Ski areas across the state are reporting epic snowfall and a historic ski season with an earlier than usual opening date and snow late into April. Lookout Ski Resort located on Lookout Pass on Interstate-90 is no exception with reports of new powder almost every day. They also were listed as one of the top ten deepest snow packs of any ski area in the country according to Matthew Sawyer, a spokesman for resort.

He said they have received 473 inches of snow so far this winter, as of March 30, “that measures out to 39 feet. Our plan is to keep offering skiing and riding through Saturday, April 21.”

The deep snow and long season is good for Montana and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) said the snowpack was “incredible” following record-breaking February snowfall in many locations. This insures that rivers and streams will be flowing full this spring. The service recently released snowpack data and as of March 1, totals are above normal in all of the major river basins throughout the state.

Also, 15 snowpack measurement locations are setting records for March, and 12 with the second highest totals on record. These sites are located in the mountains that feed the Upper Yellowstone, Upper Clark Fork and Missouri River basins.

According to Lucas Zukiewicz with NRCS, “2018 is looking to go down as one of the biggest snow years on record for some parts of the state. The years 1972, 1997, 2011 and 2014 were all big winters across the state, and many wonder how this year compares. So far, the only snowpack that has topped all other water years for peak snow water contained in the snowpack is the area near Cooke City which feeds the Clark’s Fork River of the Yellowstone River.”

However, there’s still some winter left to come this year and could break more records, he concluded. Due to the abundant snowfall, many measurement locations have already reached, or exceeded, the normal amount of snow water that is typically contained in the snowpack before runoff occurs, all but assuring at least normal surface water supply this spring and summer. With streamflow forecasts issued for the April 1 – July 31 period reporting well above average across the state.

“Having a big snowpack is a double-edged sword,” Zukiewicz said. “You know there will be plenty of snowpack to feed the rivers, which is typically great news, but the uncertainty of how and when it will come out can keep you up at night.”

As for Lookout Resort, they plan on remaining open for skiing and riding April 13-15 and the 21st, “so come and get it while you can,” said Sawyer. “Then we have to hyper focus on our summer venue, the Route of the Hiawatha, one of American’s most scenic bike trails.”