Snow and cold temperatures allow Heavenly, Kirkwood and Northstar to open early

Heavenly Mountain Resort, Kirkwood, and Northstar have all pushed up their opening dates to this Saturday, November 12. Mother Nature delivered the goods and the resorts are ready earlier than expected. The cold weather and snow have allowed for natural snow to accumulate along with their snowmaking teams.

This will be both Northstar's and Kirkwood's 50th anniversary season.

Kirkwood is opening 20 days earlier than expected, and Heavenly and Northstar are a week before what was previously announced.

“We are thrilled to welcome skiers and riders back to Heavenly, Northstar, and Kirkwood for the upcoming season even earlier than we anticipated,” said Tom Fortune, VP & COO of Heavenly and the Tahoe Region. “Mother Nature came through for us, allowing natural snowfall to fly and pile up while also giving us the temperatures needed for our snowmakers to do their best work. We are thankful for this incredible gift, and can’t wait to welcome our guests back for winter. Most of all, I’d like to recognize and thank the incredible resort teams at these three mountains for kicking things into high gear and making it possible to open early. Winter is here and we are ready!”

Northstar: Big Springs Gondola will begin loading guests at 8:30 a.m. with Vista, Arrow, and The Big Easy starting at 9 a.m.

Heavenly: Tram, Gunbarrel, Patsy’s, and Powderbowl, starting at 8:30 a.m.

Kirkwood: Chair 5 (Solitude) starting at 9 a.m.

Heavenly will celebrate with live music, fun giveaways and faster access with the new North Bowl Lift which moved from being a fixed-grip triple to a high-speed 4-person chair. This change will increase uphill capacity by more than 40 percent. Northstar’s newly upgraded Comstock Express lift is slated to open as planned on November 25 (conditions permitting).