December 17th + 18th: What To Expect This Weekend + How To Prepare

Planning on visiting snowy, beautiful Lake Tahoe this weekend? Did you know that this Saturday. December 17th is the long-awaited opening of the Base to Base Gondola? After an amazing 9.5 feet of snow since December 1st, we have 23 open lifts and 238 open trails for you to choose from. We have fun, family-friendly events and activities going on, and the skies will be clear and sunny! This will be a busy time, but with a little patience, you are sure to enjoy yourself.

The Base to Base Gondola Grand Opening Celebration

Don’t miss out on our launch party! At long last, the Alpine Lodge and The Village at Palisades Tahoe are connected by a 16-minute ride across stunning views of the Sierras and Lake Tahoe. Come celebrate with us while we ring in a new era at Palisades Tahoe. Here’s Saturday’s schedule of events and activities:

The Base to Base Gondola is a unique lift in that it can operate as one singular lift from Palisades to Alpine and back and can also operate as two independent lifts, taking guests from either base area to the KT Mid-Station. There are only five other lifts in North America with this feature. This Saturday, the Base to Base Gondola will operate as two separate lifts. Guests planning to ride the entire length will be required to disembark at the KT-22 mid-station and re-load to continue on. Otherwise, they can exit at the top of KT-22 and ski/ride that terrain. Please note that KT-22 is Advanced/Expert terrain with black diamond and double black diamond terrain only. Team members will be there to assist with information and re-loading.

Following Saturday’s grand opening, the Gondola will close while crews and the lift manufacturer (Leitner Poma) finalize the “interconnect” piece that will allow the lift to operate as one continuous lift. The plan is to have the Gondola open by the holiday period. We’re excited to celebrate the realization of a lift more than 70 years in the making this Saturday at our Launch celebration!

Gondola Grand Opening FAQs

What are the hours of operation for the Base to Base Gondola? 9am-4pm daily, weather and conditions permitting.

Do I need a ticket to attend the Aluna/Dillon Francis show? Nope, this show is 100% FREE! However, if you’d like to participate in the on-mountain live music or The North Face Mountain Guide tours, you will need a valid ticket, pack, or pass.

What are the details for The North Face Mountain Guides Tour? This is a FREE 2-hour tour of Alpine and Palisades. Our knowledgeable guides will provide tips on our resort’s most coveted terrain and secret stashes on each mountain. By taking this tour, each guest will also receive a coupon to The North Face store in The Village at Palisades Tahoe, good for 20% off one item. This is your chance to familiarize yourself with both of our legendary mountains. This is offered to intermediate or advanced skiers and riders only. Meet your guides at the base terminal of the Base to Base Gondola at the scheduled times above.

Can I get back to Alpine after the concert/fireworks? Yes! The Base to Base Gondola will be closed, but you can use the free Mountaineer Shuttle service, which will go between Palisades and Alpine from 5pm-10:30pm daily.

Can I ride the Gondola just to sightsee? I don’t want to ski/snowboard. There will not be sightseeing this weekend. However, when the Gondola re-opens, you will be able to purchase one of our sightseeing tickets, which also gives you access to ride our Aerial Tram and our Funitel without ski equipment.

THIS WEEKEND: BE PREPARED

The clear skies this weekend are likely to draw a crowd, especially with the new terrain we have opened this week. You should expect busy roads and some lines in our lift and base areas, so please bring your patience with you.

BEFORE YOU LEAVE FOR THE RESORT

• Leave early. Our parking lots will likely fill by 9am. You can check our real-time parking lot status using the Palisades Tahoe Mobile App. If our lots fill, do not keep trying to drive to the resort. Please use one of our free, convenient regional transportation options instead (listed below).
• Check parking status using the Palisades Tahoe mobile app. You can now get real-time updates on how much parking is available in all of our lots to help you make informed decisions about where to park.
• If you want to guarantee a spot, a small amount of prepaid parking is available at Alpine only.
• Consider carpooling. Carpools of 3+ get to park in our premium lots while space is available.
• We recommend booking tickets, lessons, rentals, and activities online rather than waiting to buy in person. You’ll save money and it will take less time.

What should I do if parking fills up? Can I get a refund? If we say our parking is full, it is FULL so please do not continue to the resort. We will not have spots in our lots until later in the afternoon. Drop-offs are not permitted when parking is full. If you are unable to park at either mountain and need to make a change to your lift ticket, lesson, rental/demo, or activity reservation, you can call our contact center at 1-800-403-0206. We honor all refunds that are requested due to park-out conditions.

WHEN YOU ARRIVE

• At Palisades, you can get breakfast at Sun Bowl, Starbucks, Coffeebar, or Wildflour. At Alpine, you can get breakfast at Mogrog or Treats.
• If you booked a lesson + rental and/or tickets, all of those things can be picked up at once. At Palisades, visit the Ski School Rental Shop, located across from Le Chamois behind the Aerial Tram building. At Alpine, Ski School is on the lower level of the Alpine Lodge. You do not need to wait in separate ticket and rental lines.
• If you booked a rental and a ticket, the rental shop can print your tickets for you. You do not need to wait in a ticket line as well. At Palisades, the Rental Shop is between the Ticket Office and Parallel Mountain Sports. At Alpine, the Rental Shop is on the lower level of the Alpine Lodge.
• If you are picking up a lift ticket only, you can use the self-serve kiosks in the Funitel plaza, the Aerial Tram building, or in front of the Alpine Lodge to print your ticket.
• Due to a power issue near Summit Chairlift at Alpine, some of the cell towers on Ward Peak are malfunctioning. Phone service at Alpine may be spotty.

TIPS FOR A SMOOTH DAY

• Carry your credit card in a pocket (but not next to your pass or lift ticket!) This will make it easy to grab lunch or a drink on-mountain without having to go back to your car. If you don’t want to carry a card with you, most of our locations accept Apple Pay, and you can also set up Resort Charge on your pass, which links your credit card to your pass.
• Consider ordering food online for pick up. You can order at the top of the mountain and pick up your food after skiing down.
• Store your stuff in a rental locker, not in public spaces. Lockers are available in the Tram building, at the top of the Funitel, and in the Alpine Lodge.
• Use the Palisades Tahoe mobile app to check lift wait times, lift status, and more.
• Consider staying at the resort later than 4-5pm to avoid waiting in traffic.
• Grab dinner or après from The Village at Palisades Tahoe or from the Alpine Lodge area.
• Please remember that we absolutely do not allow uphill travel. You cannot use backcountry equipment and you cannot hike outside of operating hours.
• While dogs are welcome in The Village at Palisades Tahoe, dogs are not allowed on snow. This is especially important in ensuring the safety of our Patrol Dogs on staff.

FREE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS

We have so many options for public transportation. Please use them as an alternative to adding another vehicle on our Tahoe roadways.

• Take the FREE Mountaineer shuttle from your in-valley hotel or cabin to the resort: Use the free Mountaineer shuttle to be dropped off anywhere in the communities of Alpine Meadows or Olympic Valley. Summon this shuttle using the Mountaineer app. Mountaineer’s schedule has been extended this year, and we’ll have daily service from 5pm-10:30pm between Alpine and Palisades.
• Use the TART Connect to get dinner or explore in Tahoe City: The free TART Connect will be operating on Friday & Saturday night, connecting the Olympic Valley and Tahoe City communities between the hours of 6pm and 11pm. Download the app or call 530-214-5811 to arrange a pickup.
• Take the TART Bus any day to get to and from the resort: The free regional TART bus travels from Truckee and from Tahoe City on a regular schedule. Schedule here.
• Use the Palisades Tahoe Express Shuttle to go between the two mountains or to Resort Chair: The Palisades shuttle stop is across from Coffeebar and the Alpine shuttle stop is directly in front of the breezeway.

A Quick Note On Red Dog

Red Dog chairlift is not yet open for the season, but in the meantime, we have opened the terrain. Without Red Dog, to access the top of Resort Chair, you will need to take a shuttle. This shuttle leaves from The Village at Palisades Tahoe, across from Coffeebar. Once you’re over at Resort Chair, you can ski back to The Village at Palisades Tahoe via Red Dog terrain.

As for construction on Red Dog: We are currently pulling the haul rope around the lift with the splice to occur this Saturday. Communication lines are next as well as installing the chairs on the haul rope in the coming weeks. As we all know, the weather has impacted our construction effort and our opening is based on how well the teams can continue to access the towers and terminals through completion.