# Travelling west in an El Nino season



## sabatoa (Jan 18, 2011)

Hey guys, I'm looking to get out west in mid-March and I'm wondering about the impact of El Nino. I'm not necessarily trying to maximize El Nino snow gains so much as I'm trying to avoid bad locations in an El Nino year.

My original plans were for Big Sky. Wife is concerned about the base holding up, and whether they're getting less snow as a result of the El Nino.

I'm not ruling out Utah or the PNW...

I guess what I'm asking is what's good out there in March in an El Nino year?


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## deagol (Mar 26, 2014)

Not sure what will happen, but all I can say is that it gotten stupidly warm here (CO) in the last week and a half, or so. 
Mid 60's in the afternoon. Lots of water on my commute to work in the morning (should be ice at this time of early morning in mid February). 
I know that's further south than you asked about, though..


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

pnw is warm...though we have a relative decent base...but warmer than we like...but rain could wash it away.

maybe keep an eye on cliff's blog

Cliff Mass Weather Blog


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## sabatoa (Jan 18, 2011)

Damn, it's starting to feel like a gamble no matter the location. I was hoping to get something booked sometime this week.

Colorado wasn't really on my radar, but I'm open to it. I just don't want to deal with stupid crowds.

Thanks for the link to the blog, I'll bookmark that and keep an eye on it.


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## ridinbend (Aug 2, 2012)

Tahoe hands down. If your wife likes to shred too, rent a car and road it north if conditions are better somewhere else. If you truly want to score, stay as mobile as possible and start in Tahoe.


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## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

sabatoa said:


> Damn, it's starting to feel like a gamble no matter the location. I was hoping to get something booked sometime this week.
> 
> Colorado wasn't really on my radar, but I'm open to it. I just don't want to deal with stupid crowds.
> 
> Thanks for the link to the blog, I'll bookmark that and keep an eye on it.


You are talking about the weather, no one can predict it in the mountains. It is always a gamble and you pretty much have to take what you can get. This is why I just decided to move from the hot south flat lands and live as close as possible to a mountain. I was slopeside for 5 seasons but now I am super far away(20 minutes):crying:. If you are a vacation rider you just kinda have to deal with what you get unless you have the funds to book at the last minute just ahead of when a big storm is coming through. :blahblah:

Look at historical data, March is the snowiest months for most NW and central rockies resorts.


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## sabatoa (Jan 18, 2011)

Argo said:


> You are talking about the weather, no one can predict it in the mountains. It is always a gamble and you pretty much have to take what you can get. This is why I just decided to move from the hot south flat lands and live as close as possible to a mountain. I was slopeside for 5 seasons but now I am super far away(20 minutes):crying:. If you are a vacation rider you just kinda have to deal with what you get unless you have the funds to book at the last minute just ahead of when a big storm is coming through. :blahblah:
> 
> Look at historical data, March is the snowiest months for most NW and central rockies resorts.


Yeah, I know man. I'm talking more specific to the whole El Nino impact, not the traditional crap-shoot that comes with trips up north (in MI) or out west. I know March is typically great, I just dunno how (or if) this season's pattern impacts that.

I should probably just pick a place without regard to the el nino and just accept whatever fate may come.


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## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

I would pick some place with good base elevation(above 4500/5000' and decent vertical drop/acreage. Also one with a good base of snow so far.


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## Argo (Feb 25, 2010)

If you havent seen it, here is a taste of Mt bachelor. The parks here are some of the best I have seen. The freeriding is also probably the most fun I have had and you get some really great feeling turns in powder even with 4-6" snowfall......

Bachelor Party 2016: Episode 2 | Snowboarder Magazine


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## MrLahey (Nov 14, 2015)

Like Argo said consider base elevation but also keep in mind aspect. The sun angle can kill snow that time of year. Colorado tends to have some pretty crazy spring snowfall too. I would probably just keep my options open as long as possible...


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## deagol (Mar 26, 2014)

damn it ! my co-worker just told me it's supposed to get up to &^%$ 70 degrees around here in the next few days. People get all giddy when this happens for some stupid reason. I wanna smack them.. :boxing:

many people would love it if winter just completely went away since they don't ski... UGG where the %^&% do they think their water comes from ??


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## bghozali (Feb 9, 2016)

Bah... semi related I guess... I'm headed to Jackson, WY and SLC next week. So far Jackson looks "meh" and Park City is getting really warm. First day in Park City is the 22nd so I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that the weather will change a bit!

At the very least it'll be bluebird days and maybe I'll just get a chance to work on jibbing, etc...


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## SkullAndXbones (Feb 24, 2014)

take my advice with a grain of salt because i just got back from my first ever trip out west (i went to mt bachelor) last week but i've looked at so many places and statistical weather and usually the pnw and utah have great March snowfall. but like ridinbend said, with an el nino year, the tahoe area usually gets hammered. utah usually gets great snow during an el nino too. i can say, however, that the pnw (or at least mt bachelor) has a great base depth right now. someone out there told me that they were at 150% of their normal snowfall accumulation by this time of the year. but who knows. right it looks like the west is warming up and the east is gonna get hammered. with the windchill, it's supposed to be -20 here (the east coast) during the weekend.


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## Rogue (Nov 29, 2014)

sabatoa said:


> Yeah, I know man. I'm talking more specific to the whole El Nino impact, not the traditional crap-shoot that comes with trips up north (in MI) or out west. I know March is typically great, I just dunno how (or if) this season's pattern impacts that.
> 
> I should probably just pick a place without regard to the el nino and just accept whatever fate may come.


ok but El Nino itself is a crap shoot. December was, I can't even describe how much snow we got and how incredible it was and everyone kept saying nah it's going to be terrible based on El Nino. 

Now it's rainy on and off and warmer, snow level going up and down. But we have a 9 foot base (at the lodge elevation 15ft+ up higher) and parks are on point (or so I hear hahaha) I think you'll be fine, pick a place you want to explore, enjoy, & go. Anything will beat MI, no offense.


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