Three more Lake Tahoe ski resorts will be opening this week – Kirkwood Mountain and neighboring resorts Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows.
There will be seven Lake Tahoe ski resorts open by Saturday (Nov. 14). Kirkwood got 3 feet of new snow, while Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows received almost two feet of snow over the last week.
Kirkwood Mountain spokesperson Kevin Cooper said the resort will be open Saturday. There will be top to bottom access via Cornice Express, Chair 6, Solitude, Chair 5, Snowkirk, and Chair 1.
“We will have everything from beginner to the expert terrain open. We have the only expert terrain accessible in the Tahoe region,” Cooper said.
Alpine Meadows will open for the season on Thursday (Nov. 12) at 9 a.m, which is more than a month ahead of the originally scheduled opening date of Dec. 11. Alpine plans to operate the Kangaroo Chair and will offer limited dining offerings.
Squaw Valley will open for the season on Saturday, 11days ahead of the original opening date of Nov. 25. Squaw Valley plans to operate Gold Coast Express and will have limited dining at Gold Coast Complex.
Optimal snowmaking temperatures and around the clock commitment from the Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows snowmaking teams have made early opening a reality.
Earlier this week, both Heavenly Mountain and Northstar California announced they would be opening Saturday. This is the earliest that either has opened since 2012, and the first time opening six days ahead of schedule since at least 2009.
Mt. Rose ski resort opened Nov. 4 and two days later Boreal Mountain opened.
In celebration of opening, Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows will host Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows Foundation (SAF) Scholarship Day on Saturday, during which the entire lift ticket cost, priced at $29, will be donated to ski team scholarship funding.
SAF is a non-profit dedicated to supporting and enhancing the snow sports experience in the Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows community. SAF’s programs focus in the areas of education, scholarships, infrastructure, facilities, and community advocacy.
Jeffrey Weidel can be reached at skiweidel@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter at @jeffweidel. Thanks for visiting his website at www.tahoeskiworld.com
