Lake Tahoe Ski Resorts

With 12 to 18 feet of snow received at Lake Tahoe ski resorts in March, many area ski resorts are announcing a change in their closing dates.

Heavenly Mountain Resort announced today that their ski season will extend through April 22, offering daily skiing and riding. They have a lot of Spring Break planned activities through April 7.

The winter of 2016-2017 has been exceptional for skiers across the entire west. Colorado has flourished, California has shed any trace of drought and Jackson Hole is on a pace to break its own record for snowfall.

With so much snow, nearly every ski resort has piled up powder days. For those who took a ski trip this year and missed a big snowfall, it truly was a bad break, as storms have consistently stalked the west all year.

During a season so outstanding for snow, there have been a handful of storms, often one on top of another, that have produced gaudy one-day snow totals.

As residents in the Lake Tahoe area shovel out of their homes, ski resorts are boasting impressive totals of powder underneath clearing skies.

The Lake Tahoe ski resorts are reporting up to five feet of new snow in the last seven days. If the month of March is a normal month with heavy snow, most resorts should see record breaking snow fall by the end of the season.

The National Weather Service in Reno forecast, there is a 20-40 percent chance of snow in South Lake Tahoe through Saturday. A small system passes on Friday, with a stronger one coming Sunday and Monday.

Expect a windy and snowy weekend in South Lake Tahoe! Ski resorts on the South Shore had to postpone opening days, so maybe Mother Nature will be helping them out!

There is a wind advisory in place for South Lake Tahoe in advance of the winter storm headed our way. Expect winds 15-25 mph with gusts up to 45 mph overnight Friday, increasing Saturday to 20-30 mph and gusts to 55 mph. Ridgetop winds could gust up to 110 mph. Waves on the lake are expected to be 2-5' with the highest on the north and east shore.

The winds subside slightly as a winter storm moves in.

While the storms hitting the Sierra this December are not unusual, they are very different from recent winters.

As of Christmas Day, 2015, all South Lake Tahoe ski resorts are reporting more snow than they had during the whole 2014 ski season.

Heavenly Valley - 167" of snow in November and December, to date; 87" last season.
Sierra-at-Tahoe - 173" reported, 120" last season.
Kirkwood - 194" reported, 188" last season.

Rain drenched the South Shore of Lake Tahoe this week, but the storms that brought rain to lake level brought much needed snow to the upper elevations.

Heavenly Mountain Resort is reporting 14" of fresh snow in the last week with 3" last night.

Kirkwwod reports 5" of snow Wednesday night and 15" in the last seven days.

Sierra at Tahoe had 6" of snow in the last 24 hours with 18" falling during the latest storm.

Northstar had much more snow than the resorts to the South. They had 6" overnight with 31" of snow falling over last week.

9/28/14 10:00 p.m. update: 4,420 firefighters and support staff are still on the scene of the 97.099 acre King Fire which is now 89% contained.

After 4 days of precipitation with accumulations of 1-3 inches, fire spread has been halted, however heat remains in the heavier fuels and in the heavy duff sheltered from the rain under the dense timber canopy. As the weather turns warm and dry over the next several days, expect to see an increase in fire activity and smoke production; however spread potential is extremely low, doe to the successful suppression efforts.

Job seekers are invited to have an experience of a lifetime this winter in Lake Tahoe as Heavenly Mountain Resort, Northstar California Resort and Kirkwood Mountain Resort hire a combined total of 2,300 seasonal employees for the 2013-2014 winter season. Heavenly will hire 800 seasonal employees. Northstar will hire 1,100, and Kirkwood will hire 400. Three job fairs are scheduled throughout October, giving candidates an opportunity to meet with managers and find the best-suited jobs.

A combination of rain and snow for Lake Tahoe and the Sierra is possible by the weekend, according to the National Weather Service in Reno.

Low pressure in the eastern Pacific is expected to move slowly toward the California coast around Friday into the weekend. This will bring an increased supply of subtropical moisture with the possibility of rain over a larger portion of lower-elevation western Nevada, and a mix of rain and snow at the higher elevations of the Sierra and Lake Tahoe.

TAHOE/TRUCKEE, Calif. - The Lake Tahoe ski industry received the ultimate Christmas present by way of a large storm that dumped upward of 4 feet of snow this past weekend at many locations throu...

The nation's ski industry suffered an epic wipeout last season, with the least snowfall in decades and one of the steepest drops in skier visits on record.
But instead of retrenching, resort owners are opening their wallets wide on upgrades and expansions.
One of the biggest jumps in spending is taking place at the snow-covered peaks around Lake Tahoe, where resorts are in the midst of a spending splurge of more than $100 million over the next five years.

Some years the weather has been unseasonably warm and the Lake Tahoe region is devoid of any skiing or snowboarding at Thanksgiving. However, this is certainly not one of those years.
There will be seven Lake Tahoe ski resorts open on Thanksgiving day and one more – Homewood ski resort – will open on Friday.
Read more here.

This winter at Lake Tahoe ski resorts marks the latest progression in merger mania. The Vail Corp. now owns Heavenly, Northstar and Kirkwood, while KSL Capital Partners is investing in acquisitions Squaw and Alpine Meadows. Even independent Sugar Bowl is getting into the act with a recently inked agreement to operate the Royal Gorge Cross Country Resort.

Despite an unusual dry season that lasted through February, Lake Tahoe ski resorts benefitted from a series of March snowstorms that will extend the season for many.

Now in its 16th season, the luxury Ski Buses run every Saturday, every Sunday, every Wednesday and one additional weekday per week with pick up locations in San Francisco, Oakland, Walnut Creek, Sunnyvale, Foster City, Pleasanton and San Rafael. The buses are stylish and comfortable with a restroom, multiple TVs for movies, and of course, are run by professional drivers and hosts!

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A new bill signed by President Obama Monday could turn Lake Tahoe ski resorts into year-round playgrounds. But don't expect waterslides down your favorite run, because that is now clearly illega...

With so many ski resorts at Lake Tahoe, it's hard to choose where to ski. Each resort has its own claim to fame, and it really comes down to personal preference. If you ski more than a few days a year, the best bargain is to go for a season pass. Even if you are only skiing for a week, a season pass might be cheaper than buying a ticket each day.