It’s easy to forget that winter is still officially SIX WEEKS AWAY (thus, the asterisk) after waking up to fresh snow on the ground YET AGAIN. We got our first big blast last week and then Mother Nature followed that up with a 14 inch snowstorm that ended this morning.

That’s not enough snow to get us open for this weekend, but it IS enough snow to inspire us to attack our ritual snow dances with renewed vigor.

One of the coolest things about this storm was the snow levels. We had snow right down to the valley floor and quite a bit of snow at the Highway 55 level. Flocked trees at 5,300 feet is not something we’ve seen in November for quite a few years.

The snow accumulation and temperatures we’re seeing at the base area seem to be bucking the wet/warm trend of the past few seasons. (Knock on wood).

The Smoky’s Patio looks A-MAZ-ING upholstered in these plush, white cushions.

While this is the type of snow (powder) we love to ski on, but is actually less than ideal for building our base. Let me walk you through that:

The snow looks bomber piled up by the plow at the edge of the parking lot…

And my various measurements around the base area were consistent at 14 inches.

But as hard as this snow worked to cling to our metal surfaces, it’s simply not that wet.

It compacted a lot as I tromped around.

Reports from both the vertically-ambitious Mayor of McCall AND a 27-year-old skinning powder hound put the summit depth between 14″ and 18″.

As we like to say, there is no ‘magic number’ of inches that it takes to get Brundage Mountain open for the season. Wetter snow compacts better, and therefore we need less of that to pack and groom our slopes.

Generally speaking, we need 24 or more inches in the base area and 36 or more at the summit. So for those itching to get ski season started (like me), let’s focus our primal energies and preseason rituals on low temperatures (keep what we have) and another big storm or two to add to it.

After all, while winter, by definition, is still six weeks away, ski season can start as soon as the snow decides it’s ready.

• April

P.S. In case you haven’t seen it posted elsewhere: Our plan is to open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays as soon as there is enough snow to properly pack and groom the slopes. We plan to operate seven days a week starting December 11 – conditions permitting, naturally.