Two Lake Tahoe ski resorts – Heavenly Mountain Resort and Northstar California — will open their season tomorrow (Nov. 21), offering skiing and snowboarding to anxious groups of area snow enthusiasts.
Northstar California and Heavenly Mountain Resort will begin running lifts for their opening day on the slopes. Thanks to consistently cold temperatures and some light snow this week, the two Vail Resort properties should be offering fairly good ski conditions for this time of year.
Mt. Rose, which had its opening day Nov. 7 along with Boreal Mountain, will be reopening Nov. 21 as well.
“The National Weather Service forecast calls for cold temperatures and snowfall through the weekend. Our plan is to make snow at every opportunity so we can continue to offer our guests some of the best early season conditions in Tahoe,” said Mike Pierce, director of marketing at Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe.
Mt. Rose: The resort plans to be open daily for the winter season beginning Friday, November 21, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with lift tickets available for purchase at guest services in the Main Lodge for just $29 for adults, teens and seniors, and $19 for children ages 12 and under. The Timbers Bar and Lodgepole Café will be open offering food and beverage service, and ski and snowboard lessons will be offered beginning Saturday, November 22.
Mt. Rose will open additional terrain, serviced by the Ponderosa lift on Friday. Early season open terrain is limited, but includes skiing and riding on Lower Galena through The Enchanted Forest. The Flying Jenny Conveyor Lift on the Main Lodge side of the resort will also be open, along with an expanded terrain park that offers a combination of features.
Heavenly: The South Lake Tahoe resort will operate the Gondola and Tamarack Express chairlift starting at 9 a.m. Friday. The lifts will access 14 acres of terrain, including terrain park features on the left side of California Trail, according to a press release from the resort. Free shuttle buses will be available from the California Main Lodge parking area to the Gondola.
Northstar: The North Lake Tahoe resort is reporting 4 inches of fresh snow today. The mountain’s snowmaking team has activated Northstar’s state-of-the-art snowmaking system. Northstar will open Big Springs Gondola at 8 a.m. Friday, followed by Arrow Express, Vista Express, The Big Easy chairlift and the Big Dipper magic carpet at 8:30 a.m.
Boreal Mountain: The resort off Highway 80 near the summit reopened earlier this week. Boreal has one run and 6-plus terrain park features, including a jump accessed by the Castle Peak Quad chairlift. Lift tickets are $39 for Adults (18-over) and Teens (13-17). Child lift tickets are only $29.
PROJECTED OPENINGS
- *Boreal Mountain: Nov. 18
- Northstar California: Nov. 21
- Heavenly Mountain Resort: Nov. 21
- *Mt. Rose: Nov. 21
- Squaw Valley: Nov. 26
- Diamond Peak: Dec. 11
- Alpine Meadows: Dec. 12
- Sugar Bowl: TBA
- Kirkwood Mountain Resort: TBA
- Sierra-at-Tahoe: TBA*Both Boreal and Mt. Rose opened briefly in early November
