After opening 9 new lifts this past weekend, and watching over a dozen backflips on Kangaroo Kicker, our upper mountain has been properly inaugurated into greatness this year. A very special thank you goes out to all of our Mountain Operations teams including Snowmaking, Grooming, Lift Maintenance, Patrol, Lift Operations, and the Terrain Park Crew for allowing us to open so much terrain both on upper mountain and at Alpine. At the moment, Palisades Tahoe has the most terrain open of any resort in the Lake Tahoe area. Still, until Mother Nature blesses us with new snow, our main priority is maintaining the terrain we have opened to keep it skiable.
Weather
We remain in a dry and mild weather pattern through Thursday, December 12, with a persistent high-pressure ridge overhead. Expect dry days with occasional overnight inversions, keeping temperatures above freezing at the upper elevations. Mostly sunny skies will continue through the weekend, with highs reaching the 40s on the mountain and near 50 degrees at the base. A slight cooldown on Monday could bring ideal conditions for snowmaking. Click here for Open Snow’s Bryan Allegretto’s latest weather blog.
Operations
Although we haven’t received fresh snowfall in over a week and none is expected in the short-term forecast, our snowmaking team is working diligently to produce snow whenever temperatures permit. Considering it’s still early in the season, coverage remains decent, though “low-tide” conditions persist, with some rocks and trees visible in certain areas.
To preserve the existing snowpack, our grooming team is taking a careful approach. While we’d love to offer more groomed runs, excessive grooming can compact the snow structure and reduce its depth, leading to thinner coverage. To mitigate this, we’re alternating days for grooming trails and being gentle in our operations to maintain the best conditions possible.
Mountain Surf Report
Parking
This weekend is the first time this season we will require parking reservations. As a reminder, parking midweek Monday through Friday (non-holiday) remains first-come, first-served. On Saturdays and Sundays as well as select holiday periods, reservations will be required. The MAJORITY of our parking reservation inventory is free and can be booked each Tuesday at 12 p.m. and 7 p.m. for the upcoming weekend. If you would like to book a spot well in advance, you can reserve a spot for $30 per day. We still have plenty of free reservations for this upcoming weekend of December 7th. There are other ways of getting here besides driving, such as: 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.
Safety
With the conditions being variable and “low-tide”, please remember that the conditions change throughout the day, along with the snow coverage. Be aware that there are obstacles just below the surface and some sticking out of the snow making them more visible. Make sure to ski in control and at your ability level. Always allow at least 15 feet between yourself and other riders out on the hill.
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
