Overall
Rank
Rank in
Region
Rank in
State
Accounts for resorts' snow quantity, moisture content, latitude, elevation, and slope aspects.
Sugar Bowl Resort is ranked No. 19 in North America for its total snowfall during an average season.
% of days with more than 6" of snow
18.8%% of months with more than 90" of snow
39.5%% of months with less than 30" of snow
21.4%Sugar Bowl Resort is ranked No. 19 in North America for its total snowfall during an average season.
Accounts for resorts' snow quantity, moisture content, latitude, elevation, and slope aspects.
This score accounts for total snow quantity, its moisture content, the resort's latitude, elevation, and its slope aspects, which affect total snow preservation.
At Sugar Bowl 20.3% of winter days see 6 inches or more of snow and 41% of winter months see 90 inches or more. This is elite, blue-chip style snow frequency, rivaled only by a handful of areas in North America. However, Sierra snowfall is notoriously volatile, so 20% of winter months see less than 30 inches of snow. Sugar Bowl's base of 6,900 feet is low enough for it to see occasional winter rain. Sierra average snow density of 12% is not the blower of the Rockies but easily managed on modern fat rockered skis.
Accumulation and PreservationWith its ample snowfall Sugar Bowl averages about 3/4 open at Christmas, as good as anywhere in California. However, Sierra droughts can be extreme, so even the snowiest California areas are less than ΒΌ open at Christmas in the worst 15% of seasons. Sugar Bowl is predominantly north-facing but tops out at 8,400 feet, so overall snow preservation is about average for the Sierra.