In a nutshell, this year will be improved over last year.

First of all...we will not have the late start this year! Whistler and Crystal were barely open in early Dec of 2018. Nobody else. Snowmaking and higher elevation snow saved the day for them.

This year expect a good start closer to Thanksgiving for many ski areas. The NW is the most reliable early-season skiing anywhere and this year will be better than last year. I am most confident in early snow for Whistler, Crystal, Bachelor and Grand Targhee.

Also, El Nino is gone, which is good. El Nino tends to suppress NW snowfall. A neutral pattern has now formed and that will mean a near-normal winter. And normal is great in the NW. 

Larry Schick - meteorologist 

OpenSnow NW