An update on western snowpack levels as you begin planning your summer backpacking schedule

It would appear, for now, that Ullr has shined down on me from Asgard.

I have a very quick trip up to Jackson Hole on the docket for this weekend, and there’s a major winter storm brewing in the Tetons. While it has maintained relatively (and, at times, extremely) cold temperatures up there so far this winter, it’s been a bit since they’ve been inundated with a proper storm – and it just so happens that one seems to be in store for this weekend.

While I hope to reap the benefits of said fresh layer on skis this week, it prompted me to investigate what a mulit-foot storm would do for snowpack levels much further down the calendar. Specifically, it prompted me to take a closer look at relative snowpack levels across the Tetons (and the rest of the Mountain West) given that it’s just about time to begin using them to help plan for summer backpacking trips.

You can absolutely enjoy tremendous backpacking trips on snowshoes and microspikes, doing your best not to post-hole or completely lose trails altogether. It’s an incredible workout, you won’t run into many (or any) other people, and it’s a next-level sphere of exploration.

Trails also have not been cleared at that point, so even if you’re having a blast on the parts that still contain snow, your on-trail experience might end up a pain, too. So, it’s unsurprising that ‘when the snowpack melts’ becomes the unofficial starting date for backpacking season across the west.

As the below snow-water equivalent map from the National Weather and Climate Center shows, that starting date looks like it’ll be quite variable as current snowpack levels stand as of January 27th.

The map is interactive if you visit the NWCC site itself, but the above image still relays a good snapshot of where things stand.

Currently, only two locations – the John Day Basin in eastern Oregon (the blue 151 zone) and the Milk River of Montana’s central plains (the blue 236 zone) – are showing snowpack levels over 150% of the median level expected given the last ~30 years of data. Meanwhile, California’s Central Valley (home to Sequoia, Kings Canyon, and Yosemite National Parks) has snowpack levels of less that 50% of expectation, with similarly barren snow levels across most all of the southwest (including Grand Canyon National Park in northwest Arizona).

To tie a bow on this, the Tetons look to be sitting at around ~80% of their usual snowpack level, something this weekend’s storm will hopefully bolster.

Snowpack level indicating the unofficial ‘start’ of backpacking season in the summer is only one piece of the larger planning puzzle, of course. That snow, as it melts, fuels the rivers and streams that not only bring life to the flora and fauna of their watersheds, it provides potential drinking water for we humans that attempt to trek through it. If you’ve got a 7-day trip through one of the drier sections of the Grand Canyon planned for March, for instance, you’re really hoping that snowpack level builds up a bit more, since it’s that snow melting that will provide reliable drinking water in the side canyons above the Colorado River.

It’s not complicated to see how runoff impacts the most potentially devastating aspect of planning these summer treks, either. The bigger the snowpack, the longer it takes to melt off, in theory – and that melt water then keeps the region sustainably moist deeper into the warmest parts of the year. It keeps it from drying out, quite literally, and the drier the west gets, the more prone it becomes to devastating wildfires. The earlier it dries out, the longer its exposed to extreme fire conditions – meaning fire bans, smoke inhalation from other upwind fires, and literal fires starting where you’re trying to walk all come into the equation.

While the Milk River region of the central Montana plains is flush with snowpack right now, the mountains immediately to its west are sitting between 62-69% of median snowpack. That area includes much of Glacier National Park – barring a significant weather change, if you’ve got eyes on a big trip there at some point this summer the odds of August being bone dry (and fiery) look pretty convincing right now.

This is by no means an end-all, be-all for summer 2025 plans. March is often the snowiest month of the year across much of the Rocky Mountains, and that’s been especially true of the Sierra Nevada range on the spine of California in recent years. So, by the time summer rolls around, this map could look incredibly different if there’s a lot of catching up.

The point is, though, that if you’re aiming to put your name into the early access lottery for backcountry permits in Yellowstone (on March 1st) or Glacier (March 15th), you’ve got to use all the data you’ve got available to you at that time to plan your trek – and tracking snowpack levels through the help of the NWCC is a vital, vital resource.

Stay tuned for more information from Lit Wick on the early access permit process for both Yellowstone and Glacier for the 2025 summer season, as well as updated information on the snowpack in those locations. This post also contains some affiliate links, so if you purchase something through those links, Lit Wick earns a small commission.