Who Stole Winter? How to adapt to a devastating drought in the Sierra

"You have to adapt to changes in life or you won't survive," John Rice told a crowd at Wednesday's 'Tahoe Talks' held at LTCC.

"Change is happening, clearly we're in a drought, whether it's here for short term, or long term, time will tell," said Rice, the VP and General Manager of Sierra-at-Tahoe. "The ski industry has the most to lose in a drought."

He told the group that with a base elevation of 6,640 ft and top of 8,852 ft, two degrees difference in temperature can make all the difference in the world. The high pressure systems continue to keep storms away from Lake Tahoe, and when it is cold there is no moisture in a system. "Can't control the jet streams or inversions, but I've tried," Rice said.

Many of the skiers who got to Sierra-at-Tahoe, as well as other Sierra ski resorts, aren't planning far ahead as they once did. Rice said they are mostly last minute now as they have lost confidence about the snow pack. There was a group of 1,200 Intel employees booked for a ski trip to Sierra-at-Tahoe this past March at Sierra-at-Tahoe according to Rice, but they had to cancel due to a lack of snow.

The fourth straight year of less than ideal snow conditions has been devastating according to Rice. "I can't help but think of the people (who work at Sierra). When we closed March 16 it was the earliest we've ever had to close, and we were open just 94 days, the fewest ever," Rice said.

Rice outlined what Sierra-at-Tahoe is doing to deal with drought:
1) Do our part to reduce our carbon footprint. Get people thinking about being green.
2) Summer Grooming - Gives them the ability to open with less snow with good trail management and construction.
3) Snowmaking. Sierra makes 4% of their snowpack. With a normally average snowfall of 480" per year it hasn't been needed before.
4) Snow farming - Moving snow from parking lots and from under trees that is spread out on ski slopes for more coverage.
5) 'Bucket Brigade' - Employees cared enough about staying open that they took buckets and starting moving buckets full of snow around themselves.
6) Honest Snow Reporting - People appreciate the truth and won't come back to a resort if they think they've been mislead. "We are now reporting in inches of snow when we used to report in feet," Rice said.
7) Alternative Winter Experiences - Sierra added the plaza for more outside enjoyment other than on skis or boards. They've added concerts, races and games, tubing, Paint & Sip and more. "When Mother Nature gives you lemons, have a beach party," said Rice.
8) Accentuate the lifestyle - they added fire pits that have been very popular for people to hang around.
9) Summer Adventure Parks - The Forest Service has allowed winter resorts to add summer activities that relate to the outdoors. Rice said people can expect more of this to come.
10) Sierra is adding weddings, special events and wine tastings to name a few of new uses for the area when snow isn't as it should be.
11) Offering family time - s'mores and time creating memories unplugged.

Resorts are adding ice skating, bike parks and inside adventures like Boreal's Camp Woodward. A resort in Vermont even added an indoors water park but for reasons different than Tahoe....it gets too cold outdoors so lift ticket purchases allow guests to use the indoor water park.

Sierra-at-Tahoe is a member of Powder Alliance, a group of western ski resorts. A season's pass at any of the resorts gives buyers three days at each of the other resorts. John called it 'snow insurance' because users can go to where there is better snow than their home resort.

"We can't control the jet stream but we can control our footprint, our commitment to making things work and by having an action plan versus just talk," said Rice.

Tahoe Talks a lunchtime forum for learning and sharing ideas that strengthen our Tahoe communities and is hosted by the Tahoe Metropolitan Planning Organization (TMPO) and its partners.