This report was written by Claire Weiss.
It was overcast today, with the sun peeking through the clouds from time to time. We came to Palisades Tahoe in the afternoon, met our friends, and hopped on Funitel to get a few laps on the Gold Coast. The snow was pretty good, with very few firm patches due to the traffic. There are several intermediate runs open there. The Gold Coast Face trail was skied nicely, maybe a bit crowded. The park seemed closed today – we noticed several freestyle snowboarders shredding pretty fast along the run.
If you like moguls, there are bumps for you to practice on Mystery Trail.
Although the Siberia Lift is closed, a few trails are now open in that area, including the Siberia Bowl. If you want more adventure and have time, you can hike up to the top of Siberia and ski down to the bowl. The Mainline Pocket is also open.
After a few laps in the Gold Coast area, we went back to the mountain base. As of this Thursday, you can’t actually ski down from the upper mountain – both Mountain Run and Sunnyside are closed due to lack of snow, so you must take Funitel back down to the base. That may change in a few days – you can always check the Palisades Tahoe app for updates.
From the base, a few lifts are currently open – Red Dog and Exhibition (mid-station only). The Resort chair is also spinning, and you can ski down to the base of the lift from the top of Red Dog. The Base-to-Base gondola was on hold today, but you usually can get to the Alpine side without a problem.
We jumped onto Red Dog and went to check the Resort chair area first. The only open trail was Lakeview, and that view didn’t disappoint! The trail was less crowded compared to Gold Coast, and the upper section had a pretty good grip.
The word of caution: Lakeview Trail is rated “Blue,” similar to Gold Coast, but it has steeper parts. The lower part of the trail was quite firm and icy in some sections, and we saw a few people struggling. Please beware, and if you don’t feel comfortable – stay in the Gold Coast area.
We ended our day by running a few laps on Red Dog. The main open run, Champs Elyses, was firm, with a few icy sections in the middle. It’s better to keep to the sides of the run as there is still some soft snow and a better grip.
For the next few days, there will still be dry weather, with a storm passing through the Sierra starting on Sunday night. That means there will be a few more days of skiing/riding on manmade snow, so don’t forget to tune your skis! You can do it on the mountain (https://www.palisadestahoe.com/plan-your-visit/rentals-and-demos/tuning-repairs) or visit your favorite local shop.
The good news is that another storm is in the forecast around Christmas, so hopefully, we’ll get that much-needed snowfall, and the mountain operation team will be able to open more terrain.
Keep in mind that with the Christmas holidays around the corner and limited terrain, the trails might be packed. Please respect your fellow skiers and riders – have fun and be safe out there!
