Another storm will descend tonight on the Lake Tahoe region. Thus far, Lake Tahoe snowmaking has aided the opening for the five ski resorts that were running their lifts by Thanksgiving weekend.
Here’s a look at how some Lake Tahoe ski resorts prepare for the ski season.
Heavenly Mountain: The south shore resort has not been bashful in the past about proclaiming it has “the West Coast’s largest and most powerful snowmaking system.”
Heavenly apparently doesn’t want to rest on those laurels, adding more snowmaking capacity this season, enhancing the Nevada side at the top of the Gondola on Easy Street and Dipper Express. The added capacity will allow Heavenly to open Skyline Trail earlier in the season and provide access to both California and Nevada sides earlier than ever before.
Two years ago, Russ Pecoraro lauded Heavenly’s snowmaking efforts.
“Snowmaking saved our (2012-13) season. We broke every record we have on the books for snowmaking,” said Pecoraro, who now has a corporate position with Vail Resorts in Colorado. “We didn’t have one flake of snow in December and nothing until Jan. 21.”
Sugar Bowl: Although it invested in a new $500,000 pump house and a snowmaking system at mid-mountain, Sugar Bowl had to postpone its Nov. 26 opening due to warm weather and little coverage.
“We want our guests to have a top-notch experience with top-to-bottom skiing and riding on a solid base with great coverage, starting from the first day of the season,” said Sugar Bowl spokesperson Peter Avedschmidt. “Rather than one small run being open (crowded, short, etc), we want the experience to be great from day one. When we have this, we’ll open.”
Snowmaking was deemed extremely important a year ago when Sugar Bowl received just 275 inches, well below its annual average.
Kirkwood: Similar to Sugar Bowl, warm temperatures prevented making snow frequently this November. But the weekend snow and more to come might open the ski resort off Highway 88.
“With the incoming set of storms we will be ready to backfill once the temps drop,” said Kirkwood spokesperson Kevin Cooper. “We will open as soon as possible, but with a quality snow surface that our guests can enjoy, and a little help from Mother Nature.”
PROJECTED OPENINGS
- *Boreal Mountain: Nov. 18
- Northstar California: Nov. 21
- Heavenly Mountain Resort: Nov. 21
- *Mt. Rose: Nov. 21
- Squaw Valley: Nov. 26
- Diamond Peak: Dec. 11
- Alpine Meadows: Dec. 12
- Homewood: Dec. 12
- Sugar Bowl: TBA
- Kirkwood Mountain Resort: TBA
- Sierra-at-Tahoe: TBA
*Both Boreal and Mt. Rose opened briefly in early November
