Holiday traveling was difficult today if the destination was Lake Tahoe. The Tahoe area has been getting dumped on most of the day, which may have been frustrating to travelers, but was more great news for skiers and snowboarders looking forward to the Thanksgiving holidays at a Lake Tahoe ski resort.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued a winter storm warning for the Lake Tahoe area and said that snowfall could approach 2 feet. A cold storm was dropping light, fluffy snow, which means Wednesday (Nov. 25) could be a very nice powder day.
Two earlier storms and low temperatures that are suitable for snowmaking has resulted in many Lake Tahoe ski resorts opening before their projected start dates. There are nine Tahoe ski resorts that will be running their lifts over the Thanksgiving holiday.
“We are expecting a great turnout for the Thanksgiving holiday – especially with fresh snow in the forecast,” said Northstar spokesperson Cassandra Walker. “The storm we’re currently experiencing will definitely help resorts open as much terrain as possible by the end of the week. Our guests are ecstatic we opened a week early and that they’re already seeing top-to-bottom terrain and mid-winter conditions.”
Among the early openers was Sierra-at-Tahoe, which had a difficult season last year when snow delivered by Mother Nature was a rarity. Sierra opened last Friday, the resort’s earliest opening since 2004.
“The last time we opened this early was 11 years ago,” said John Rice, Sierra-at-Tahoe General Manager. “A November opening is giving us a great outlook for the rest of the season. In a similar year, we logged as much as 499 inches of snowfall. It should still be noted that early season conditions exist and we will open more terrain once conditions permit.”
Lake Tahoe ski resorts Opening Dates:
- Alpine Meadows Resort – Open
- Boreal Mountain Resort – Open
- Diamond Peak – December 3
- Donner Ski Ranch – TBA
- Granlibakken – Dec. 11
- Heavenly Mountain – Open
- Homewood – December 11
- Kirkwood Mountain – Open
- Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe – Open
- Northstar California – Open
- Squaw Valley – Open
- Sierra-at-Tahoe – Open
- Soda Springs – TBA
- Sugar Bowl – Open
- Tahoe Donner – December 11
Jeffrey Weidel can be reached at skiweidel@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter at @jeffweidel. Thanks for visiting his website at www.tahoeskiworld.com