Having registered the biggest snowpack in ten years this past winter, capped off by a 40 centimeter bone-dry dump in early June — yup, June — we are crossing everything but our tips in hopeful expectation of what might well be a knee-deep three-peat.
 
“After June's surprise snowfall on the mountain and a record amount of rain down here, it’s honestly been hard to forget about winter,” smiles Whitewater Marketing and Operations General Manager Anne Pigeon, “even with summer in full swing.”
 
A grand total of 1,225cms fell at the mountain between October 2011 and April 2012. The total snowfall for the previous 2010/2011 season was an almost equally whopping 1,165cms.
 
The reason? Back-to-back El Nino's combined with the Kootenay region’s perfectly positioned mountain ranges and traditional weather patterns, according to local weatherman Ron Lakeman.
 
“Some parts of the last winter we had system after system,” says the Kootenay meteorologist, “with temperatures on the cooler side. Some months we had almost double the normal amount of precipitation.”
 
If you want to fondly recollect all those big powder days of the 2011/2012 season check out our Snow Accumulator. The Accumulator recorded 228 centimeters in October/November—enough snow to open almost all of the mountain for Whitewater’s first day—followed by 109cms in December, 259cms in January, 177cms in February, 351cms in a monster March, and another 101cms in April.

MARCH 2012 SNOWFALL
as per Whitewater Ski Resort Snow Accumulator
 
Indeed, March is becoming a month of marvelous mayhem for us here as it's been clocking in as the highest precip month - by a long shot.
 
Outdoor Operations Assistant Colby Lehman is one of dozens of our beloved Whitewater staffers who were tasked with fending off Ullr’s best, armed with shovels and smiles.
 
“We had over six days with over 20 cms in 24 hours,” Lehman says.
 
One of dozens of storm cycles throughout the 2011/12 season, Lehman recalls a similarly deep stretch of nine days in February in which the mountain was thumped with 118 cms of powder, accompanied by temperatures no warmer than minus-4 degrees.
 
“It was one of those weeks that people came up in hordes, all the lots were full and I was trying to stop people from parking on the road, but when you got on the hill you’d wonder ‘where the heck is everyone?’ All you could hear were whoops and hollers through the trees.”
 
The big question now - what does the winter of 2012/13 have in store?
 
While it’s a little early to say for sure, the extra-long range outlook is suggesting an average winter or perhaps a gentle El Nino season — and we all know that here in the Kootenays, that’s a big winter compared to most other parts of North America. An El Nino pattern could bring milder temperatures with heavy precipitation.
 
“While that would be rain in the valleys,” says Lakeman, “it would mean huge snowfalls up high. Whitewater always seems to do well.”

And even though we know we do well - we never take it for granted! The Early Bird Season Pass Sale is on now until September 30th and don't wait too long because even though we are basking in the heat of summer now, in a just a few short months it will be time to pull out our best snow dance and put our eyes to the skies for any and all signs of Ullr's return.