“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas” took on a whole new meaning this past weekend as more than four feet of snow fell on Tahoe ski resorts, guaranteeing prime conditions for the holidays. With roads plowed, a forecast of sunshine throughout the week, and expanded ski terrain now open, Santa arrived early for winter enthusiasts and the area’s hospitality businesses.
With area ski resorts now boasting 136-183 inches of snow to date, resorts are close to having 100 percent of lifts/trails open for the 2022-23 season. www.visitlaketahoe.com.
“’Tis the season to be jolly and we sure have a lot to celebrate with this powder-filled start to the ski season well before the holidays,” said Carol Chaplin, president and CEO of the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority. “We are appreciative of our snow removal teams and resorts to keep the roads and mountains safe. As always with storms, we highly encourage monitoring official sources, plan ahead, drive slowly and arrive prior to the storm or delay departures for a more seamless winter vacation.”
EXPANDED TERRAIN
Heavenly Mountain Resort opened Stagecoach lift this past Saturday and anticipates to debut its new North Bowl lift soon. This is the new high-speed, four-person detachable lift – an upgrade from the former triple chair to increase uphill capacity more than 40 percent and reduce ride and wait times while providing better access to underutilized terrain.
Kirkwood Mountain Resort anticipates having 100 percent of trails open by this weekend just in time for Kirkwood’s 50th anniversary. A short film will debut at the sold-out event "50 Years Deep: The Story of Kirkwood," but will be available via YouTube the following week. With these great conditions, Kirkwood expects parking lots to fill up and highly encourages carpooling and arriving early to avoid traffic around opening time.
Sierra-at-Tahoe is the comeback story of the year - the recent storm enabled Grand View to open Dec. 12 - a main access point and a lift that received extensive damage during the devastating Caldor Fire. More trails will be accessible as conditions allow.
