Updated 10 Day Forecast for CO and 24 hour snow totals:
Vail: 3 over last 24, 25 expected through 10, 37 inch mid mountain base, 87% open
BC: 3 over last 24, 23 expected through 10, 35 inch mid mountain base, 80% open.
Snowmass: 7 over last 25, 21 over next 10, 33 inch mid mountain base, 65% open
SS: 5 over last 24, 36 over next 10, 50 inch summit base, 94% open.
Telly: 3 over 24, 26 expected over 10, 28 inch summit base, 59% open.
Purg: 2 over 24, 25 expected over 10, 23 inch mid mountain base, 82% open
WC:4 over 24, 38 expected over 10, 36 mid mountain base, 100% open!
Separating the Sumco hills here to highlight the disparity between them and the rest of CO:
Keystone: 2 over 24, 10 expected over next 10, 26 inch summit base, 61% open
Breck: 3 over 24, 10 expected over next 10, 25 inch summit base, 48% open.
Shaping up to be a really nice ride over the next 10-14 days across most of the state. I sound like a broken record, but Sumco still not getting the numbers they need and if these numbers hold true, they will be WAY behind after these rollers pass. Almost everywhere in the state is picking up 20-30+ inches yet Sumco only forecasting 8-10. Missing these big rollers in an El Niño year can be a real season killer because we typically pick up 4-5 per season snd they already wiffed in the first two (why vail and BC have a 50% higher base) so if they miss out on this one, that's missing out on 50-66% of the biggest dumps and they're already on the lowest level base by far of any of the major CO ski hills. So, they need these numbers to flip to even begin to catch up (Breck and Keystone need the numbers Telly/Purg/WC are picking up). Because they missed the first two rollers, Breck and Keystone are 20+ inches on the short side of their average base depth for this time of year and forecasted to only pick up 1/3-1/2 of the snow as the rest of the state. Add that to the fact they are the heaviest run hills in the state and that's a lot of OUCH. In 38 years of skiing CO, I've NEVER not once seen this level of disparity between Sumco and the rest of the state especially the disparity between Vail and Copper/Breck/Keystone. Never ever ever and honestly not even close. Thus far, the storm systems are backing up at Vail Pass to the west, Indy pass to the SW, Rabbit Ears to the north, and Monarch to the south which means by the time the systems reach the triangle that includes Summit, the moisture content is totally gassed so instead of catching high elevation snow, they are just catching some brutal high elevation wind.
Please note: some of the base numbers I quoted are mid mountain and some are summit readings. If the summit reading is under 30, that's BAD news. Steamboat ALWAYS provides the summit reading so that's not abnormal. However, when Vail Resorts hills and Telly quote their summit readings it's usually because they are scared to provide the mid mountain. It's a little slight of hand magic trick they've used for years to fool people that don't know the difference between the two. Rule of thumb is cut the summit by 25-33% to get the mid mountain. Good news for Telly is they're picking up numbers in this storm that they desperately need. Once this roller passes, Telly should be back to its normal self so if you're hitting anywhere in the San Juans or Sangres over the next couple of weeks, you timed life perfectly. If you're hitting up the Sawatch or Gores or Routt, you're hitting them at almost the perfect point in the season.
Sorry if these updates are annoying. I can totally tone them down if you guys and gals would prefer.