It averages over of snowfall per season which ranks it among the top five ski resorts in North America. This is impressive where it is inland and the snow that falls is nearly always powder snow. The reason for the abundant snowfall is twofold. First, the area is on the west slope or "wet" side of the Teton Range, topped by Grand Teton at and, second, because there is a moisture channel through the Rocky Mountains formed by the Snake River Plain in Idaho that channels moisture from the Pacific Ocean to the west slope of the Tetons.