BY JEFFREY WEIDEL
Perception can be everything. And that’s why Janet Tuttle hates this visual, which depicts a lack of snow on the front side of Donner Ski Ranch.
Old Highway 40 runs right by the aging ski resort, where dark patches of dirt, grass and rocks don’t serve as great advertising tools for a resort that’s trying to lure skiers and snowboarders to spend a day on the slopes.
“The front side of our ski resort is south facing and the sun hits it pretty hard in the morning,” explains Tuttle, who owns Donner Ski Ranch with her husband, Marshall. “When people drive by and see our front side they get the wrong impression because they see a lot of mud. Nobody sees our north side, which got 17 inches from the recent snow.”
Mother Nature has not been kind to the Lake Tahoe region the past three years. A lack of natural snow greatly impacts the so-called mom and pop resorts like Donner Ski Ranch that doesn’t possess the financial resources to own snowmaking equipment.
Sometimes, not even real snow is good enough to attract business.
Hoping to capitalize on the surprising amount of snow that arrived two weeks ago, Donner Ski Ranch couldn’t get the operation up and running quickly enough. A plan to open March 7-8 didn’t materialize either, due to the warm temperatures.
The large amount of snow that arrived throughout the first three weeks of December was like an early Christmas present in the Sierra. All of Lake Tahoe’s 15 downhill ski resorts were operating and many of them remained open despite no snow and unseasonably warm temperatures throughout January.
Donner Ski Ranch, which lacks the sophistication and overall terrain of Tahoe’s major resorts, opened Dec. 19 and enjoyed strong business during the crucial Christmas holidays. But the mild weather and limited snow eventually led to a Jan. 25th closure. It reopened for President’s Day weekend and only drew modest crowds, and has been temporary closed ever since.
“We were limping along with very little snow and very few of our (six) lifts running,” Janet Tuttle said. “We’re always optimistic to begin the season, and it started so well. At least we got our Christmas.”
It has been a cruel winter for the region, which could ill-afford another season with horrible snow totals. Yet heading into the second week of March that is certainly the case. All ski resorts – large and small – have been greatly impacted by the conditions. The difference is larger resorts can salvage a season through snowmaking, while smaller ones suffer.
Even though it does make snow, it’s been a miserable winter for Homewood Resort, which resides on Lake Tahoe’s west shore. Homewood opened on Dec. 20, enjoyed solid holiday business, then gradually lost snow and frequent skier and snowboarder visits.
Homewood went on temporary hold for nine days in February, opened for President’s week, but has been shut down since Feb. 23. A week later the snow didn’t provide enough coverage for a reopening. There’s not much hope for the near future, either. The weather forecast into the middle of March doesn’t call for any significant snow.
“Yes, our fingers are still crossed for March. And as us Tahoe locals know, it could only take one big storm and we would be ready to go,” said Homewood spokesperson Lisa Nigon. “Our snowmaking system allowed us to open from top to bottom early in the season, but unfortunately as the season progressed temperatures warmed, making it difficult to continue to make snow.”
Both Granlibakken, which has a modest snow hill, and Tahoe Donner have been greatly impacted as well. The family-friendly downhill resort at Tahoe Donner has two lifts and 15 trails. It has been open for only 41 days, and the cross country area for 31 days. Tahoe Donner doesn’t make snow.
“We don’t necessarily think this is the (weather) norm,” Tahoe Donner spokesperson Ashley Quadros said. “But we are looking into snowmaking in our future. Fortunately, we’re not as impacted as other smaller resorts because we have a wide variety of amenities such as hiking and a fitness center. We have things to offer year round.”
One smaller resort that has survived this season with no closures since opening Dec. 20 is Diamond Peak. And the reason is no mystery: snowmaking. Located in Incline Village, Diamond Peak lauds its extensive snowmaking system and its experienced slope maintenance team.
“Diamond Peak is the only resort in the country with snow cats equipped with SNOWsat technology, allowing real-time snow depth reporting to see where snow is needed,” Diamond Peak General Manager Brad Wilson said. “This system tracks all aspects of our snow cats operation, including run time, gas consumption, GPS tracking on the mountain, and service maintenance. We have cats with the capability to see the snow depths’ real time, allowing the operators to know where snow is needed or where it is plentiful.”
No snow and warm temperatures throughout Northern California have people moving on to other activities. Many have already packed away the ski gear and bid goodbye to the season, which will likely end prematurely for many resorts.
But optimistic Lake Tahoe ski resorts talk about the “Miracle March” arriving. However, even miracles will only partially save the season. The damage has already been done.
Jeffrey Weidel can be reached at skiweidel@gmail.com. Thanks for visiting his winter website at www.tahoeskiworld.com
