A pair of Vail Resorts in Lake Tahoe – Northstar California, Heavenly Mountain — announced they will kick off the 2018-19 season by opening Friday, Nov. 16.
Squaw Valley will also open Nov. 16, bringing the number of Lake Tahoe ski resorts open for the season to five. Mt. Rose and Boreal Mountain are also open for skiing and snowboarding.
Northstar California begins running first chairs at 8:30 a.m. on Friday. The North Lake Tahoe ski resort is hosting a Welcome Winter celebration all weekend. The activities get underway Friday and will feature s’mores, sleigh rides, live music, and more. It continues Saturday with a “Salutation to the Season” and a “Pass Holder Pub Crawl.”
“Come ski in the morning, and then take the rest of the afternoon to spend some time with the family and have Apre’s together,” said Stephanie Myers, Northstar Manager of Communications. “It’s all about sipping, shopping, and hanging out with your friends after a great day. There’s going to be happy hour from 3 to 6 (p.m.) … it’s really going to be a fun, hanging-out atmosphere. We’re really excited about opening day. We are snowmaking around the clock right now.”
Like all Lake Tahoe ski resorts, Northstar wants to be open for the crucial Thanksgiving holidays, an important weekend for not only Northstar, but the entire Tahoe region.
Across the lake on South Shore, Heavenly Mountain will also kick off the 2018-19 season on Friday, thanks to blowing as much snow as possible before announcing terrain and features for opening day.
Heavenly will begin spinning the first lifts of the season at 9 a.m. The resort will have complimentary coffee, hot chocolate, and donuts.
There will be a live house band at Tamarack Lodge and the resort’s DJ Cat will be cranking out tunes throughout the day. There will also be a complimentary happy hour for season passholders from 1-2 p.m. at Tamarack Lodge.
According to weather forecasters at OpenSnow, the Lake Tahoe area could see the first storms of the winter season as soon as Thanksgiving weekend.
