With more than 20 inches of snow falling in the past 24 hours, we are in the full swing of a storm cycle that will continue through Saturday morning. The Stifel Palisades Tahoe cup and surrounding events are still happening! There will be a few schedule changes, and some chairlifts and terrain will be affected by both the event and the weather.
Photo above taken by Hunter Lamer, Palisades Grooming
Stifel Palisades Tahoe Cup Updates:
- Friday night music with Black Jacket Symphony will be rescheduled to a later date.
- Friday afternoon’s Kick-Off Parade and Public Bib Draw will go on as planned.
- Saturday’s men’s Giant Slalom race will be delayed:
- 1st run will be at 11am
- 2nd run will be at 1:45pm
- Saturday’s concerts with Noah Kahan and 311 will go on as planned. No changes.
- Sunday’s events have no changes at this time.
Useful Links for the Stifel Palisades Tahoe Cup
Quick Parking Tips for This Weekend
- Arrive early. We recommend leaving before 7:30am.
- Carpool in groups of 3+
- Use the Palisades Tahoe App to check parking lot status
Weather Outlook
We are looking at scattered snow showers throughout the weekend. By Saturday morning, we could see snow totals of:
- 10-16 inches at the base.
- 14-19 inches at mid-mountain elevations.
- 16-22 inches up top.
From Sunday to Wednesday, a very large storm system will move through the region. By next Thursday, we could see snowfall totals of:
- 33-42 inches at the base.
- 40-48 inches at mid-mountain elevations.
- 45-54 inches up top.
Please use our Road Conditions resources to plan travel accordingly.
Lift + Terrain Closure Information
- Red Dog: The entire race venue will be marked off and closed to the public.
- Red Dog chairlift will be closed to the public on Saturday, February 25th. The only exception is for guests of the Resort at Squaw Creek who need to ski back to their hotel.
- On Sunday, a public lane will be accessible on the far left of the training course face with an exit under the dam towards Exhibition. A public lane will also be accessible at the top of Upper Dog Leg onto Champs Elysees. Please note that this is not beginner terrain.
- Exhibition: The training venue will be closed through February 26th. A public crossing at Easy Street will be permitted.
- Far East: Will be closed intermittently for the race on Saturday, February 25th from approximately 11am-12pm and 1:45-2:45pm. Also will be closed until 1:30pm on Sunday, February 26th.
- The entire race finish area will be closed off until February 26th.
Saturday Lift + Terrain Expectations
We will open as much as we can on Saturday at both mountains.
- Summit could experience some impacts from the east winds
- Alpine Bowl Chair is fairly buried and likely to be delayed
- Delays are possible for Emigrant and Granite Chief. Granite Chief still needs full patrol work.
- Silverado will not open tomorrow. We need to rebuild access roads in the area.
Behind The Scenes This Week
Race & Event Services
For race events like the Stifel Palisades Tahoe Cup, it is crucial to have a firm and even race surface. With all the new snow we have been getting, our teams have had to keep the racecourse clear of snow, working through the night to maintain it. There is more information on how we prepare a racecourse surface below.
Photos taken by Kyle Crezee, Director of Lift Operations & Terrain Parks
Photos taken by Craig Patterson, Palisades Grooming Manager
Palisades Upper Lift Maintenance
Low visibility and high winds on the upper mountain near Mountain Meadows. Captured by Shane Oakley.
Palisades Grooming
Deep snow drifts were putting pressure on tower 17 of Silverado, which is why that lift closed early on Wednesday. Grooming Supervisor Austin Oulette digs out the tower here. Photo taken by Bandit, also a Grooming Supervisor.
Alpine Grooming
Low visibility near Lakeview yesterday.
Race Course Surface Prep
If you’ve visited the Palisades side of our resort recently, you’ve probably seen some of the preparations going into the slope on Red Dog and Exhibition. Here’s a look at the work that has gone into preparing this course over the past few weeks.
Our end goal for the surface of a ski race course is to have an extremely firm surface that goes at least 18 inches down. For several weeks before the race, we “process” the snow to create that surface. Here is how we do it:
Step One: Wind Rowing
We begin by “wind rowing” the hills – Just like you might see a farmer do to the dirt in their fields. This is done using a snowcat, pushing snow into vertical rows going up and down the hill. This allows cold air to reach deeper into the existing snowpack.
Step Two: Watering
After the rows have been built, we water them. Adding all of this moisture to the snowpack helps it solidify even more. We want this processed snow to be icy to help create that firm surface.
Step Three: Till
Once wind rowing and watering are complete, and cold air has had time to penetrate the snow, we put a snowcat back on the run and get an even till on the surface.
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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!
