Montana ski resort Teton Pass is forced to close halfway through season after worst snow in 55 years as El Nino brings warmer weather

• The Teton Pass Ski Area in Montana was forced to close due to warmer weather and less snow during the 2023-2024 ski season
• The locally owned ski resort operated for only four full days this season 

The Teton Pass Ski Area in Montana was forced to close halfway through the season due to the impact of the worst snowfall in 55 years.

The locally owned ski resort operated for only four full days this season because of the warmer weather associated with El Niño and the driest conditions recorded in the mountain’s 55-year history.

Charles Hlavac, owner of the Teton Pass Ski Area, announced the early closure in a six-page letter, saying, ‘It is more representative of a September snowpack than mid-winter.’

Under normal circumstances, the Teton Pass receives an annual snowfall of 300 inches, but the 2023-2024 season marked the lowest precipitation totals in the mountain’s recorded history.

Every inch of snow holds less moisture than usual, with the region receiving only 42 percent of the average snow water equivalent as indicated by snowpack data.

The Teton Pass Ski Area in Montana was forced to close halfway through the season due to the impact of the worst snowfall in 55 years

The locally owned ski resort (pictured last year) operated for only four full days this season because of the warmer weather associated with El Niño and the driest conditions recorded in the mountain’s 55-year history

Under normal circumstances, the Teton Pass (pictured last year) receives an annual snowfall of 300 inches but the 2023-2024 season marked the lowest precipitation totals in the mountain’s recorded history

El Niño, caused by a shift in the distribution of warm water in the Pacific Ocean around the equator, caused a drastic change in winter weather conditions across the country this year.

Despite dumping more snow to Northern California, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles, the weather pattern does not favor Montana in the upcoming forecast, Hlavac said.

‘I spent a bunch of time this week looking at longer range weather models of the jet stream, and everything I can see from 16-30 days out is more of the same ‘El Niño’ pattern, which does not favor Montana for significant moisture,’ he said.

Last week, temperatures exceeding 50 degrees, coupled with intermittent rain, destroyed the meager snowpack that the resort had accumulated.

Hlavac remained optimistic about the weather during the past weekend, but the eight inches of snow that the area received fell on the ‘bottom end of what was expected,’ he said.

‘Unfortunately, that storm started out as rain, and fell on unfrozen ground…The plow biade hooked on the mud under the snow and revealed what was still laying beneath’ he wrote.

Last week, temperatures exceeding 50 degrees, coupled with intermittent rain, destroyed the meager snowpack that the resort had accumulated

The decision to close the resort was not an easy one, as Hlavac pointed to financial burden in his letter.

‘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 correct decision from a truly non-emotional business perspective is to ‘cut off the limb to save the life,’ or in other words end this season now, so we can ensure more seasons in the future.’

‘We hope that we have proven over time that we are not afraid of the incredibly hard work that goes into operating a uniquely challenging business in a sometimes-hostile environment.

‘We don’t see ourselves as quitters, and we recognize that this decision might be viewed that way by some now, or in the future. This decision will linger, but we have weighed the alternatives.

Charles Hlavac, owner of the Teton Pass Ski Area, announced the early closure in a six-page letter, saying, ‘It is more representative of a September snowpack than mid-winter’

Every week or so, Hlavac had to turn to Instagram to announce the closure of the resort due to the warmer weather and minimal snowfall

Hlavac’s resort is one of many locally owned ski areas affected by decreasing but more variable natural snowfall across the country in recent years

The winter has never fully embraced the resort this season, as photos and videos shared on social media provided a glimpse of the challenges the ski resort faced in past months.

A video posted two weeks ago captured patches of muddy terrain, exposed grass, and bare dirt at the resort, replacing the usual blanket of snow.

Hlavac wrote at the time: ‘Is this what they meant by the dry January challenge! Buckle up those anti-gravity boots and make the best of it.’

Every week or so, he had to turn to Instagram to announce the closure of the resort due to the warmer weather and minimal snowfall.

Even during the opening days, Hlavac had cautioned about the less-than-ideal snow conditions in one of his posts: ‘The snowpack is of very light density, and early season conditions prevail. Expect buried objects such as rocks, stumps, and logs.’

Hlavac’s resort is one of many locally owned ski areas affected by decreasing but more variable natural snowfall across the country in recent years.

According to data from the Environmental Protection Agency, total snowfall has decreased at 57 percent of weather stations.

Furthermore, from 1982 to 2021, the snowpack season became shorter at approximately 86 percent of the sites where snowpack was measured, as reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Across all sites, the length of the snowpack season decreased by an average of about 18 days.

Hlavac said managing a ski resort feels like a gamble every year, as the resort invests money in early-season payroll insurance and tax with the hope that it will pay off in the coming season.

‘We are becoming delinquent on all of that, and the weight of that stress is real,’ he said.

‘Continuing to wait for winter feels like continuing to gamble, but now we are gambling with someone else’s money. It does not feel financially responsible.’

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