Skip to content
Palisades Tahoe Logo Palisades Tahoe Logo Palisades Tahoe Logo
Explore
Main Menu
  • Explore Palisades Tahoe
  • Base to Base Gondola
  • Our New Name
  • Explore Legendary Lifts
  • Palisades Tahoe Blog
  • About Lake Tahoe
  • About Us
Plan Your Visit
Main Menu
  • Tickets & Passes
  • Lodging
  • Lessons & Guides
  • Deals & Packages
  • Rentals & Demos
  • Travel Here
  • Getting Around
Mountain Information
Main Menu
  • Snow and Weather
  • Lift and Grooming Status
  • Webcams
  • Hours of Operation
  • Trail Maps
  • Parking & Road Conditions
  • Snowfall Tracker
Events & Activities
Main Menu
  • Events Calendar
  • Activities
  • Dining & Apres
  • Shopping
  • Things To Do In Lake Tahoe
  • Groups, Meetings & Weddings
  • Ski & Snowboard Teams
Explore
Main Menu
  • Explore Palisades Tahoe
  • Base to Base Gondola
  • Our New Name
  • Explore Legendary Lifts
  • Palisades Tahoe Blog
  • About Lake Tahoe
  • About Us
Plan Your Visit
Main Menu
  • Tickets & Passes
  • Lodging
  • Lessons & Guides
  • Deals & Packages
  • Rentals & Demos
  • Travel Here
  • Getting Around
Mountain Information
Main Menu
  • Snow and Weather
  • Lift and Grooming Status
  • Webcams
  • Hours of Operation
  • Trail Maps
  • Parking & Road Conditions
  • Snowfall Tracker
Events & Activities
Main Menu
  • Events Calendar
  • Activities
  • Dining & Apres
  • Shopping
  • Things To Do In Lake Tahoe
  • Groups, Meetings & Weddings
  • Ski & Snowboard Teams
IKON PASS HOLDER LODGING DISCOUNT

Ikon Pass holders save up to 20% on slopeside lodging at The Village at Palisades Tahoe.

SLOPESIDE LODGING
Icon / FlashCreated with Sketch.
View All Offers
  • Operations

Operations Update: Atmospheric River To Impact Weekend

  • Mar 9, 2023
  • 3:37 pm
A snowcat winching in a blizzard

Tahoe is buried, and there are no signs of the snow slowing down. Today, (Thursday, March 9th) the first band of a two-part atmospheric river weather event moves into the Sierra region. This first Thursday-through-Saturday storm will bring more snow, but it also is expected to deliver rainfall that could lead to flooding. The powdery snow that fell recently (more than 100 inches in the first 9 days of March) is very light in density and was easily scoured by winds, which means it can be more difficult for our Ski Patrol teams to trigger planned avalanches, as they do across both mountains each time we have significant snowfall. With rain or heavy and wet snow falling on top of this lightweight snowpack, we expect that avalanche danger will increase significantly.

For this reason, you can expect to see us taking extra precautions on the mountain and putting employee and guest safety above all else, as always. This means that lift openings will be slow and could have significant impacts throughout the weekend. We also anticipate that heavy rainfall early next week might lead to flooding in our base areas. As long as it is safe to do so, we plan to stay open, but you should pay attention to the forecast and stay up to date by checking in frequently on our Mountain Ops Twitter, Weather Blog, Operations Blog, and the Palisades Tahoe App.

Photo above: Palisades Groomer Nick McMahon

Weather: What To Expect

The snow levels will be fluctuating during this storm, with rain most likely around 7,000 feet (close to the bottom of Headwall and the Alpine Lodge) but the rain could peak at 8,000 feet at times. Above 8,000 feet we will likely see all snow. By Saturday morning, we could have the following snow totals:

  • 5-11 inches at the base.
  • 11-32 inches at mid-mountain elevations. (2.5+ FEET!)
  • 32-54+ inches on the upper mountain above 8000 feet. (4.5+ FEET!)

Here is what to expect each day:

  • Friday: Winds over 100mph and heavy precipitation throughout the day.
  • Saturday + Sunday: Winds closer to 50-60mph; wintry mix precipitation. Snow over 7,000 feet is likely, but it will be heavy. Sunday could see a short break in extreme conditions. Predicted snow totals for this 2-day period:
    • 12-18 inches at the base. (1.5 FEET)
    • 18-25 inches at mid-mountain elevations. (2 FEET)
    • 23-29+ inches on the upper mountain above 8000 feet. (2+ FEET)
  • Monday: Another strong storm is expected to move in.

What To Expect Tomorrow (Friday)

Winds and avalanche danger are likely to impact lifts tomorrow. We will not know exactly what to expect until we see tomorrow morning’s conditions. We will aim to provide an update by 7am. Please use our Mountain Ops Twitter and the Palisades Tahoe App for real-time information. You will want to have push notifications enabled on the app so that you can get updates immediately.

PS: We know one of you will still ask about Silverado. You can learn more about Silverado maintenance in this week’s bonus Ops Blog.

Behind The Scenes

We are truly buried in every sense of the word right now. With extremely limited breaks in the weather over the past few weeks, it has been extremely hard to dig out and get ahead again. We really, really are grateful for your patience right now. These storms have not been easy to recover from, and before we can even make a real dent, we have this huge atmospheric river moving in. Please understand that if things are slow to open, it is not for lack of effort. Take a look at how buried we are on the Palisades upper mountain:

All photos taken by Palisades Groomer Nick McMahon unless indicated otherwise.

  • Directional signage buried in a tree well on the upper mountain.
  • Directional signage on the upper mountain buried in snow.

The Gold Coast Patrol Shack buried under snow completely.
Gold Coast Patrol Shack is under there! Keep scrolling to see.
  • The top of Gold Coast Patrol Shack sticking out of the snow.
  • The Gold Coast Patrol Shack buried in snow.

  • Directional signage buried near Times Square. Photo: Bandit, Grooming Supervisor at Palisades
  • The buried race shack on Julia’s Gold. Photo: Joe Burtness, Palisades Grooming

Our Community Is Buried, Too

Please have patience and use caution when traveling in the area. Side streets are still being plowed out, and the additional water will likely create new issues on roadways and in neighborhoods. These photos are of buried homes in Alpine Meadows to give you an idea of what it is like, taken by Kate Abraham yesterday.

WANT THIS BLOG TO COME TO YOUR EMAIL INBOX?

Sign up for our Mountain Operations email list, and we’ll send this blog directly to you every time we have an update. We’ll share another update soon. Sign up here.

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:

  • Lift + Grooming Status
  • Snow & Weather
  • Operations Blog
  • Conditions Blog
  • Weather Blog

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!

Operations
Liz Worgan
Liz Worgan

Share this article:

Recent Posts

  • Operations ·
  • March 23, 2023·
Errol Kerr skiing at Alpine in the spring.

Operations Update: Season Extended Through 4th of July

It's going to be a summer to remember: We will be skiing and snowboarding at Alpine on the 4th of July. Yes, you read that correctly. We're keeping Alpine open through the 4th of July this year! This is different than the recent years when we've been open on the 4th. Typically, we run the Funitel at Palisades up to the upper mountain throughout the warmer months, but this year, we have a large project to complete on the Funitel that will prevent us from operating it past May 29th.
Read more
  • Operations ·
  • March 14, 2023·
Two PistenBully snowcats in a storm at Palisades.

Operations Update: Wednesday Re-Opening Plans

Tomorrow, Wednesday, March 15th, we plan to reopen both Alpine and Palisades. We appreciate your patience with us being closed today: Our teams NEEDED this day to try to get ahead a bit, and snow conditions are not conducive to a good day of skiing -- It rained as far up as 9,000 feet at times. We spent the day continuing to dig out, performing snow safety, addressing flood zones, and preparing for the few days ahead that have a break in the weather. Tomorrow, we still expect that some of our lifts will be delayed. We will start with a lower mountain offering and expand throughout the day as we can.
Read more
  • Operations ·
  • March 13, 2023·
A snowcat completely buried in snow during a storm.

Operations Update: Palisades Tahoe Will Be Closed Tuesday, March 14th

Tonight, another wet storm moves into the Tahoe area. Winds are projected to be over 100 miles per hour on…
Read more

Social

Instagram Twitter Facebook Youtube

Contact

   Email Us
   1.800.403.0206

Our Partners

U.S. Forest Service Logo
1960 Olympic Valley Road
Olympic Valley, CA 96146

©2022 Palisades Tahoe

Alterra Mountain Company
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Photo Upload Terms of Use
  • Accessibility
  • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Photo Upload Terms of Use
  • Accessibility
  • Do Not Sell My Personal Information