The 2025-2026 winter season has left many wanting when it comes to snow. Last fall, Utah recorded the warmest start to ski season since meteorologists started tracking temperatures in 1992, and the state’s snowpack hit a record low in February.
To make up for the lack of natural snowfall, Wasatch Back resorts have been diligently making snow to ensure skiers and riders could still hit the slopes.
Deer Valley Resort Senior Director of Mountain Operations Garrett Lang said resorts need a specific combination of temperature and humidity — called 28 wet-bulb — to make quality snow.
“We just haven't consistently seen those temps and that wet bulb throughout the season,” he said. “So what we have done is make sure that we're primed and ready to take advantage of every second that we're presented with.”
That means running snow guns 24 hours a day if there was a cold spell or even just seven hours on a good night. Lang said Deer Valley’s snowmaking system is also 90% automated and can be turned on remotely, which helps.
Park City Mountain Vice President of Mountain Operations Chris Ingham said his team had a similar process. The resort has a mix of automated and manual snowmaking systems. Whenever conditions were right, his team would either turn systems on remotely or be on the mountain getting guns blowing.
“It's actually really exciting to see how, like, nimble and efficient and creative the snowmaking team can get, with respect to making sure that we've got a really awesome skiing product out there,” Ingham said.
Deer Valley and Park City Mountain also had to be strategic when choosing where to blow snow. Lang and Ingham said they added snow to arterial runs more than usual to ensure high traffic routes had a good base.
The dry, warm weather also meant both resorts were making snow much later into the season than normal. Typically, the resorts turn off snow blowers in late January or early February. But this year, snowmaking continued into late February.
Despite the longer timeline, Ingham said Park City Mountain hasn’t made more snow than in years past. Lang said Deer Valley has made a bit more snow, but that’s only because it opened new terrain.
“We're making more snow because we have all the additional terrain and pump houses and snow guns and water rights,” he said. “But if you were to look at traditional Deer Valley, we're making about the same amount of snow there.”
Both resorts have now stopped snowmaking operations. Thanks to the season’s biggest snowstorm the week of Feb. 16, they both have enough snow to last till the end of the season.
Ingham is also expecting some more snowfall.
“March is typically the snowiest month of the year, and hoping for a lot more of those powder days,” Ingham said.
And despite an unusual snow year, Ingham said the season should end in April like usual.
