For more than a month in the Lake Tahoe region, the hope was Mother Nature would deliver some much-needed snow.
Well, that long overdue request was fulfilled starting Sunday night (Feb. 15). And looking at Tuesday morning’s Snow Report (SEE BELOW), the snow is piling up big time at Tahoe ski resorts.
It’s dumping in the Tahoe area and the snow might not let up until Thursday evening when as much as 8 feet of snow might accumulate at multiple Tahoe ski resorts.
The downside today and continuing into Thursday is the severe conditions will make skiing and snowboarding quite challenging. And due to whiteout conditions and high, dangerous winds, many Tahoe ski resorts will be either shut down totally this week or offering limited terrain.
Boreal Mountain was reporting the most snow in the region as of Tuesday morning, with a whopping 30 inches. The downside was the resort and neighboring Soda Springs were both closed Tuesday. Heavenly was an exception, operating 14 lifts prior to the Tuesday noon hour.
The high winds are limiting the number of lifts and gondolas that are available Tuesday at Palisades Tahoe, which received 29 inches from Monday’s storm. Around the noon hour, there were no lifts running at Kirkwood. Sugar Bowl was experiencing some upper mountain closures and many other Tahoe resorts were also shutting down lifts.
“With this much snow in a short period of time, please anticipate potential delayed openings over the next few days,” Palisades Tahoe spokesperson Patrick Lacey said. “Our teams are working at the speed of safety to complete avalanche mitigation, digging, lift checks, and grooming so we can open terrain responsibly and get everyone out enjoying the fresh snowfall.”
One resort that often remains nearly completely open during severe storms like this one is Diamond Peak. The family-friendly Incline Village resort was offering top-to-bottom skiing and riding Tuesday and possibly for the remainder of the week.
“Diamond Peak is a little farther from the Pacific Crest and at a slightly lower elevation than some of the other Tahoe resorts, so it is better protected from the winds that accompany storm systems like this one,” Diamond Peak spokesperson Paul Raymore said. “We currently have all of our main chairlifts running, including the Crystal Express chair, which means skiers and riders have access to some incredible powder stashes all over the mountain.”
Resorts are reminding skiers and snowboarders of the dangers of being on the mountain during stormy weather.
“If you’re skiing or riding with us (this week), please brush up on deep snow safety, ski and ride with caution, stay on open terrain and be aware that unmarked obstacles may exist,” cautions a note on the Sierra-at-Tahoe website.
This week’s road and resort conditions may be brutal, but the lasting effect of this huge storm is it means good conditions are insured for quite some time.
“It’s no secret; our region hasn’t had much snow since the holiday season, but this storm changes the narrative,” said Cole Zimmerman, who represents the Vail Resorts in Tahoe – Northstar, Heavenly and Kirkwood. “Moving forward, we’re looking at some can’t-miss powder days, a deep refresh across all elevations and terrain, and a strong setup for spring conditions for exactly what Tahoe does best – spring skiing.”
TRAVEL CONCERNS: As of around 7:45 this morning, Interstate 80 was closed from Colfax to the Nevada state line. Heavy, slick, slushy snow is rapidly piling up on I-80 and severe whiteout conditions are making it difficult to navigate even with four-wheel drive or chains.
As of 4:15 pm, there were no estimated times to reopen the closures, which also included Highway 88 that runs by Kirkwood.
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“Believe the hype. Because of how risky conditions could be, travel in and out of the Sierra is highly discouraged,” said a KCRA-3 Sacramento TV reporter during a morning broadcast.
On the other main artery to Tahoe – Highway 50 – traction issues and multiple spinouts resulted in a closure from Placerville to Myers around 9:30 am. Note, the Sierra-at-Tahoe road was closed by late morning as well.
Snow is piling up as low as Pollock Pines (4,000 feet elevation), located east of Placerville.
TEMPERATURES: For several weeks, conditions were spring-like at Tahoe ski resorts. Those days are gone for now. High temperatures this week will not exceed 30 degrees in the daytime and dip into the teens until at least Thursday (Feb. 20).
TAHOE SNOW REPORT (February 17)
- Boreal: 30 inches
- Palisades Tahoe: 29 inches
- Sugar Bowl: 27 inches
- Tahoe Donner: 27 inches
- Sierra-at-Tahoe: 26 inches
- Soda Springs: 26 inches
- Kirkwood: 21 inches
- Mt. Rose: 20 inches
- Granlibakken: 20 inches
- Homewood: 16 inches
- Northstar: 15 inches
- Diamond Peak: 13 inches
- Heavenly: 10 inches
