It feels surreal to even write this out: We have received more than 140 inches of snow on our upper mountains in the past 8 days. That’s 12 feet. We are BURIED in every sense of the word. A lot of our seasoned team members have been saying that this is one of the most intense storm cycles in recent memory — and more snow is on the way. As you can imagine, there are significant challenges that come with digging out from a storm like this, not just on our mountains but also on our roadways and in our local towns. We are so appreciative of everyone’s patience, and we thank you for understanding that safety always has to come first.
Weather Outlook
We hope that you were able to ski yesterday or today in these amazing, sunny conditions. After Friday, the weather is going to turn snowy again and remain that way for the foreseeable future.
- Saturday: High winds up to 90+ mph and active snowfall. Upper mountain lifts will be impacted.
- Sunday: Winds of 70+ mph and continuous active snowfall. Upper mountain lifts will likely be impacted, as will travel in and out of the region.
- Monday: Snow will start to wind down.
Here are the expected snowfall totals for Monday morning:
- 23-31 inches at the base.
- 29-36 inches at mid-mountain elevations.
- 33-41 inches up top.
Plan your travel accordingly
We want you to be aware of what the reality of the current situation is, what to expect, and how to be prepared before travelling here.
- Do not drive up to the Lake Tahoe area without checking the weather and road conditions.
- Use the CalTrans Quick Map app to check the status of roads like Interstate 80 or Highway 89
- Get gas and groceries before you enter the mountains. We often run out of fuel and have low grocery stock in large storm cycles when trucks cannot get up to resupply.
- Use caution when traveling on side roads. While most main arteries in North Lake Tahoe are well-cleared, this is a huge storm to recover from, and there is still a lot of work to do to dig out the side streets. Please be patient with and kind to those who are working so hard to maintain these roads.
- Check our list of winter driving tips to help you make safe travel decisions.
Lift + Terrain Updates
- Many of our chairlifts are still being dug out. Even if the lift is open, there is still a substantial amount of work to catch up on. We are not putting out estimated opening dates or times on the remaining chairs that are still closed. Our teams are working as hard as they can and we will get everything open as soon as possible.
- Since we know you’ll ask, Silverado will not be open this weekend. We still have a number of things on our to-do list for this chair. Today, we were performing patrol work and putting in the access road. We also still have to set up full boundaries, finish hill safety, and dig out the lift. Needless to say, this is more than a day’s work, and by the time we are part way through, we will be into another large storm cycle.
- Terrain parks are currently being dug out or rebuilt. After this weekend’s storm cycle, we expect to have all parks back online by midweek.
Behind The Scenes
Lift Operations
Grooming
Patrol
Lift Maintenance
DON’T GIVE INTO POWDER PANIC
We know this is a ton of fresh snow and we are stoked to ski it, too. Please make safety your number one priority. Remember, we will be open through at least Memorial Day. That’s THREE MONTHS to keep skiing and riding, so you have plenty of time to get out on the hill.
- Check road conditions before you leave your home and travel safely.
- Ski with a friend or a group and maintain visual contact.
- Avoid tree wells, especially after a storm like this one.
- Due to circumstances out of our control, cell service has been spotty at Alpine. Have a rendezvous point in case you get separated from your friends or family.
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HOW ELSE CAN I STAY UP-TO-DATE THIS SEASON?
We’ll arm you with all the information you need to plan the perfect ski day any day this winter. Bookmark these pages:
Not wanting to check the website constantly? Try these other methods:
- Follow our Mountain Operations Twitter account
- Sign up for the Palisades Tahoe Ski & Ride Report (Weather Blogs + Conditions Blogs are included here)
- Download the Palisades Tahoe App
Do you have any requests for this season’s Operations Blogs? Topics you’d like to see covered or information you think is missing? Send us an email at chatter@palisadestahoe.com with your feedback. We have received a lot of messages lately, and we are getting back to you one by one. Thanks for being patient!
