The 2016-17 ski season may never end in Lake Tahoe. Squaw Valley announced Wednesday its plans to extend the ski season beyond July 4.
In March, Squaw Valley announced it would offer skiing and riding on July 4 for the fourth time ever. Now the famed Lake Tahoe ski resort is venturing beyond Independence Day for the first time in its history.
Beyond the Fourth of July, Squaw Valley is planning to operate the Shirley Lake Express chair on Saturdays for 2017-18 Tahoe Super Passholders. Discounted daily lift tickets will also be available.
“We are in the business of skiing and engaging creative solutions to take advantage of this historic snow year is an irresistible proposition,” said Andy Wirth, president and CEO of Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows. “To many of our guests, the idea of summer skiing and riding is a novelty. But with the season we’ve had we can provide a surface for skiing and riding that guests will want to enjoy not just once, but weekend after weekend.”
Winter and summer will blend together as Squaw Valley emerges from a historic winter that saw 714 inches of snow, equaling nearly 60 feet. There were 10 Atmospheric River weather events that hit Squaw this season. The average season sees two to four.
Squaw Valley currently has a base depth of 20 feet and is primed to offer skiing and riding in the Shirley zone.
The season was already going to be an extremely long one for Squaw Valley. While neighboring Alpine Meadows has stopped running lifts every day of the week since Sunday, and goes to weekends only through May 14, Squaw is committed to offering skiing and riding every day through May.
Operations at Squaw Valley will continue on weekends in June and July 1-4. After that the end of the season may never arrive.
“I’m actually considering staying open through the summer and fall so it becomes the 2016-17-18 season,” Wirth recently told KTKE radio station in Truckee. “We’re taking a hard look at that. Maybe we spin Shirley Lake through the summer. There’s so much snow up there. It’s been an incredible winter – unprecedented.”
After July 4, guests planning to ski or ride will access High Camp at 8,200 feet via the Aerial Tram and make their way on foot between High Camp and where the snow remains.
It wasn’t unusual this season for Squaw Valley employees to be digging out lifts after a huge snow storm this winter. The resort has received 714 inches.
Through the strategic movement of snow using grooming machines, the Squaw Valley mountain operations team members will transport snow from areas with ample snow to areas with lower amounts of snow, effectively maximizing the snowpack long into summer.
The Shirley zone also benefits from a northwest aspect, limiting sun exposure and snow loss due to melting. Squaw says that summer operations will continue as long as the snowpack allows, with no closing date currently scheduled.
For more information, visit squawalpine.com or call 1.800.403.0206.
Closing dates for Lake Tahoe resorts.
- Homewood: April 16
- Kirkwood Mountain: April 16
- Tahoe Donner: April 16
- Granlibakken: April 17
- Soda Springs: April 23
- Sierra-at-Tahoe: April 23
- Diamond Peak: April 23
- Northstar: April 23
- Boreal Mountain: April 23
- Heavenly Mountain: April 30
- Sugar Bowl: May 7
- Donner Ski Ranch: May 14
- Alpine Meadows: May 14
- Mount Rose: May 29
- Squaw Valley: TBA
