Mother Nature has answered our prayers! Snow is finally back on the menu, but it seems like we will only be getting an appetizer of it. With new snow and Ski California Safety Day, there has never been a better time to brush up on your skiing & riding skills and watch our patrol dogs at work!
Weather: Forecasted by Open Snow’s Bryan Allegretto
We have a cold front moving through Friday night into Saturday that is mostly dry with only a few snow showers expected, but then on Saturday low pressure spins up to our south and drops into SoCal into Sunday. That will increase the snow showers around the Tahoe basin into Saturday night, and then scattered snow showers with some sun for Sunday.
It will be much colder for Saturday and Sunday with highs only in the 20s, and snow levels dropping very low, likely below 2000 ft. on Saturday night. East winds with ridgetop gusts up to 30-40+ mph.
This will be fluffy powder with 15-20:1 snow ratios. The snow is currently soft with the mild days, and that will firm up Friday night through the weekend. We could see 1-4 inches of fluffy powder on top of the base by Sunday.
Monday – Friday Weather:
High pressure builds back in for a few days starting Monday, with sunny days expected. Highs into the 30s for Monday and the 40s for the lower elevations by Tuesday into Wednesday.
The trend over the past 24 hours is for a storm moving through the eastern Pacific to try and move into northern CA by Thursday night into Friday, but it weakens significantly as it encounters high pressure over the region. Some model runs are dry while some now show a few showers possible.
We will continue to watch the trends to see if the sunny days will continue through the last day of January, or if we could end the month with some showers. Check out the full blog from Bryan Allegretto here.

Conditions
While the upper forecasted reaches of this storm could bring 4 inches of snow on the upper mountain and some soft turns, this will be “dust on crust” in many places. This means there could be a very firm layer of snow under the soft, fresh snow. Please exercise caution when choosing to ski off-piste (off-groomed trails).
Icy or firm snow requires slower speeds, careful stops, and thoughtful terrain choices. During busier periods on Mountain Run, consider downloading via the Tram or Funitel and always obey SLOW Zone signs.
Operations
The storm rolling in is bringing East winds, which means our ridgeline lifts could be affected (Summit at Alpine, Emigrant, Headwall, Siberia, and Granite Chief at Palisades). Otherwise, all lifts at Alpine are on the schedule. At Palisades, we will run every lift with the exception of: Broken Arrow, Olympic Lady, Exhibition, Far East, and Silverado. If an upper mountain ridgeline lift is put on wind hold at Palisades, we will open Far East.
Silverado still needs more snow before we can start to expand our terrain into that area.

Ski California Safety Day
Palisades Tahoe Patrol Dog Demos
To celebrate Ski California Safety Day, join us and learn how our Patrol Dogs do their jobs. Watch our incredible patrol dogs demonstrate their abilities by searching for human scent under the snow. If you’re at Alpine, meet us at the mid-station of Treeline Cirque chairlift at 11 a.m. to view our patrol dogs in action! For Palisades, meet at the patrol shack, top of Funitel, at 10 a.m.
Alpine: January 25 at 11 a.m. at the mid-station of Treeline Cirque
Palisades: January 26 at 10 a.m. at the patrol shack at the top of the Funitel
Take a Free Run with a Professional Instructor
Get insider tips on how to be safe on the hill and how to improve your turns on Sunday January 26 from 1:00 – 3:30 pm!
Alpine: January 26 | 1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. | Mid Station of Treeline Cirque
Palisades: January 26 | 1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. | Top of Big Blue

January is Learn to Ski and Ride Month, and it is your responsibility to know the National Ski Area Association Responsibility Code to keep yourself and others safe. If you are a first time skier or want to improve your skills, Palisades Tahoe has a premier Mountain Sports School for all ages. From first lessons to advanced athletic coaching, our elite, certified instructors, professional alumni, and exceptional mountain terrain provide a top-tier learning environment that enables any guest to progress past their limitations and achieve their goals.
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Mountain Surf Report: with Cody Townsend
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Parking
As a reminder, parking reservations are required every weekend and select holiday periods. For this weekend, our free parking reservations have sold out, but plenty of paid reservations are available. You can also check the morning of to see if any free reservations have opened up. Unless it is a holiday period, midweek parking remains free and first come, first served. With Sherwood open, we will have the Sherwood Shuttle running daily (as weather and conditions permit) as a free way to get to the mountain. There are also other free ways to get to the mountain: the Mountaineer Shuttle, which offers free rides in Olympic Valley and Alpine Meadows, TART, and the free Park and Ride, available in both Truckee and Tahoe City with frequent rides between 6:30 a.m. and 5:45 p.m.
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Staying in the Loop with the Palisades Tahoe App
A great tool for navigating your way around the mountain is the Palisades Tahoe App. It delivers real-time updates on lift and terrain statuses, features trail maps, offers personalized riding recommendations based on ability level, and allows you to track your friends on the mountain.
HOW TO GET OPERATIONS UPDATES:
Bookmark these pages:
Not wanting to check the website constantly? Try these other methods:
- Follow our Mountain Operations X (formerly Twitter) account
- Sign up for the Palisades Tahoe Ski & Ride Report (Weather Blogs + Conditions Blogs are included here)
- Download the Palisades Tahoe App