Skip to content

2,050 m · 06:40 · base building, cold and quiet

One winter, three seasons in it

The basin takes an average of 9 to 12 metres of snow across a winter, and it does not fall evenly. Early season builds the base, the deep season is the cold heart of it, and spring turns the snow to corn. Each stretch skis differently and suits a different guest. Here is how we would time your week.

First week in deep snow?The white line · we build your week around learning itDone this before?The orange line · the Horn, taken direct

mid-December to Christmas

Early season

Typical base
1.5 to 2.5 m
Snow feels
cold, building

The base is coming in and the glades open first, holding the earliest cold snow while the alpine still fills the rocks. Days are short and the lodge is quiet. Terrain is more measured this stretch, but the snow is genuinely cold and the whole basin is fresh from its first storms.

Suits: first-timers, quiet-lodge people, anyone who likes a softer price

January and February

Deep season

Typical base
3 to 4.5 m
Snow feels
deep, cold, frequent refills

The cold heart of the winter. Storms line up, the base is deep, and refill days come often enough that the terrain keeps resetting. This is the classic Powderhorn week: whiteroom turns in the fir, the bowls filling between systems, and the machine working the glades when the alpine is socked in.

Suits: powder chasers, returning guests, anyone here for the deep snow

March to early April

Spring corn

Typical base
3.5 to 5 m
Snow feels
warming, corn on the sunny aspects

The days get long and the light comes back. North aspects hold winter snow while sunny slopes cook to smooth corn by afternoon. This is the season of settled windows, which is when the A-Star flies its best and the high alpine off the Horn comes into its own.

Suits: sun seekers, big-alpine days, groups who want long, warm laps

2,050 m · the depth chart

How the base builds across the winter

A concept picture of a typical winter at the study plot near the lodge: base depth building from the first storms, holding deep through the cold months, then settling into spring. These are illustrative figures for the shape of a season, not a forecast and not a record.

Hand-painted chart titled The Base, Across a Winter: six painted snow columns showing the base building from 0.6 metres in November to 4.4 in February and 4.6 in March, easing to 3.2 in April, with February and March in signal orange.

Concept figures · storm average 9 to 12 m a winter · study plot, lodge elevation

06:12 · timing your week

When to come, honestly

There is no bad week to ski Powderhorn, but there is a right week for what you want. Tell us what matters most and we will point you at it.

  • Want the deepest, coldest snow and do not mind short days of light: book the deep season, January into February.
  • Want a quieter lodge, softer prices, and a base that is still filling in: early season into Christmas is yours.
  • Want long, warm days, big alpine when it flies, and forgiving corn in the afternoon: come in March.
  • New to cat skiing: early or late season is a gentler introduction than a deep-winter storm cycle.
  • Chasing the biggest vertical off the Horn: the settled windows in the deep season and spring give the A-Star its best odds of flying.
See the seatsBook a week