MADISON 8 NORTH SIDE DEBUT 12/20/2024 SnoFax Report

SnoFax

Travel • Sports • Preparedness

Mario Carr

December 20, 2024

MADISON 8 SCHEDULED TO OPEN AT 10 AM

NO NEW SNOW

MID MOUNTAIN BASE DEPTH:

LOBO 31.8"

LOOKOUT RIDGE 31.3"

Good morning skiers and snowboarders, this is Mario with your SnoFax report for Friday, December 20th, 2024. Madison 8 is officially scheduled to open today at 10am. The longest 8 person chair in the world is going to be providing access to tons of untouched powder. Strong Westerly winds continued to blow last night, so be aware of that as you hunt for fresh tracks. Powder that may look soft and fluffy could be a little heavy and grabby if it's been hit by the wind; however, thankfully the Northside mid-mountain is a bit more sheltered from this wind. The skiing over there is going to be great as we are usually skiing all of that terrain with far less base. There are sure to be saplings poking through at Lone Tree still, but far less than you would expect on a typical North Side opening day. Patrol is hopeful for some Headwaters action but no promises with all of the wind recently. Not sure about the North Summit.

WIND AND TEMPS: Today's temperatures are expected to range between 25°F at the summit and 38°F at the base, with mid mountain temps around 30°F, and winds are expected to continue out of the West, gusting to 50mph at the summit.

Temps expected to drop back down below freezing, and stay down after today. The North Side should remain plenty soft with the sun being so low. Expect some soft goomers and sweatshirt skiing this afternoon on Andesite. But all the action is sure to be around the new 8 shooter today. That long lift with bubbles, a heated seat, higher speeds, and a higher capacity is a dream come true for many. It's an amazing life we live.

YESTERDAY'S SKIING

All of this wind loaded about a 10 inch slab onto Liberty Bowl, it made for great skiing as it filled in all of the bumps. These slabs however put ski patrol on high alert as are a ton of heavy snow. Keep that in mind as these winds continue to blow and these slabs continue to get loaded, patrol is likely to keep things closed until they see some results from their explosives, and things fill back in more nicely, or the blast the hell out of it until they're totally confident in it's stability.

As always, remember to stay safe, and have fun out there.

Join the SnoFax Community

To read more articles like this, sign up and join my community today

What else you may like…

Videos

Podcasts

Posts

Articles

Mario Carr@Bigskytelemark

March 17, 2025

Ice rink roads Big Sky

Slicker than snot, dead stop at town center

00:00:08

Mario Carr@Bigskytelemark

November 05, 2024

MORE SNOW FALLING IN BIG SKY 11/05/2024

A couple of inches already this morning and it's not stopping any time soon!

Mario Carr@Bigskytelemark

October 17, 2024

SNOW on The Mountains!

6" recorded at ANDESITE, LIKELY EVEN DEEPER HIGHER UP! WINTER IS COMING SOON!

Mario Carr@Bigskytelemark

September 27, 2024

SnoFax. A snow report by the people, for the people.

Share this with your friends and let's create a new future of snow reports for Big Sky.

Mario Carr@Bigskytelemark

April 24, 2025

4/24/2025 SnoFax

High Flying clouds, temps topping off at 40°F, we're in for another great day of fast, edge-able groomer skiing on the lower mountain. Doubtful that the South Face has healed up from the crust... Days like these fly by just like the winter season. Keep your skis on edge and you'll fly down the mountain easily. level them out and things might get a little grabby.

Mario Carr@Bigskytelemark

April 22, 2025

4/22/2025 SnoFax

Sunny Spring Skiing or cloudy with snow? Hard to say. Temps well below freezing for the last 24 hours, but that sun is out and shining right now. Expected to climb to about 40°F, things could soften up, but right around noon when that would happen, more clouds and snow could roll through. Chance for snow like this the next few days, sun Saturday, and maybe rain on closing day... But I doubt that... The weather cannot make up it's mind right now! Great day for groomers, maybe things off the Tram have gotten a little wind buff.

Mario Carr@Bigskytelemark

April 21, 2025

4/21/2025 SnoFax

Another inch over night so some more Dusty Crusty out there today! Hopefully winter stikes back full throttle with more snow today and tonight! Pretty sure North Side is closed and limited lifts for this last week. Get out and savor it while you can!

Mario Carr@Bigskytelemark

April 14, 2025

4/14/2025 SnoFax Update FREEZING TEMPS PREVAIL, FOR NOW...

TRACE OF NEW SNOW IN 48 HRS

Temps are still down, but the bluebird is out and sure to warm things up fast down low today. Up high, NW winds prevail gusting to 30mph, keeping temps well below freezing, and wind grooming the epic North Side spring skiing we have been seeing all month. Be ready to shed some layers if you get out there this morning as temps are expected to climb to the mid 40's. Another beautiful day on the mountain practically all to yourself!

Read full Article

Mario Carr@Bigskytelemark

April 10, 2025

4/10/2025 SnoFax Update MELTDOWN

NO NEW SNOW FOR 24 HRS

No new snow to talk about and things are expected to get HOT out there today. Typical spring skiing stuff which is why SnoFax has been slacking. Westerly winds topping 60mph provided awesome wind buffed skiing on the North Summit Yesterday, and down low, things took a while to soften up but soften up they did.

WIND AND TEMPS: Westerly winds are expected to shift more Southerly, bringing temps to 30°F at the summit, and 55°F at the base, by the time we close. Clouds are expected to be rolling through all day long, hopefully keeping the sun from nuking our base. Winds are expected to die down, only gusting to 30mph at the summit.

Another beautiful day with plenty of base to work with! Watchout for long catwalks once again as when temps get well over 40°F, things can get sticky.

As always, remember to stay safe, and have fun out there.

Read full Article

Mario Carr@Bigskytelemark

April 06, 2025

4/6/2025 SnoFax Update SUPER SPRING SKIING

NO NEW SNOW

There's been no new snow for a couple of days now, and temps are going to be very springy out there today. Yesterday things didn't warm up too much, but it is going to be an icy morning out there for sure, as temps have dropped into the mid 20's. Today, strong sun, warm air and little wind are going to add up to warm conditions that will likely become sticky. The ideal window is something like 10:30-1:30 out there if you ask me. The Bowl, and North Facing upper mountain slopes should still provide soft wintery snow and chalky turns.

WIND AND TEMPS: Today's temps are expected to range beteween 25°F at the summit, and 45°F at the base, with mid mountain temps climbing to 40°F. And calm Westerly winds at lower elevations will gust to a max of 30mph at the summit, all under bluebird skies.

Over the last 24 hours, NW winds have been steady at the summit, hopefully keeping our snow cold and recycled up there to prevent a thaw then a freeze, today, temps may get too warm to have that same hope, but you never know. Lots of warm weather this week as it seems the meltdown is beginning. Keep praying for snow!

As always, remember to stay safe, and have fun out there.

Read full Article

Available on mobile and TV devices