2018 Snowpack Update or How Good is this Year's Winter?!

It's a question all avid skiers debate, and it's not an easy question to answer. A good winter depends not just on abundant snowfall, but on a magical combination of temperature, sun and clouds, and wind. Right now, Bozeman has the combination just right. No hugely epic storms but regular snowfall. Warm weather but no real melt-downs. Big piles of snow line the streets, avalanche hazard is reasonable, and skiers are happy.

What follows is a comparison of snow conditions going back to 2014. There are also a few links to websites that can help you geek out over snow and make your own conclusions.


Here are the stats for 2018 (Taken on February 16). I have added Alta and Crested Butte to the list this year as well as snowfall totals if the ski area reports them. Don't forget to read to the bottom to re-familiarize yourself with the concepts of Steenburgh Winter. It's important for skiers to be aware of the term.

2018 Snow Stats

• Big Sky, 63" - 95" base (Does not report season-to-date snowfall)
• Bridger Bowl, 77" base, 210" snow since November 1
• Alta, 76" base, 183" snow season-to-date
• Crested Butte, 48" base, 112" snow season-to-date

2017 (February 14) Big Sky between 48" - 72" (188" season); Bridger Bowl = 45" (143" season)
2016 (February 12) Big Sky between 43” - 65” (277" season); Bridger Bowl = 56” (209" season)
2015 (February 17) Big Sky between 42”- 63” (294" season); Bridger Bowl = 56” (228" season)
2014 (February 12) Big Sky between 57” - 85” (236" season) ; Bridger Bowl = 76” (166" season)
(The On the Snow website is a good place to go find out stats on ski areas. You can even do a comparison between ski areas. https://www.onthesnow.com/myresorts/compare)

Bozemanites, don't forget, February 24 is upon us, the time when the Steenburgh Winter comes to Southwestern Montana. Jim Steenburgh,  professor of atmospheric science at University of Utah, coined this term and takes a scientific look at how sun angle influences the snowpack.  According to Dr. Steenburgh,

“Steenburgh winter begins the first day that the Alta-Collins snow stake reaches 100….It represents the approximate snow depth needed to transition from early season conditions to winter conditions in the Cottonwoods…. Steenburgh winter ends on February 10…. It seems to be around this time of year when the sun begins to have an increasingly caustic effect on powder…. Prior to February 10, powder can linger for many days on most aspects. Even south facing slopes might survive without a melt-freeze cycle if it is really cold. After February 10, the south aspects will almost always suffer a melt-freeze cycle if the sun comes out and, as the days go on, the sun becomes an increasingly formidable enemy to powder on an increasingly greater range of aspects.” (http://wasatchweatherweenies.blogspot.com/)

To learn more about sun angles, check out this website. http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/AltAz.php. February 10, is the first day in the Wasatch area maximum sun angle reaches 35 degrees above the horizon, and that is when the sun become high enough in the horizon to mess with the snow.

According to the above link, the first day the maximum sun angle reaches 35 degrees above the horizon in the Bozeman/Big Sky area is February 24. For comparison sake, Crested Butte, Colorado reaches the same point on February 4.