It has been a dire couple of years for skiers and snowboarders in North America. Snowfalls have often been well below their usual averages, and many resorts have struggled to produce enough powder just to keep their slopes open. But even though fall is barely upon us, the outlook for the 2015-2016 ski season is very promising, as long-term forecasts indicate that it could be a record year for snowfall in certain parts of the U.S.
and Canada. This is giving many in the ski industry a reason to be optimistic that this winter could be one of the best yet.
Over the past few years, the ski industry has struggled mightily due to a lack of snowfall. Many smaller resorts have been forced to close, while others spent thousands of dollars making artificial snow in order to lure skiers to their slopes.
Sure, some resorts managed to get along just fine, but far too many of them reported their worst seasons ever, with greatly reduced snow pack and warmer temperatures making it difficult to keep what little powder they had.
But this year meteorologists are reporting a "Godzilla El Niño" that will bring much needed moisture to large sections of the U.S. Some say it could be the most powerful El Niño ever, with massive storms that will dump heavy snows across the Sierra Nevada Mountains, parts of Colorado, and even the northeast. This should result in some of the best skiing we've seen in years, with opportunities to hit the slopes possibly starting earlier than ever.
Just how early? That's difficult to say at this point, but Arapahoe Basin in Colorado is typically one of the first resorts to open each season, firing up its lifts in early November.
Most other major resorts follow suit a few weeks later, with places like Mammoth, Alta, and Big Sky typically welcoming guests by Thanksgiving weekend. If El Niño kicks in a bit earlier than expected, those opening dates could be moved up of course, and considering Big Sky received 16 inches of snow on the mountain on Sept.
18. If that is an indication of things to come, we could be in for a long winter with plenty of powder to shred.
Of course, long range weather forecasting is not an exact science, and until the predicted super El Niño actually appears, just about anything could happen. But climatologists are confident this powerful system will develop in the Pacific Ocean because all of the tell-tale signs have been in place for months. This includes warming ocean temperatures, shifting currents, and changing air pressure. When each of those variables comes together, it creates the El Niño systems that we've seen in the past, and this year all of the indicators point towards a really strong version of the phenomenon.
Conservative predictions are saying that many parts of the western U.S. will see "above average" snowfall for the 2015-2016 ski season. That translate to about a 10-15% increase in snow, which will actually represent a substantial rise over last year, during which many places saw the driest winter recorded in the past 25 years.
All of this is good news for skiers, snowboarders, and the resorts of course, as all signs point to a return to normal for the ski season ahead. I wouldn't take out your skis or snowboard just yet however, as there is plenty of fall to enjoy first. But it does seem that we should all be cautiously optimistic that we'll be able to hit the slopes before too long.
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