Here’s the forecast for Mt Shasta Ski Park:

The base elevation there is 5500 feet and the Grey Butte chair will take you up to 7536 feet. The park sits on the southern flank of massive Mt Shasta which tops out at 14,179 feet.

The other local ski resort—Mt Ashland, just over the Oregon border—has it a little better:

Those folks sit a little higher: it’s 6634 feet at the base and it’s 7533 feet on the summit (the top of Ariel chair). Mt Ashland is the tallest of the Siskiyou range and the resort sits on the peak’s north face.

I’m not complaining because I’m a frustrated skier. The conditions are certainly lousy for winter recreation. No, I’m complaining because this is not good. It’s not good for California. It’s not good for Oregon. It’s not good for anyone in the West.

In the West we depend on snowpack. Rain is great, sure. We love us some rain.

But it’s all about the snow. It’s got to accumulate. We need to come out of winter with all of our mountains blanketed in the stuff.

So far that’s not happening. And this patchwork of storms is not just alarming, it’s downright dangerous. The existing snowpack, under these warm, wet conditions is particularly unstable.

I don’t like hot, smoky summers. I don’t like watching the West burn. We need some goddamn snow!