SAM Magazine—Choteau, Mont., Feb. 12, 2024—Teton Pass Ski Area is the latest in a string of resorts to pull the plug on a 2023-24 ski season bedeviled by shifting weather patterns and unseasonably warm temperatures.

A historic lack of snow—or almost any precipitation at all—has forced the early closure of the Montana ski area. In a six-page letter announcing the decision on Feb. 8, Teton Pass owner Charles Hlavac called the weather “the obvious elephant in the room.”

“We are simply experiencing the lowest levels of moisture ever recorded at our site in 55 years of recording data,” he wrote. “Last week we saw temps north of 50 degrees all week combined with intermittent rain. This destroyed what little snowpack we had.”

A storm last weekend put eight inches of snow on the ground, said Hlavac, but subsequent sunshine melted some of that away, and what remained sat on unfrozen ground. 

“So, here we stand today, with a bit of white coverage, with no base underneath it, and a 10-day forecast that is not getting us excited,” he said.  “It is more representative of a September snowpack than mid-winter.”

The business had been suffering since December, said Hlavac, adding that “the financial hole we have dug is large, and we don’t think we could operate our way out of it even if the snow showed up.” 

The hole, Hlavac explained, was the result of an annual “gamble” ski areas take “fronting large financial commitments that they hope to pay-off with the business of that coming season. We commit that money to early season payroll, insurance premiums, property tax, large scale maintenance, and significant startup costs such as food, beverages, fuel, and even explosives for avalanche mitigation work.”

With no reasonable path to recoup those costs—Hlavac said the ski area does not typically experience strong spring visitation—ending the season now was the right move to “ensure more seasons in the future.”

With that decision, Teton Pass joined a growing list of ski areas that have either shut down or never opened this season due to lack of snow. Montana’s Turner Mountain Ski Area announced on Jan. 26 that it was closing until when and if more snow arrived. And Cody, Wyo., ski area Sleeping Giant announced in January that a combination of damage to its snowmaking system and a lack of natural show was shutting down its 2023-24 season.

Nor have resorts in Canada been immune. Troll Ski Resort in Quesnel, British Colombia, remains closed after what was initially billed as a temporary shutdown on Jan. 29. The ski area is located more than 400 miles north of Vancouver and relies entirely on natural snow—typically abundant this time of year—to operate.

—Report by Bob Curley

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