Lake Tahoe ski resorts had a huge amount of snow Saturday. What they also had in huge amounts today were – skiers and snowboarders.
Following a week where all ski resorts were closed at least for a few days due to rain storms, snow storms, blizzard conditions, power outages, closed roads, and high winds, Lake Tahoe ski resorts were reveling in the great conditions that awaited a throng of anxious skiers and riders, who showed up Saturday for the beginning of the Martin Luther King three-day weekend.
More than 17 feet of new snow dropped on the Lake Tahoe region over the past two weeks. The amount is the largest two-week snow total in the past 35 years in Lake Tahoe.
According to the Central Sierra Snow Laboratory near Donner Summit, this is the largest measured amount since 1982 when 15.5 feet of snow hit the Lake Tahoe region from March 27 to April 8.
At Sierra-at-Tahoe near South Lake Tahoe, season passholders and day skiers arrived early to enjoy the 129 inches of new snow that accumulated at the summit over the past week.
It was a day to celebrate the mostly sunny skies and the enormous amount of snow and powder stashes. The Cal Berkeley band was there as well. Sierra-at-Tahoe had the popular Tahoe King lift spinning, the backside was open, and most of the challenging mountain was accessible. Sierra-at-Tahoe is still experiencing power issues with Grandview Express, but it will likely be open today.
Like many resorts in the Tahoe region, Sierra-at-Tahoe had parking problems and ran out of space by late morning.
“Lots were filled. We advise people to arrive early (this weekend), carpool or take our free shuttle from South Lake,” said Sierra-at-Tahoe spokesperson Thea Hardy. “It was a beautiful bluebird day with new snow.”
At Northstar California, the resort was reporting that 18 lifts and 95 runs were available Saturday to an enormous number of skiers and riders. Also on hand for a demonstration were the Northstar Avalanche Dogs.
On Tahoe’s south shore, Heavenly Mountain was mobbed as well. It also experienced parking issues. The California side parking lot was full by late morning.
The popular Tamarack Express and Sky Express were both open and drawing sizable crowds. Most of the mountain was open. One of the exceptions was Mott Canyon, which remained closed. Heavenly was digging out the Mott lift and hopeful that it might be open Sunday.
At Boreal Mountain off Interstate-80, the parking lot also was at capacity with tons of skiers and riders anxious to make some turns. Benefitting the most from the storm of any Lake Tahoe ski resort, Boreal Mountain had a four-day total of 157 inches – more than 13 feet.
“It’s a killer time to be up here with all the fresh snow we have and the roads clear,” Boreal spokesperson Tucker Norred said. “Skiers and riders are excited to come up here and really rip today. I’m seeing a lot of smiles.”
One place where smiles weren’t in abundance was Homewood Mountain. Due to a power outage that has lasted several days, on Saturday Homewood had only one lift running – the Madden chair was operating on a generator. The greater West Shore region is still expected to be back online in the next 24-48 hours.
