Its status in doubt for much of the season, fire-damaged Sierra-at-Tahoe announced Friday it will open in April for two days.
Severe damage from the Calder Fire, that struck in late August, has prevented the venerable ski resort from opening for the 2021-22 season.
Located off Highway 50 near South Lake Tahoe, Sierra-at-Tahoe will open for one weekend only – April 9-10.
Lifts for skiing and snowboarding will include Rock Garden, Easy Rider Express, Slider Carpet and the Broadway terrain park.
The weekend will be a celebration of Sierra-at-Tahoe’s 75th anniversary. The two days will feature live music, competitions, giveaways and more.
“To pay homage to our history while setting our sights on the future, we are opening the resort for one weekend only to reflect and reconnect together with your fellow Sierra family members,” a Sierra press release stated.
Limited pre-purchase tickets will go on sale on the Sierra website at 8 a.m. Wednesday, March 16. Additional tickets will be available for day-of-purchase based on parking availability.
Limited pre-sale tickets cost $60 for adult/young adults and $50 for children and super seniors.
Tickets will be available each day, parking permitting. Parking is based on mountain capacity and is on a first-come-first served basis.
Note that having a valid lift product does not guarantee entrance or a parking spot. Sierra officials advise to arrive early and carpooling is suggested.
REPLACING HAUL ROPE: Through the hard work of its crews, Sierra was able to install the new 10,000-foot haul rope to the resort’s all-important Grandview Express lift. The five-day effort was completed Jan. 21.
The Caldor Fire damaged Grandview’s haul rope, literally melting it from the inside out, necessitating an entire replacement of the rope.
“We still have a long way to go before we are making Grandview laps again,” Sierra-at-Tahoe GM John Rice said after the rope was replaced.
The Grandview Express haul rope suspends the ski lift’s chairs. The resort had to get a replacement cable from Switzerland. But due to global supply chain issues, delivery of the rope took longer than expected.
STATUS OF WEST BOWL EXPRESS: Based on initial assessments, it’s known that the trails and area accessed by the popular West Bowl Express lift will be inaccessible for the modest two-day opening.
In addition, many of the in-bound tree-skiing areas, such as Jack’s and Avalanche Bowl, will be closed for the season.
The Caldor Fire reached extreme temperatures in some areas of the mountain, rising to an estimated 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit. It was hot enough to melt one of the resort’s snowcats.
“The reality is, our crews had to start from square one, as all of the maintenance that is typically performed on Sierra’s lifts in the summertime were completely undone from the fire, and we had to begin again,” Rice said.
SIERRA FACING UNPRECEDENTED TASK: There is no precedence for what Sierra-at-Tahoe is trying to overcome.
In November, Scot Rogers, district ranger with the Eldorado National Forest, told the San Francisco Chronicle that wildfires have grazed the edges of ski areas before. However, no ski resort in the U.S. or perhaps the world has ever suffered this much damage.
“There’s really no playbook to follow, so we’re making it up as we go,” Rice told the Chronicle. “This isn’t the last fire that’s going to hit a ski area, so the whole world is watching us.”
That left Sierra forging ahead with no blueprint to follow. Assessments determined the resort had major damage to ski infrastructure and landscape. This eventually governed which trails could return and the possibility that new ones could be created.
“Underneath this burnt landscape is a resort waiting to come out of the ground and be glorious again,” a Sierra-at-Tahoe Facebook post stated in January, quoting Rice. “It could be a whole bigger, better thing. When you start looking at it that way, it gives you hope.”
