Another storm moves into the Lake Tahoe region tonight, with possible new snow totals of up to 20 inches at our highest elevations. This snowfall will have impacts on our operations, especially on Sunday morning when the weather clears. On both Saturday and Sunday, we will perform snow safety, dig out, de-ice chairlifts, and prepare for this holiday weekend. Here is what we expect over the next few days:
Weather Outlook:
- Snow should start by 7pm this evening.
- A winter storm warning is in effect through Saturday night.
- We could see a foot of snow during the day and an additional 8 inches on Saturday night.
- Wind impacts are likely throughout the day on Saturday, especially in the afternoon.
- On Sunday, the sun will return and the winds will taper off early in the day. You should expect significant delays to our opening, especially for upper mountain chairlifts.
Lift & Terrain Expectations: Palisades
- On Saturday, we will try to open as much as we can in the morning, but winds and heavy snowfall will lead to closures. You should expect upper mountain closures in particular, especially in the afternoon.
- We will be adding Solitude to the schedule for tomorrow. There will be no groomed runs off of this chair. Again, it may not open depending on upper mountain conditions.
- If the upper mountain closes, we will add Far East to the schedule.
- Our teams were working on Granite Chief throughout the day today. Due to tomorrow’s wind and snow forecast, it is more likely that this will open on Sunday. Please be aware that there will be lots of control work and setup to do in this area. A Sunday opening (if it opens) will be delayed.
- We had our grooming crew working on Headwall last night. It is close to being ready. We are aiming to add Headwall to the schedule early next week.
- Belmont Terrain Park will be open this weekend (likely only on Sunday/Monday due to Saturday’s storm).
- Snowmaking teams are still repairing thin spots (bottom of Headwall, some parts of Mountain Run) while also working on the Stifel Palisades Tahoe Cup racecourse venue on Red Dog.
Lift & Terrain Expectations: Alpine
- Ridgeline lifts like Summit and Scott are likely to be affected by Saturday’s storm.
- We are adding Yellow to the schedule tomorrow through Monday.
- Our snowmaking teams are working in both the Ladies and Kangaroo areas.
- Tiegel Terrain Park will be open this weekend.
- Sherwood and Lakeview still need several more feet of snow before we can open them.
Deep Snow Safety Tips
- Never ski alone. Always have a trusted friend or group of people that you can maintain visual contact with at all times.
- Ski in terrain you are familiar with, within your ability level.
- Track with the Paliasdes Tahoe app – this is NOT a marketing ploy but an incredible safety feature that can help us pinpoint your exact location in an emergency.
- Consider taking an Avalanche course and/or carrying avalanche safety gear with you (transceiver, beacon, probe, shovel) on storm days.
- Use gear that has RECCO built into it.
- Avoid the base of trees when skiing & riding in deep snow
- If you are going to fall, attempt to do so feet first
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