After a rainy/snowy May, June was unusually warm. Much of the snow up high melted away. Long approaches became the norm and fewer and fewer skiers were seen skiing. There’s still patches of white up high, some snowy summits in Colorado still beckon the committed, but tickets are being booked for Argentina, Chile, and New Zealand. It might be time to put the skis away for the summer and commit to a few months of hiking, rock climbing, and alpine ascents.
Let’s take a look at the snow data for the western US compared to normal. Below is theWestwide SNOTEL Current Snow Water Equivalent % of Normal as of July 1, 2015. You can link to the most recent data from the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service here. It’s updated regularly.
After last month’s SnoTel data, things have certainly changed. Based on this map, summer is here in full swing. On the upside, the days are already getting shorter and winter will be here in a few months more.
Many SnoTel sites are no longer reporting and those that are show very little snow left, if any at all. There still are some hidden couloirs, shady snowfields, and distanct snow patches to ski though in the Cascades, Colorado, British Columbia, and the Southern Hemisphere – even a zone in California! Best of luck if you’re dragging skis to those remote spots.
See you in the mountains.
