The calendar has clicked over to November, annually a time when talk around Lake Tahoe frequently focuses on when will the ski season begin.
Several Tahoe ski resorts reported multiple inches of snow earlier this week and more is likely to drop this weekend. In addition, evening temperatures have recently dipped into the teens and reportedly will be in the 20s for the next week or more.
Much like many past years, Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe is a good bet to fire up its lifts first, igniting the 2024-25 season. In an Oct. 30 Instagram post, Mt. Rose posted a video of snowmaking guns and a caption that read – “This week has given us an ideal window for snowmaking, with even more snow expected this weekend thanks to some help from Mother Nature.”
Located off the Mt. Rose Highway and approximately 10 miles from Incline Village in North Lake Tahoe and 25 miles from Reno, Mt. Rose has the highest base elevation (8,260) in the region. That typically gives the resort an advantage in the early season.
The last two years, Mt. Rose was the first Tahoe resort to open. The resort started the season Nov. 10 a year ago and also ushered in the 2022-23 season for skiers and snowboarders Nov. 11.
SEE PROJECTED TAHOE SKI RESORT OPENINGS BELOW
According to OpenSnow, Mt. Rose is expected to pick up 1-2 inches of natural snowfall throughout the weekend and continue its snowmaking process. Several other Tahoe ski resorts have also started making snow.
“The colder temperatures have kept our snowmaking crews busy, producing ‘whales’ at each snow gun,” stated Mt. Rose. “These massive snow piles will soon be spread out to help get that crucial early season base. Stay tuned for more later this week.”
Palisades Tahoe was reporting 3 inches of snow Oct. 29 and 5 more inches dropped Friday evening. It has a projected opening of Nov. 27, but conditions could allow the popular Tahoe ski resort to open much earlier.
“Old Man Winter paid an early visit to Palisades Tahoe, leaving a fresh, snowy layer of 3 inches on our upper mountain,” Palisades Tahoe spokesperson Patrick Lacey said. “This storm has laid a powdery layer across our legendary terrain. While fall is still in the air, our team is already in winter mode, ramping up snowmaking operations to prepare for the season ahead.”
Boreal Mountain is typically one of Tahoe ski resorts that likes to get the lifts running early in the season. Although Boreal’s projected opening date is Nov. 22, it might be able to push the opener up by a week or two.
“We got a lot of cold temps in addition to these storms and we’re going to blow snow around the clock until we’re able to open the doors,” Boreal spokesperson Tucker Norred said. “We’re going to see at least 500 people for opening day. We’ve seen days where there is even more than that and we’re just excited to welcome back the faces that we saw last year as well as teach some people to ski and snowboard.”
PROJECTED TAHOE SKI RESORT OPENINGS
- Mt. Rose: Friday, Nov. 8
- Boreal: Friday, Friday, Nov. 22
- Northstar California: Friday, Nov. 22
- Heavenly: Friday, Nov. 22
- Sugar Bowl: Friday, Nov. 22
- Soda Springs: Friday, Nov. 22
- Palisades Tahoe: Wednesday, Nov. 27
- Sierra-at-Tahoe: Friday, Nov. 29
- Kirkwood: Friday, Dec. 6
- Diamond Peak: Friday, Dec. 6
- Tahoe Donner: Friday, Dec. 6
