Squaw Valley announced this week that it will continue the ski season until July 7.
Staying open into July is nothing new for Squaw Valley, which typically is the final Tahoe ski resort to shut down for the season. This year is no different, thanks to huge storms in February that have made other Tahoe ski resorts also push back their closing date for skiing and snowboarding Lake Tahoe.
Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows received 15 inches of snow over the past 24 hours and now has 611 inches for the 2018-19 season, the second most in North America, behind only Mammoth Mountain (626).
Alpine Meadows also reported 15 inches of snow Thursday morning (March 7), pushing it over the 500-inch mark at 507 for the season.
“Squaw Valley has 50-plus feet of snow so far this season, it’s a benchmark for us,” said Squaw Valley spokesperson Alex Spychalsky.
February was a crazy month for snow with many Tahoe ski resorts establishing new records for overall snowfall. Squaw Valley led the way with 300 inches, breaking a record for most snowfall during any month in resort history.
Other Tahoe ski resorts with 500 or more inches of snowfall for the 2018-19 season include Homewood (538), Sugar Bowl (526), Boreal Mountain (523), Northstar California (517) and Kirkwood Mountain (509).
Earlier this week, Diamond Peak ski resort in Lake Tahoe announced it would extend its season a week – running lifts until April 21. Homewood Mountain also announced that it will push back its close date to April 21.
In late February, all three Vail Resorts in the Lake Tahoe region – Heavenly Mountain, Northstar California, Kirkwood Mountain – announced they would stay open due to the excessive amount of snow that has been piled up all February.
Closing Time
- Heavenly Mountain: The South Lake Tahoe resort plans to extend the season through April 28, with a bonus 3-day-weekend May 3-5.
- Northstar California: Located off Highway 267 in Truckee, Northstar plans to extend the season through April 21.
- Kirkwood Mountain: The resort off Highway 88 will extend the season through April 14 with a bonus 3-day-weekend April 19-21.
