If you're reading this powder alert you are truly dedicated to your sport. It's May 5, a day when most people are thinking of drinking margaritas in the sun in honor of Cinco de Mayo, or something more mundane like yard work, but not you. You're wondering if you can squeeze in one more day in the powder. So I say salud to you. Hope you had a great ski season!

There actually IS new snow to talk about, 7" at Timberline and a few at Meadows and Bachelor. Timberline continues of course to run lifts into summer, and Bachelor wil operate Thursday through Sunday through May. So there are still opportunities for great spring skiing in Oregon.

But the season, for most, is over. And it was a great season. Not as epic as last year:

Timberline Snowpack
May 1 2012 165"
May 1 2011 211"

But still pretty great with many powder days followed by powder days and only a few big warm ups. It started a little late, with the dry weather in early December and the New Years warm up, but took off after that. I had some of the best powder skiing I can remember in early March.

Thanks for reading and weighing in, and I look forward to bringing you powder alerts when the snow starts flying in the fall! A short 5 months from now. Since I know you're already wondering "should I get a seasons pass again next year?", here's what I can tell you for long range planning:

La Nina is over. Highly unlikely we'd see a third straight La Nina year. Most climate models are predicting either No Nino, or a weak El Nino for the upcoming fall. Neither should strike no-snow fear into your powdery heart. No Nino, or neutral years as we call them in climatology, can bring epic snow. Weak El Nino years have often done the same. At this point, there's no reason to think next year won't be anything but great.

With that, have a great summer, and try to exercise those ski muscles when you can. You'll be happy you did come November!

Happy Trails and Turns,