When it starts
Grand Targhee, Jan 1–5, 2026: the model's run on the day said 10.5" skiable over 5 days, best Friday at 5.0" (Nice day); the Grand Targhee SNOTEL pillow gained 14" of depth. Close.
Close. 10.5" skiable in the model, 14" on the pillow: inside 3" or 30%.
Pack going in: 60" on Dec 31, 61" on Jan 1. The storm total counts from the first reading, so snow after 5pm the night before is in it.
| Day | Call | First chair | On hill | Skiable | Starts | Pillow before | Pillow after | Gain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu Jan 1 | Stay home | 0.0" | 0.1" | 0.1" | — | 61" | 69" | +8" |
| Fri Jan 2 | Nice day | 4.3" | 0.7" | 5.0" | ~8pm Thursday | 69" | 69" | 0" |
| Sat Jan 3 | Stay home | 0.0" | 0.0" | 0.0" | — | 69" | 75" | +6" |
| Sun Jan 4 | Nice day | 1.2" | 2.1" | 3.4" | ~1am | 75" | 77" | +2" |
| Mon Jan 5 | Nice day | 1.2" | 0.8" | 2.0" | ~7am | 77" | 74" | -3" |
Model: the run on the day (Open-Meteo Previous Runs, best_match). PowHound does not keep superseded live forecasts, so this is not the number you saw the night before. It is usually closer.
Clocks, local time: first chair 5pm–8am, on hill 8am–5pm, skiable is both. Stay home under 2", Nice day 2–8", Full Send 8" or more.
Pillow: snow depth at the Grand Targhee SNOTEL station, read once a day around midnight. A day's gain is the next midnight reading minus that day's, so it runs midnight to midnight, not 5pm to 5pm. Depth is not snowfall: new snow settles and blows around, so the pillow usually reads under what fell. Not the resort report.
Verdict: close is within 3" or 30%. Season numbers and method: llms.txt.