Week Ahead: The PNW Is About to Get Buried

Happy Tuesday, snow nerds. (Yeah, we're a day late on the Week Ahead. We were busy watching storm models and couldn't look away.)

Here's the deal: if you're in the Pacific Northwest, this might be the week of the season. If you're in Colorado, well -- it's a great week for mountain biking. Let's break it all down.

The Main Event: PNW Mega Storm

The Pacific Northwest is about to get absolutely hammered. We're talking about what multiple forecasters are calling the biggest storm cycle of the 2025-26 season, and the numbers are genuinely wild.

Stevens Pass is the bullseye -- 19 to 33 inches of moderate-density snow by Friday, with lighter winds than earlier storm cycles. That's not a typo. At the top end, that's nearly three feet in a week.

Crystal Mountain is right behind at 17 to 29 inches, though the snow will be heavier and wetter -- classic Cascades concrete. Still absolutely rippable, just bring the wider skis.

The storm train is already rolling. A cold reload continues through Tuesday (today), and the main event intensifies Wednesday through Friday. If you can get to Washington this week, do it. This is the kind of cycle that people remember in April when they're scrolling through photos going "remember that week in March?"

Colorado: The Warm Spell Continues

Meanwhile, in Colorado... not much. Joel Gratz at OpenSnow summarized it perfectly in his Sunday update: "mostly dry, northern showers, warm next week."

Last week's system did deliver -- Snowmass, Powderhorn, and Echo Mountain topped out around 13 inches, while Vail, Breck, Winter Park, and others picked up a solid 10-11 inches on Friday. That was a legit powder day and a welcome interruption to what's been a frustratingly warm pattern.

But this week? Warm-ish temperatures, gusty winds, and maybe some snow showers over the northern mountains. That's it. The next chance for significant snowfall in Colorado is... TBD. As Joel put it: "I don't know when."

For the spring skiers: groomed runs will soften up nicely by late morning on south-facing aspects. Corn snow season is here whether we like it or not.

Telluride vs. Everybody

The biggest off-mountain story this week is the Telluride saga reaching a new level of messy.

Telluride Ski Resort (Telski) has filed a lawsuit against three current and former elected officials from the towns of Telluride and Mountain Village. The resort alleges that former Mountain Village mayor Martinique Prohaska, former town council member Meehan Fee, and town manager Paul Wisor conspired to "harass and pressure" owner Chuck Horning into selling a 51% stake in the resort.

The alleged play? According to the lawsuit, during last December's ski patrol strike -- which shut down the resort for 13 days during peak holiday season -- Prohaska and Fee flew to California to meet with Horning and presented a $127.5 million purchase offer. The offer reportedly suggested the buyer would direct both towns "to take commercially reasonable efforts to broker a cessation to the ski patrol strike."

Translation: we can make this strike go away, but you need to sell us the mountain first.

Telski says the officials "represented that they had the power to control a labor strike" and used that leverage while the resort was hemorrhaging money during its busiest period. Prohaska resigned in mid-January, and both towns are now investigating.

This story has everything -- labor disputes, small-town politics, power plays, and a $127.5 million price tag. We'll be watching it closely.

Epic Pass Goes After Gen Z

Vail Resorts dropped their 2026-27 Epic Pass pricing last week, and the headline move is a 20% discount for Gen Z skiers. The pass now costs $869 for that age group -- a savings of up to $220 versus standard pricing.

They also announced that anyone who bought a lift ticket at a Vail resort this season can get up to $175 off next year's Epic Pass. Classic conversion play: turn this year's day-trippers into next year's passholders.

Is $869 actually affordable for a generation that can barely afford rent? Debatable. But it's the most aggressive youth pricing we've seen from Vail, and it signals they're worried about the pipeline. If Gen Z doesn't get hooked on skiing now, who's buying passes in 2035?

Deer Valley's $100 Day

In "things we never thought we'd write" news -- you can ski Deer Valley for $100.

The resort, fresh off a massive expansion that added 100 new skiable runs (!!), launched a $100 lift ticket special starting March 4. Deer Valley. One hundred dollars. That's about what it cost to ski there in... actually, we don't think Deer Valley has ever been that cheap.

If you're anywhere near Park City and haven't checked out the expanded terrain, this is a no-brainer. The new terrain essentially transforms the place.

California's Uncomfortable Question

CalMatters published a deeply reported piece this week asking a question that's been nagging at a lot of people: is California's ski season deadlier than usual?

The answer, frustratingly, is that nobody knows -- because California has no system to monitor ski injuries or deaths at resorts. No reporting thresholds that trigger investigations. CalMatters contacted more than two dozen ski resorts and not a single one shared accident data.

This season has been particularly grim. A 21-year-old died on a black diamond at Northstar. A fatal collision followed within two weeks. And then a catastrophic avalanche killed nine backcountry skiers near Lake Tahoe -- the deadliest single avalanche event in California in recent memory.

Ski California's president says there's "no indication that there are more injuries this year" and chalks it up to increased media coverage. Maybe. But without data, that's just a guess -- and that's exactly the problem.

What We're Watching This Week

• PNW storm totals -- If Stevens Pass hits the high end (33"), expect this to dominate ski media all week
• Telluride lawsuit developments -- Discovery could get very interesting
• Colorado warm spell duration -- Models show warmth extending into next week too. Snowpack is suffering.
• Prediction markets -- We have active markets on our predictions page. Check in and make your calls.

Bottom Line

If you can get to Washington or Oregon this week, go. Right now. The PNW is about to have one of those weeks that defines a season.

If you're stuck in Colorado, enjoy the spring vibes and save your PTO for whenever the pattern flips. It has to eventually.

And if you're following the Telluride situation -- grab some popcorn. This one's going to get weirder before it gets resolved.

See you Friday for the storm recap. ❄️