“The first really big storm of the ski season is always a welcome sight,” said Tourism Director Andy Chapman of the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association. “It absolutely gets people excited, and when visitors are excited they start booking.”
"The Ski Lake Tahoe resorts have seen several feet of snow already this season both from natural snowstorms and from state-of-the-art snowmaking systems, making Lake Tahoe a sure bet for families and destination travelers looking for reliable early season conditions," added John Wagnon, president of Ski Lake Tahoe. "The amazing conditions combined with the best ski vacation deals in the country make Tahoe the place to be for a unique early season winter experience."
On Donner Summit, Boreal Mountain Resort opened Oct. 9, the earliest opening in the resort’s history, making it also the first ski resort to open in California. Mt. Rose – Ski Tahoe, at Tahoe’s highest base elevation at 8,260 feet, opened Oct. 30 and moved to a seven-day week operation today.
Behind the strength of the West Coast’s largest snowmaking system, Heavenly Mountain Resort will open for skiing and snowboarding at 9 a.m. tomorrow with almost 40 acres of available terrain accessed by the Heavenly Gondola, Tamarack Express and Dipper Express Chairlifts.
Northstar-at-Tahoe, home to Lake Tahoe’s first five-star caliber resort, The Ritz-Carlton Highlands (opening Dec. 9), kicks off its season this Saturday with the best opening day conditions since the 1994-95 season.
Squaw Valley USA, celebrating its 60th anniversary, also officially opens this Saturday with professional skier JT Homes base-jumping from the resort’s famous cable car at 2 p.m. Olympian Jonny Moseley will toast the resort at the KT Sundeck, 2-3:45 p.m., with balloons being released and anniversary cake being served.
Kirkwood south of Lake Tahoe is ready to go as soon as there's sufficient snow, which could come with this weekend's system thanks to the resort's lofty elevation. Celebrating 70 years of skiing and riding, Sugar Bowl Ski Resort, atop Donner Summit, plans to open Wednesday, Nov. 25. Alpine Meadows Ski Resort, just outside of Tahoe City, is gearing up for their official opening on Saturday, Dec. 5. In Incline Village, Diamond Peak Ski Resort is set to open Thursday, Dec. 10.
