Snow has arrived, and not surprisingly, numerous Lake Tahoe ski resorts are making plans to open for the 2017-18 season.
Two more Lake Tahoe ski resorts – Heavenly Mountain and Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows – will open Friday (Nov. 17) for skiing and snowboarding.
Kirkwood Mountain is scheduled to open Nov. 22 and Northstar California says it will be running several lifts by Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 23).
Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe and Boreal Mountain are already operating lifts on a daily basis. Mt. Rose was closed Thursday due to blizzard conditions. However, the Nevada resort reported 30 inches of new snow in the previous 24 hours, and it was continuing to snow throughout the day.
Many Tahoe-area ski resorts like Sugar Bowl have taken a wait-and-see approach.
“We do not have an opening date set. When we have a quality product from top to bottom, we will open,” said Jon Slaughter, Sugar Bowl’s Director of Marketing & Sales.
But this week’s snow has not been ideal for most resorts. Snow occurred mostly above the 7,000-foot level and the heavy downpour of rain was wiping out snow at lower levels.
With the additional snow Thursday, Heavenly Mountain expects to add to the snow pack it has received thus far. Regardless of how much snow it receives, on Friday Heavenly will be running lifts for the first time this season, thanks to its massive snow-making capability.
“We’re thrilled to begin the ski season at Heavenly,” said Mike Goar, senior vice president of mountain division and chief operating officer of Heavenly Mountain Resort. “We’ve been hard at work making snow at every opportunity. We’re excited to begin another terrific ski season.”
On Thursday, Squaw Valley was reporting 12 inches of new snow from this week’s storms. The Weather Channel is predicting a partly cloudy Friday with 20-percent chance of rain for both Squaw and Heavenly.
Last year, Squaw enjoyed its longest season in resort history, running lifts one week after the Fourth of July before finally closing. With its opening Friday, Squaw will be closed for just four months and one day, its shortest offseason ever.
Squaw Valley will operate uploading and downloading via the Funitel for access to skiing and riding on Gold Coast Express, which includes features in the Gold Coast Terrain Park. More terrain at both Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows will open as snow accumulation continues.
Projected Lake Tahoe ski resort openings
- Mt Rose: Open
- Boreal Mountain: Open
- Heavenly Mountain: Nov. 17
- Squaw Alpine: Nov. 17
- Kirkwood Mountain: Nov. 22
- Northstar California: Nov. 23
- Homewood Mountain: Dec. 8
- Tahoe Donner downhill: Dec. 8 (X-country Nov. 23)
- Diamond Peak: Dec. 14
- Donner Ski Ranch: Dec. 15
- Granlibakken: TBA
- Sugar Bowl: TBA
- Springs Soda: TBA
