NNE Cold Season Thread 2025-2026

[J.Spin]

March is complete, so I’ll pass along an update on seasonal snowfall progress here at our site in Waterbury. The updated seasonal snowfall progression plot is below, and this season (shown in the red line) is now just barely hanging on at the bottom of the pack of similar seasons. It’s quite obvious from the plot that this season is still well above average with respect to snowfall, but below average snowfall for the past couple of months has certainly cut into this season’s position among some of our top seasons.

This March certainly showed the weather dichotomy that the month can bring, and there were some interesting aspects with respect to snowfall. The updated storm list below is a good way to see the different periods within the month, with the first week continuing the wintry regime from February, and then the second week bringing in a warm, springlike period. After that though, we moved into a somewhat tempered, late-season bread and butter pattern with a good sequence of storms. You can see this starting on the 11^th, and system after system pushed through the area to bring 11 additional storms. That pattern persisted almost to the end of the month, when temperatures warmed up a bit once again. The number of storms was well above the monthly average of roughly 8 to 9 storms, and in fact, March 2026 now holds the record for the most March storms in my database with 13, beating out March 2019, which had 11 storms. That record is a testament to just how active and snowy the month was once we were beyond that early week of spring-like warmth. But even with 20+ inches of snow, the month was still about 10 inches below average on snowfall. So we had a lot of storms, but they were all small to moderate snowstorms, and the month can often have some very significant events, and that’s why the snowfall average is up around 30 inches. On a seasonal note, it’s been consistently strong with respect to the number of winter storms – we’d already had 62 accumulating storms through the end of March, and we’re onto number 63 with some accumulation from the front end of the current system (Winter Storm Joseline). The highest number of accumulating storms I’ve ever recorded here in a season is 64 in 2018-2019, and that number is certainly within reach with all of April and May still to go.

Below I’ve updated the statistical projections for where this season’s snowfall might end up. It’s really looking like something in the 180-190” range if snowfall progresses at an average pace from here on out; getting to 200” would take a hefty event or two and is very unlikely. But there’s still a couple of months to go in the snow season, and a good April can bring 20”+ of snow, so we’ll see what Mother Nature does. It looks like we do have another snowy period coming up from Sunday night onward, which I’ll touch on below.

≥150”: 100.0%

≥160”: 100.0%

≥170”: 100.0%

≥180”: 82.6%

≥190”: 18.1%

≥200”: 0.3%

This season’s snowfall started out at a good pace – with three months of above average snowfall and 120” by midseason. None of those early winter months were actually outrageously far above average, but stacking a solid November, December, and January together with lots of storms and minimal warm periods is going to make an impression. The valley, and especially the mountain snowpack had a solid start, and that set up a fantastic base moving forward in the ski season. In the monthly snowfall plot below though, you can see how the snowfall pace fell off in February and March, which were both below average.

I did a quick check on where the Vermont ski areas stand for season snowfall thus far, and the north to south listing of totals is below. The resorts along the spine of the Northern Greens are right around that 300” mark, which is probably around average, and I think Bolton Valley only has a week or two left before their planned closing. Hitting 300” is certainly the sign of a decent/average season in the Northern Greens, but those are typical numbers and they’re not going to be a huge story. Jay Peak is somewhat ahead of average and approaching 400”, which is a bit more notable, but they just hit 475” last season and are probably in that 400” range in about a third of their seasons. So, their snowfall number is good, but not groundbreaking. It’s when they pass 500” up there that you know it’s one of those very special winter/ski seasons.

Jay Peak: 397”

Burke: 169”

Smuggler’s Notch: 301”

Stowe: 294”

Bolton Valley: 297”

Mad River Glen: 192”

Sugarbush: 222”

Pico: 190”

Killington: 190”

Okemo: 126”

Bromley: 178”

Magic Mountain: 112”

Stratton: 153”

Mount Snow: 128”

On average, the snow on our property here typically runs out in mid-April, and we seem to be on track for something average like that with a colder stretch coming up. There’s nothing too substantial expected at this point with respect to big events, but the BTV NWS is starting to discuss the period:

Area Forecast Discussion

National Weather Service Burlington VT

733 AM EDT Thu Apr 2, 2026

KEY MESSAGE 3: An upper level trough along with several lobes of embedded shortwave energy will bring upslope snow showers to our area from Sunday night through Tuesday. Cold air will sink down over the north country from Canada during this timeframe, and cooler than normal temperatures will remain through Wednesday night.

[J.Spin]

Yesterday was the nicer day of the weekend, so my wife and I headed up to Bolton Valley for some spring skiing. Temperatures were in the 40s F up on the mountain, although I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some 30s F up in the 3,000’ range. The sunniest part of the day was early afternoon, and altogether the sun and temperatures were enough to nicely soften the snowpack in many areas. Conditions were still somewhat inconsistent though, with firm areas underneath the spring snow in various spots that made the skiing a bit more challenging than when you get those perfect sunny days with just the right temperatures that set up great corn snow that is soft but not sticky. One of the best areas we visited was the lower half of Hard Luck, it had some of the most consistent surfaces and just the right pitch to go with it. Surprisingly, Spillway right next door was closed, and it was perhaps due to its steep pitches with some of those areas that had been scoured and were very icy.

[NoCORH4L]

Oh Jay Peak, 397" lol, sure. 

[powderfreak]

What an icy disaster today.  The Lookout Snow Cam had 3” but reality was less.

Could've added 3” to the tally but went with 1” instead.

High Road had less than 1”, which is what the hill skied with.  But there’s no shortage of snow in general.

 

[powderfreak]

Picked up 4” today to officially bring it over 300” measured on the season.

[powderfreak]

This last 36 hours was a nice winter interlude in the growing momentum of spring.

Snowing and winter conditions, then as soon as the sun comes out the vibe changes to spring.

[J.Spin]

Yesterday’s system was our biggest snowmaker of the month thus far, so I decided to head up to Bolton this morning to get in some turns in the fresh snow. I wasn’t exactly sure what I was going to find up at the hill, just a couple of new inches atop a hard base, or something more, but when I stepped out of my car at ~2,000’ into 4-6” of dry powder, the prospects were looking good. I toured in the 2,000’ – 2,700’ range and didn’t really find any increases in snow depths with respect to elevation aside from the occasional 7” measurement in sheltered hollows.

The powder was staying light and dry even as of late morning, and I’d say it held about a third of an inch of liquid equivalent. That was enough for bottomless turns on low angle terrain, but anything steeper and I was quickly contacting the subsurface. The powder was dry enough to support really nice turns and speed even on lower angle pitches though, so that made for a fantastic descent. An added plus was that there was bright April sunshine out there, and it warmed you up quickly. Thankfully the air was dry enough to keep the powder in good shape despite the strong sun, at least through the morning hours.

In terms of seasonal snowfall, this storm pushed all the resorts along the spine of the Northern Greens past the 300” mark, and Jay Peak past 400”, so some good seasonal benchmarks were reached with this one.

[powderfreak]

For the NNE thread…

 

We’ve had steady snow cover at 1500ft since mid-November.

Snow depth reached 45” max a couple times, and spent over 3 months above 24”.

This morning it was down to 3” and I expect it will be gone by Monday.

 

Still 53” at 3,000ft and 61” at 3,700ft.

[powderfreak]

Snowpack at 3,000ft off High Road is holding at 51”.

Holding at 60” up at the Co-Op stake at 3,700ft.

It’s interesting to see what 303” of snowfall leaves as a snowpack this time of year, even with the lack of snowfall (relative to normal) the past couple months. 

 

[J.Spin]

On 4/12/2026 at 9:46 PM, powderfreak said:

Snowpack at 3,000ft off High Road is holding at 51”.

Holding at 60” up at the Co-Op stake at 3,700ft.

It’s interesting to see what 303” of snowfall leaves as a snowpack this time of year, even with the lack of snowfall (relative to normal) the past couple months. 

Thanks for the snowpack updates PF. Down in the valley at our site, Saturday was the first day without any snowpack left on the property, so April 10^th was the last day of the continuous snowpack season this time around. The average snowpack ending date at our site is April 13^th, so this year was indeed quite close to an average melt out. The overall continuous snowpack duration this season was on the high side of average though (151 days) because we had such an early start – November 11^th, which ranked third for early starts behind November 8^th in 2019 and November 10^th in 2018. This season was notable though in the data set, because it actually pulled the mean snowpack start date down into November. These seasons with early snowpack starts are great with respect to skipping out on a bunch of stick season and getting the ski season going, but five months straight with snow on the ground is quite a stretch – it takes a bit of adjustment when you start seeing the grass again.

[powderfreak]

6 hours ago, J.Spin said:

Thanks for the snowpack updates PF. Down in the valley at our site, Saturday was the first day without any snowpack left on the property, so April 10^th was the last day of the continuous snowpack season this time around. The average snowpack ending date at our site is April 13^th, so this year was indeed quite close to an average melt out. The overall continuous snowpack duration this season was on the high side of average though (151 days) because we had such an early start – November 11^th, which ranked third for early starts behind November 8^th in 2019 and November 10^th in 2018. This season was notable though in the data set, because it actually pulled the mean snowpack start date down into November. These seasons with early snowpack starts are great with respect to skipping out on a bunch of stick season and getting the ski season going, but five months straight with snow on the ground is quite a stretch – it takes a bit of adjustment when you start seeing the grass again.

Yeah it was quite a run!

Down to 44” today At 3,000ft.  Lost 8” in 48 hours with these dew points and rain.

This what 304” looks like on April 15th.  Below average but it is a meticulously observed 304” and the resulting base depth is 44”.  Higher up it is a bit more snow/depth at the Co-Op stake (closer to 4kft), but 3kft is a nice even upper elevation band for a seasonal sample.

Nice inversion out there this AM though.

[tamarack]

17 hours ago, J.Spin said:

Thanks for the snowpack updates PF. Down in the valley at our site, Saturday was the first day without any snowpack left on the property, so April 10^th was the last day of the continuous snowpack season this time around. The average snowpack ending date at our site is April 13^th, so this year was indeed quite close to an average melt out. The overall continuous snowpack duration this season was on the high side of average though (151 days) because we had such an early start – November 11^th, which ranked third for early starts behind November 8^th in 2019 and November 10^th in 2018. This season was notable though in the data set, because it actually pulled the mean snowpack start date down into November. These seasons with early snowpack starts are great with respect to skipping out on a bunch of stick season and getting the ski season going, but five months straight with snow on the ground is quite a stretch – it takes a bit of adjustment when you start seeing the grass again.

Barely managed to carry pack into April, only to 4/1.  Average here is April 6 and it's ranged from March 13 (05-06, only 7.8" after Jan 1) to April 24 (00-01, 55.5" in March, 48" pack on 3/31). 
Average days with 1"+ is 123, and for consecutive, 116.  Range is 81 days in 15-16 to 163 in 18-19, consecutive 73 (11-12) and 162 (also 18-19). 
Earliest start of consecutive pack was Nov 10, 2018 and latest Jan 4, 2000.

[J.Spin]

Yesterday’s weather was gorgeous, with temperatures in the 60s F and blue skies, so I headed to Stowe for some ski touring. The Spruce Peak terrain still has decent snow and easy access at this time of year via the MMSC parking lot, so that’s where I started my tour. There were about 6 to 10 other cars there around midday, with a group of several skiers tailgating after finishing their time on the snow.

Snow conditions were quite nice, with good spring corn and only minor areas of stickiness. I toured up toward the Meadows Quad, and coverage was more than sufficient for a full descent, but it looked like the terrain off the Sensation Quad also offered a continuous or near continuous descent. The only knock against the weather was that there were some brisk southerly winds. They were notable, but the temperatures were warm enough that I still never had to pull out my shell during the tour.

[powderfreak]

Almost 70F at the mountain yesterday, now this.

Some good squalls topping it off this evening.

[bwt3650]

Snowmaking this morning at Jay…AND camelback PA (below) I have never seen an April snowgun on in the poconos nor this late at Jay. Two mountains worlds apart going after it.




.

[J.Spin]

With just an inch or two of snow falling here in the valley on Sunday, I hadn’t planned to ski yesterday – even a couple of inches at the mountain wasn’t really going to cut it in terms of covering up the old snow and bare patches on the slopes. But yesterday morning I woke up to 1-2”/hr. snow pounding down, and that called for a change of plans. With 4 inches of accumulation here at our site in the valley, the mountains had almost certainly done quite well, so I was quickly scrambling to get my gear together for an impromptu ski tour.

As one would expect with marginal spring temperatures, snow accumulations were quite elevation dependent. Snow was just patchy down at the base of the Bolton Valley Access Road at ~340’ by midmorning when I was heading up to the mountain, but up in the Bolton Valley Village at ~2,000’ there were accumulations of 6-9”. Temperatures were in the mid-20s F, and the new snow was dry, medium weight powder with plenty of liquid equivalent. We picked up ¾” of liquid in the valley, so there was probably 1” of liquid in the snow up high, and it skied very well. It was enough to easily cover low and moderate-angle terrain for bottomless powder turns, but it was almost too much for snow skiing the lower angle slopes. Indeed it was dry enough to let you cruise on low-angle terrain, but moderate angle terrain was the better option. Accumulations increased a bit more with elevation, up to roughly 7-10” in the 2,500’-2,700’ range, but they didn’t seem to get much deeper than that. All in all though, with base snow and most water bars still covered, it was more than enough for a solid April powder skiing session.

[powderfreak]

The High Road snow plot was holding at 34” today.

[J.Spin]

Yesterday was another gorgeous one with temperatures in the 50s F, so I headed back to Stowe for a bit of ski touring. Looking at some of the available options, I decided to head to MMSC/Spruce Peak again since the descents there are starting to lose their snow continuity, and top to bottom won’t be very efficient before long. Snow on the Gondola terrain looked more robust, especially over toward Perry Merrill, so that will probably hold out longer in terms of providing more sustained continuous descents.

Overall I’d say weather conditions on the mountain were similar to what I experienced last weekend, except that yesterday didn’t have those strong southerly winds. Sometimes winds can be helpful in keeping the snow cooled just a bit more to reduce stickiness, but snow quality wasn’t an issue yesterday, so the lack of wind just wound up making it more comfortable on the mountain. In fact, I think additional spring temperature cycling has helped the snow a bit over the past week, because there was some excellent spring corn out there that topped what I found last weekend. Whereas last weekend I was on the Meadows Quad and Sunny Spruce Quad terrain, yesterday I focused on Sensation Quad terrain, and Main Street delivered some really good surfaces as it often does. The temperature cycling over the past week hasn’t really pushed the snow into sun cup mode, it just sort of smoothed out some terrain areas and set the best areas of snowpack up with that inch or two of corn snow on top that you can just shave off with effortless turns. Unfortunately, not every part of the descent featured those perfect surfaces, and there area already some gaps in the continuous snow if you start in the upper flats of Main Street, but there are still a lot of great turns out there.

[powderfreak]

Last of the cold season thread.

May meets winter.  That’s some marginal surface cold.

[J.Spin]

For several days I’d been looking for a chance to get out for my next ski tour, but it wasn’t until yesterday that the weather and my schedule lined up for an outing – or at least I thought the weather had lined up. I headed toward Stowe in the morning, since that was supposed to be the sunniest part or the day. I left our place in Waterbury under sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-50s F, but as headed north, clouds began to appear, and they were thicker and darker around Mt. Mansfield. Eventually, I saw that there were obvious rain/snow shafts around the mountain, and by the time I pulled into the main parking lot, I was hit with a maelstrom of wet snow and graupel. It was amazing to think that over a distance of less than 10 miles I’d gone from clear skies and temperatures in the 50s F to heavy snow falling, but that’s what you get in the Northern Greens, and that’s the power of Mt. Mansfield.

I was looking for a relatively short ski tour, and the highest availability of lower-elevation snow was definitely on the terrain below The Nose. The North Slope trail is often a good bet for these types of late season outings, but yesterday, Hayride seemed to offer better snow availability. That’s always a fun feature of these later spring days – you get different terrain options each spring based on how the snowmaking was done and how the weather patterns treated the snow. With the snow falling at the beginning of my tour, I debated putting on my shell for the start of the ascent, but the precipitation quickly began to subside, and before long I was starting to see patches of blue sky around the mountain.

By the time I began my descent, the weather was back to more of what you’d expect on a nice spring day in the mountains. Even with the snowfall, the temperatures hadn’t fallen too far, so the snow was staying soft and springlike. The snowpack that’s out there now has seen a lot of spring temperature cycling by this point, so the quality of the corn was quite good, and the only places to avoid were areas where the snow was ground up or bumpy due to previous vehicle traffic or weird melting patterns. The snowpack isn’t continuous anywhere down near the base of the lifts, but you get into some good long areas of coverage just a few hundred vertical feet up.

I’ve been using a new Dakine Poacher 22L ski pack for touring over the past month or two, but I’ve been able to continue skinning for ascents so far this spring, so yesterday was my first chance to try it out for actually carrying skis. Prior to this pack, for years I’d been ski touring with my Dakine Sequence pack, which is specialized for carrying both skis and photo gear. But the volume of the Sequence is around 33L, and for a while I’d been wanting something smaller for days when I’m not carrying multiple camera lenses. I was looking for something in the 20-25L range, and the Poacher 22L really fit the bill. It’s been a while since I’d shopped for a ski pack, and I had no idea of the dozens and dozens of top notch companies that make them now – there clearly must be quite a market for them. I looked around at many brands, but the Poacher 22L won out when I saw the video Dakine put together that thoroughly covered the redesign they did in 2022 – it just ticked so many boxes for me that it was the obvious choice. Plus, our family has various Dakine ski packs, and Dakine definitely knows their stuff when it comes to making a practical pack for frontcountry, sidecountry, and/or backcountry skiing. I won’t do a full review here, but I’ll mention a few key features that I finally got to try out during yesterday’s outing. A nice feature that many of the newer ski packs are adding is dual position helmet carry – instead of just being able to carry your helmet directly on the back of your pack, there is now an additional carry position available at the top of the pack using the same helmet carrier. They figured out that when you go with diagonal ski carry (which is definitely my preferred positioning), your skis and helmet are horribly in the way of each other when the helmet is on the back of the pack, so the top carry position gets the helmet out of the way of the skis. As one might expect, I tried out the top carry mode yesterday, and it’s a huge improvement – the skis still push on the helmet a bit, but it’s a monumentally better position. The top position does block access to some of the upper pockets, but the option is there when you need it. The next feature I was able to get a sense for yesterday was the internal frame they have in the pack. It’s really just a stiff wire that runs around inside the pack, so it’s extremely light, but it adds an incredible degree of rigidity to the pack. When I initially got the pack I was thrown off by how stiff the whole structure was relative to similar ski packs I’ve owned and used, but then I realized where they were going – if you’ve ever carried skis on an empty backpack with no frame, you know what I mean. Skis can bounce all over the place on empty packs with no support, and this wire frame setup totally takes care of that issue. Finally, I even tried flipping my pack around and opening it in access mode with skis on the pack, and that even worked. Dakine is well known for their back access zippers that let you get to the contents of the pack without taking the pack off – you just slide your shoulders out of the straps, spin the pack around to the front, open the back zipper, and the pack works like a table/desk in front of you with access to your gear. The internal wire produces an even more stable platform, and I’ve tried it for photography on several outings this spring and been very impressed. I’ve used this feature on other Dakine packs, but the stiffness with the internal wire was remarkable, and I even tried it with my skis still on the pack to see if it was practical. I think it’s best if you rest the tips of your skis on the snow when you do it, but I was surprised at how well it handled all that extra weight of the skis. Anyway, as a first trip with the pack in which I actually carried skis, I figured I’d send along some impressions for others that might be wondering about the real world utility for some of these ski pack features.