Opening Day at Eaglecrest postponed

Opening Day at Eaglecrest Ski Area is postponed. Eaglecrest is on hold until colder and dryer conditions prevail.

The mountain and staff are ready to open, but torrential rain, warm temperatures, and strong winds have accelerated snowmelt across the entire mountain, and this forecast will continue for the foreseeable future. The slopes are saturated and not suitable for skiing, snowboarding, or machine grooming.

Notes from this historically bad stretch of weather:

• Eaglecrest received nearly 7” of rain in 48 hours.
• Another 3-4” of rain is forecasted through Sunday.
• The base snowpack shrank from 30” to 19” – despite 8.5” of snowfall Tuesday night.
• The summit snowpack shrank from 59” to 52” – despite 15.7” of snowfall Tuesday night.
• A significant portion of West Bowl avalanched, some areas have 5-foot crowns, the largest Eaglecrest has seen in years.
• Previously buried water drainages, rocks, stumps, brush, and other hazards are now exposed.
• Mud and debris are covering the snow surface in areas.

All things considered, it could be a lot worse. The early December snowpack is still the deepest Eaglecrest has seen in years. Eaglecrest is cautiously optimistic that it can ride out this next batch of rain and patch up the slopes as soon as it’s cold enough to get the groomers back on the snow.

As much as Eaglecrest staff would have loved to see everyone on the mountain this weekend, please stay safe and dry at home instead. The saturated snowpack is still sensitive and would prefer to be left alone.

The Ticket Office is open Wednesday through Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Please come up and test or print your season pass before the season starts. If you need to rent boots, skis, or snowboards, remember to get pre-fitted. Learn more about operational changes due to COVID-19 at skieaglecrest.com/covid19.