Tahoe ski conditions: Little snow this week, but storm advisory in place for Saturday
Storms that moved through Northern California this week have led to small amounts of snow in the Lake Tahoe area, which has some ski resorts expecting slightly more open terrain during the first weekend of 2024 than the relatively disappointing December.
Four resorts saw at least 2 inches of snowfall Wednesday, according to onthesnow.com. The most reported snow fell at Sugar Bowl, which received 11 inches helping the mountain open 18 of its 105 ski runs (17%), while Homewood Mountain Resort saw 6 inches of fresh powder, but still only has one ski run available.
Elsewhere, Kirkwood and Palisades each saw 2 inches of fresh snow. Kirkwood as of Thursday has 55 of 84 trails open (65%) while Palisades, the largest ski resort in Lake Tahoe, is reporting 52 open trails, 19 groomed runs and two open terrain parks. Nearby Alpine Meadows has 38 open trails, 13 groomed runs and one open park.
Neither Heavenly nor Northstar benefited from the snowfall elsewhere, leaving both to rely heavily on artificial snow-making.
Heavenly is reporting 38 open trails of their 122 (31%) while 12 of their 27 lifts are in operation. However, Heavenly officials said on social media that its gondola would be out of service.
“Due to a mechanical issue discovered (Thursday), the Heavenly Gondola will not operate until it is fully repaired,” Heavenly’s operators said on Facebook. “The Gondola Maintenance Team worked with the lift manufacturer and project engineer to diagnose the problem, which is related to one of the bearings in the high-speed shaft.”
Until the gondola is repaired and the Stagecoach lift opens, access to the mountain will be through the California base only, Heavenly reported.
Northstar, meanwhile, says 33 of its 101 trails are open among its 12 of 19 open lifts.
And more snow is on the way.
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for Saturday, indicating there could be “heavy” snow paired with high winds. Projections say 4 to 8 inches of snow is possible during the day with 2 to 4 inches coming after sunset. There’s a 30% chance of snow expected Sunday, while long-term forecasts indicate more snow next week.
It’s been overall a far less snowy ski season than last year. Palisades last year at 8,000 feet received 50 inches of snow by the end of November — matching this year’s total through Thursday.
