at Gold Fork and Skyline by just breaking your own trail and finding your own adventure. You might need shovels to dig out a spot where you can park your car! Be sure to care avalanche beacons, probes and shovels if you're venturing into the backcountry on your own. 

Wood River Valley xc ski trails are in great shape and it looks like 100 percent of their terrain is open. They report 5" of new in the last 12 hours, 12" in the last 24 hours.  

Another idea: Upper Ridge to Rivers trails like the trail to Stack Rock from Bogus Basin Road are snow-packed and in great shape for boot hiking, snowshoeing and snow biking. 

Be sure to drive carefully and be safe out there!

Have fun!  

- SS