Snow foolin’: Ski season ready to open at Tahoe resorts.
The ski season in Tahoe last year felt like the one that never ended. Squaw Valley kept winter alive into July, thanks to a cumulative 719 inches of snowfall. Committed skiers kept going well into August — hiking to hanging snowfields high up in the Sierra, skis attached to their backpacks.
While conditions in California have been abnormally dry for this time of year, snowmaking operations at Tahoe resorts have rolled one ski season right into the next. Several ski resorts are opening certain runs as early as this weekend — same time as last year — albeit on select ribbons of groomed, manmade snow.
There’s a lot going on in Tahoe this season: a new chairlift, road construction and transit improvements, deals on lift tickets and season passes, and a flurry of restaurants and bar openings are lined up and waiting for winter. Here’s what to expect for snow season this year.
Turns before turkey
Regardless of when the snow gods deliver, ski resorts with snowmaking operations are prepared to serve skiers and riders with turns before Thanksgiving.
Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows was the last ski resort to close last season and it is among the first to open this winter, behind Mount Rose, which fired up its lifts Oct. 25. Squaw Alpine opened Friday, with a strip of manmade snow off Kangaroo chair, a magic carpet for kids and snow tubing.
Heavenly and Northstar, both outfitted with snowmaking systems, plan to open on Nov. 22. The other resort in Vail’s trio, Kirkwood, will open Nov. 27.
On top of Donner Pass, Sugar Bowl is blessed with high altitude, which should set the resort up for its scheduled Nov. 29 opening. Meanwhile, Homewood Ski Resort, which sits at a lower elevation near lake level, doubled its snowmaking infra
structure this year to put it on track to open on Dec. 7.
Lift ticket deals
If you’re planning to buy a season pass like the Ikon (Squaw, Alpine Meadows) or the Epic (Heavenly, Northstar, Kirkwood), don’t delay: deadlines are approaching late this month.
If you don’t want to commit to a multiresort pass, check out offerings from Tahoe’s smaller ski resorts like Sugar Bowl and Homewood. Their season passes typically come at a lower price point and include discounts to other small ski hills. Smaller ski areas also tend to be less crowded.
Vail Resorts continues to change the way skiers plan their seasons with the new Epic Day Pass, a fully customizable season pass that lets you choose how many days you want to ski this winter. Getting in early, before the Nov. 24 deadline, means reaping discounts up to 50% off lift ticket window prices.
You can also get a free lift ticket when you go to the DMV. Plates for Powder is a program by the Tahoe Fund that gives people a free lift ticket to participating Tahoe area ski resorts when they purchase a Lake Tahoe license plate, which raises money for trails and watershed restoration projects in the region.
Alpine Meadows lift
Getting from the Alpine Meadows base area to the top of Sherwood Ridge used to take skiers and riders 45 minutes on a circuitous route around the mountain that involved at least three chairlifts. Now, it’s a 5minute ride, directly to the top.
Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows called in helicopters this summer to install the new $10 million detachable, highspeed quad chairlift to open this winter. It’s called the Treeline Cirque, and because it provides such direct access to a popular zone, it’s sure to transform the way visitors experience the resort.
Hop off at the midstation for a quick exit to groomed intermediate runs or continue on to explore the ridge. On one side of the ridge, a stash of steep trees and rocky chutes beckon expert skiers. On the other side, open bowls give way to panoramic lake views and intermediate terrain. The chairlift is also strategically aligned to be protected in high winds and inclement weather, so it’s going to be a goto for laps on stormy powder days.
Try micro transit
Public transportation does exist in Tahoe — bus systems in North Lake and South Lake shuttle passengers between ski resorts and towns — but it hardly makes a dent in the nightmarish ski traffic that defines peak Tahoe skiing. Enter micro transit: ondemand public shuttles specifically for skiers and riders.
The Mountaineer is a free appbased shuttle service with a fleet of dogfriendly vehicles on call for intervalley transportation in Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows. It launched last winter and made a tiny dent in intervalley traffic with rides given to more than 81,000 people. If you’re staying in either valley, it’s a convenient service — though its impact on traffic coming from Truckee is pretty negligible. Because the service was in such high demand, Squaw added two more vehicles to its fleet.
Backcountry skiers are getting a taste of micro transit this year. Grassroots advocacy group Tahoe Backcountry Alliance teamed up with a private car service called Tahoe Sierra Transportation to host a free shuttle every two hours on three of the busiest Saturdays of the winter — those coinciding with Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents
Day and St. Patrick’s Day. The shuttle picks skiers up at the transit center in Tahoe City and drops them at Jake’s Peak, the trailhead for one of the most popular zones for backcountry skiing on the West Shore of Lake Tahoe.
Tahoe City also got a major trafficrelated upgrade. This fall, the Tahoe Transportation District wrapped up a $35 million construction project to realign the intersection of two highways in Tahoe City — known as the “wye” — with a new bridge over the Truckee River and two roundabouts designed to reduce congestion. Skiers traveling between Tahoe City and Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows, rejoice.
More food options
Whole Foods opened in South Lake Tahoe on Nov. 6, changing the game for grocery shopping in the area. Before Whole Foods, South Lake’s options for grocery shopping were a small locally owned health food store called Grass Roots, a Mexican market or the big chains like Safeway, Raley’s, Smart &
Final or Grocery Outlet. An hour before its grand opening, customers were lined up around the building and into the parking lot.
Another icon in the foodie world is gracing Northstar this winter: celebrity Chef Michael Mina is opening Bourbon Pub in the Village at Northstar, so foodies don’t have to compromise when it comes to après ski. Think elevated pub fare like tater tots with truffle oil or cheddar brats wrapped in puff pastry with jalapeno mustard.
Squaw Valley is throwing it back to the decade when skinny skis, blue jeans and Vuarnets were slopeside fashion with the Tram Car Bar. The resort set it up inside a restored ’70sera Squaw Valley tram cabin on the Olympic House deck. Pabst Blue Ribbon will be on draft, along with a menu of wine, bubbles and vodka cocktails. Happy hour is 34 p.m.