San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
South Lake Tahoe’s famed ski gondola closes for repairs
The famous mountain gondola at Heavenly Ski Resort in South Lake Tahoe has been shut down indefinitely due to a mechanical issue discovered Thursday morning, according to the resort.
The gondola, which operates year-round as a visitor highlight, picks up in Heavenly’s downtown village and whisks sightseers and skiers on a scenic 2.4-mile ride up the slopes overlooking the lake’s vast cobalt expanse. It’s an especially crucial and convenient point of access to the slopes during peak winter days when bursts of skiers and snowboarders funnel into the Tahoe basin to take advantage of fresh snowfall on Heavenly’s mountain.
On Thursday, Heavenly said its maintenance team had found an issue “related to one of the bearings in the highspeed shaft” that would close the gondola “until it is fully repaired.” It wasn’t immediately clear when that might be.
“At no time has the gondola been unsafe to operate, but it’s best to replace these bearings early before they do become a more serious problem,” according to a resort statement. “We are actively working with our manufacturer to secure replacement bearings with urgency.”
It’s another blow for South Lake Tahoe’s premier ski area during what has been a relatively warm and dry winter to date. The region’s ski areas haven’t been able to open up as much skiing terrain as they would like, and the industry has gotten off to a slow start.
However, Tahoe this week received its first significant storm of the season, and falling temperatures are making it easier for resorts to blow snow and open up more runs.
The gondola closure doesn’t limit where skiers can ski on the mountain, but it means that Heavenly skiers will have to cram into a single point of access at the resort’s California base area to get on the slopes.
There’s optimism that the resort will be able to open its Stagecoach Express chairlift on the Nevada side of the mountain by Saturday morning, according to Heavenly communications manager Cole Zimmerman.
“Having that other base area open will allow people to spread out on the mountain,” he said.