While the majority of Flathead Valley is unusually brown and dry for a La Nina January, higher elevations are caked in snow and the slopes at elevations of 4,500 to 5,000 feet are ready to go.

“Everyone is talking about La Nina and the one for this year isn't as strong,” Missoula's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecaster, Marty Whitmore, said. “It's not that uncommon to have a dry December and January, it shows itself more in February, March and April so there's still potential to get more snowpack.”

Although the 2011-12 winter season is classified as a La Nina year, predicting temperatures is still difficult due to outside factors such as the Pacific Oscillation in the northern Pacific Ocean and convective patterns in the Indian Ocean, according to Whitmore.

“We've had warm systems come in recently and even if we get precipitation it comes in the form of rain,” Whitmore said. “Overall we're still a bit below normal for snow in the mountains, that goes for just about anywhere in northwestern Montana. Who knows, we do tend to put our ski areas in good spots.”

Lakeside's Blacktail Mountain ski resort is enjoying the benefits that come with north facing slopes and a 5,250-foot elevation.

“We've had great snow, better snow than in most places in the region,” Blacktail General Manager Steve Spencer said. “It might have been a record Christmas, we had people that found us because we had snow and had some unusual snow that didn't hit other places.”

Over 83 inches of snow has fallen at Blacktail as of Jan. 5 with 48 inches on the ground due to some melting during warmer periods since the start of the winter season.

“We've been open since Dec. 10 and been 100 percent ever since and we've had great crowds ever since too,” Spencer said. “Since we're on the north slope we get what we keep, the sun never hits it.”