December gave Southern Oregon a big jump start on winter snowpack. The National Weather Service office reports that December snowfall at Crater Lake broke a record, with 196.7 inches of snow. That edged out the old record of 196.0, set in 1948.
Snow has fallen so heavily that at times it has been impossible to even reach the lake. All roads from the west--Medford or Roseburg--were shut down for days by a major mid-December storm that knocked down trees and power lines. And the road from the park headquarters to the Crater Lake rim were likewise blocked by snow for several days.
A mountain range away, Mount Ashland Ski Area is enjoying snow abundance as well. Two years removed from a season in which there was never enough snow to open, the ski area in the Siskiyous reports 152 inches of snow since the first flakes fell. At times the snow has been too much for business: falling trees and power lines knocked out power to the ski area for a couple of days in December.
When the ski slopes have been open, the crush of business maxed out Mount Ashland's parking lot in the days around Christmas. A bus service from the Rogue Valley to the lodge that was supposed to start later in January begins on Friday (Jan. 1), shuttling skiers and snowboarders from Medford, Phoenix, and Ashland to the mountain.
