Battling the elements has been a season-long fight in the Sierra. On Tuesday, the elements won, shutting down many Lake Tahoe ski resorts due to severe conditions.
The wind was the primary culprit why skiers and snowboarders were turned away Tuesday, despite some huge snow totals (see below). At least six Lake Tahoe ski resorts shut down because of the dangerous high winds that howled throughout the region.
Some of the most extreme, powerful winds were reported at the peaks on Squaw Valley and neighboring Alpine Meadows. The wind gusts reportedly reached a high of 199 mph, the strongest in many years, according to the National Weather Service (NWS) in Reno.
The NWS noted that the highest sustained wind was 148 mph at Alpine. So it was no surprise that the folks at Alpine decided pretty early that the resort would be closed for the day. According to a tweet from @squawalpine, other contributing factors for the closure were avalanche danger and a power outage.
Squaw had its share of problems as well. The resort tweeted early afternoon that due to lightening in the area, all the lifts were placed on hold.
Sierra-at-Tahoe decided by 8:30 in the morning that the resort off Highway 50 would not open Tuesday. Resort employees showed up early Tuesday to find downed trees, zero visibility and winds gusts at 65 mph at the base.
“While we would have loved to open, safety remains our top priority. On a great note, we have 2-plus feet of new snow to offer once we open,” said Sierra spokesperson Thea Hardy, who anticipates opening Wednesday.
Kirkwood Mountain, one of three Vail Resorts in Lake Tahoe, experienced its share of problems and had to eventually close as well thanks to high winds and poor visibility. It didn’t help that the Carson Pass on Highway 88 was closed much of the day.
The other two Vail Resorts – Heavenly Mountain, Northstar California – had multiple lifts open for skiing and riding.
On Tahoe’s West Shore, Homewood Mountain wasn’t as fortunate. Other than a pair of surface lifts, severe weather conditions shut down the rest of the mountain. Good news came in the way of snowfall. Homewood was reporting snowfall of 52 inches in four days, 28 inches in the last 24 hours, and anticipated another 10 inches Tuesday.
Both Mt. Rose and Donner Ski Ranch were also closed Tuesday.
SNOW REPORT (last 24 hours)
- Donner Ski Ranch: 48 inches
- Heavenly: 42 inches
- Squaw Valley: 30 inches
- Alpine Meadows: 30 inches
- Homewood: 28 inches
- Diamond Peak: 27 inches
- Northstar: 25 inches
- Kirkwood: 24 inches
- Sierra-at-Tahoe: 24 inches
- Tahoe Donner: 19 inches
- Soda Springs: 16 inches
- Sugar Bowl: 12 inches
- Mt. Rose: 13 inches
- Boreal: 11 inches
