Checking in on western snowpack levels after last week’s historic Colorado storm

You all know that gravity, on an Earthly level, is what gives weight to physical objects. From a waterly perspective, gravity is what causes the precipitation within the clouds and storms to fall to the Earth and, when it gets there, seek the lowest points of every watershed.

The western United States always has gravity on which to lean to keep itself well-watered, so long as the Earth itself keeps spinning. It’s being able to depend upon having water around that’s become more of problem of late, with frequent drought conditions putting pressure on farms and, at the extreme, setting the stage for devastating wildfire seasons.

The summer monsoons will always help to refill these watersheds, assuming they show, but the primary driver of how much water the American west can count on comes from the snowpack levels in the high peaks of the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada. Thanks to – you guessed it – gravity, the gradual snowpack within these concentration of high-alpine peaks melts off, flows downhill, and congregates within the same low-points that have drained it for eons, and it should come as no surprise to know that rivers like the Colorado, Arkansas, Platte, Snake, Rio Grande, Sacramento, Animas, and San Joaquin all originate within these various ranges.

From a pure ‘health of the entire ecosystem’ perspective, I’d encourage anyone to keep track of the snowpack levels in these various regions to have a better idea of how each individual location is faring. The more snow there is, the more water there is, the more crops are growing, the better the hay yield (that will feed the livestock), the wetter the land is come lightning-strike season, and the less (in general) we need to be worried about fires. Hell, even if you’re just self-interested in how much insurance companies are set to be on the hook or how the share prices of publicly traded utility companies may be damaged by drought, paying attention to how dry (or not) the west is should be of great interest.

From a more pedstrian ‘health of outdoor recreation’ perspective, snowpack levels mean everything. How much snow falls each winter determines how late into the year the ski resorts stay open. How much snow there is to melt-off dictates when peak flows flood the rivers, and determine the timing of when river-rafting companies need to be at peak operation. How much snow there is determines when the noted long trails that dot the west will be passable, or not, impacting the small towns along those routes that have set up cottage industries to resupply the trekkers.

For the same reasons that humans can’t go more than about three days without water, it tends to evaporate quickly once the weather begins to warm. It’s dry enough as-is out west, but with the sun in the sky longer and summer on the way, even large snowpacks will be expected to diminish in a hurry. That’s why keeping tabs on it (and the forecast while snow storm season is still somewhat to be expected) can help you do your best to plan around the conditions when booking trips months in advance.

For instance, the Glacier National Park early-access backcountry permit lottery came and went last Friday, and some ~70% of all permits they’ll dole out have now been allocated to folks interesting in planning a trip there from May 1st through the end of October. A quick check-in with the US Department of Agriculture’s National Water and Climate Center can give us a heads-up on how the snowpack across the state of Montana looks as of the end of the day yesterday:

The numbers within each basin represent the percent relative to their median snowpack each year dating from 1991-2020. Montana, as you can see, is looking at a lot less snow at this point (through 3/19) than they usually do, though it’s worth pointing out that even 70 to 75% of ‘median’ in an area where the national park headquarters averages 157 inches of snow per year means there still should be a lot of snow on the ground. Still, these kinds of low numbers usually suggest that it will be drier earlier in the year than normal, so campsites that may sit under snow until mid-July in larger snowpack years may now be in your wheelhouse when planning routes earlier in the summer.

Unless, of course, the snow ramps up throughout April and changes this all again. That’s why keeping tabs on the NWCC’s interactive map (updated daily) can keep you informed until the minute you have to book your trip!

I’m down in Colorado, and last week saw the state inundated with one of the biggest storms of the last three years. Eldora, outside Nederland just northwest of the Denver metro area, was pounded with some 4-5 feet of snow in the deluge, so much that they were forced to close completely for a day and a half as skiers were forced to salivate at home. The result of the storm (and others in the San Juans to the south) mean that the state’s respective basins now all sit above their norms in terms of snowpack, as The Colorado Sun pointed out on Wednesday.

Rocky Mountain National Park permits are already on the books, so there’s not a whole lot you can do if you’ve got an early-season one to avoid the snow. Aside from getting lucky rescheduling your trip via Recreation.gov, you could just pick up some crampons from Moosejaw for your snowy walk – they’ve got a 20% sitewide sale going on right now! That said, there are over 40 designated wilderness areas within the state of Colorado alone, and if you’ve got eyes on a big route through one of them, checking the snowpack reports for the area will give you keen insight on when your trails may finally be unburied.

Lastly, it’s vital that you keep in mind the nuance of these maps, especially in an area like Wyoming where there are multiple small mountain ranges that flank big, open praries. The latest NWCC snowpack map up there gives a perfect example of just that:

The Wind River Range that slashes its way through the central portion of the state is under above-average snowpack, while the southern portion of Yellowstone sits almost right at average. That said, the Powder Basin in the state’s eastern half represents the eastern runoff of the Bighorn Mountains, and that area near Gillette has seen precious little snow so far relative to the norm. In other words, if you’ve got eyes on Cloud Peak in the Bighorns, you might get to plan your trip there earlier in 2024 than you might have expected!

As always, consult the ranger stations in your respective destinations prior to attempting any hike of significance to make sure you’re well aware of current conditions beyond just the snowpack levels. And, which is paramount, practice Leave No Trace principles while in any National Park, designated Wilderness, or National Forest area.