Many downhill ski areas throughout the region opened early for the 2022-23 season after early November snow storms blanketed the region, along with a number of cross-country centers. Read the Downhill Guide for opening dates for local resorts and our Winter Family Fun chart for opening dates for tubing areas and ice skating rinks, both in this edition.
after any major holiday.
Ski on the cheap | Nearly every local downhill and cross-country ski area offers discounted ski days throughout the season. Do the research to save the dough.
Cashless | Carry a credit card. Most ski areas have moved to cashless systems, including at many of their dining options. Download ski area apps in advance of visiting to use and many offer advance ordering for food through their apps.
and giant slalom will take place on Dog Leg and Red Dog Face. Cheer on the world’s best right from the base area while taking in a weekend of outdoor concerts, fireworks, sponsor popups and more. Tickets are on sale now. | palisadestahoe.com
Make the most of your trip with these tips.
Plan early | Buy your tickets in advance. Most ski areas only offer online sales and many require advance purchase of at least one day. You’ll also get the best deals the earlier you buy. There will be limited or no on-site sales at most ski areas.
Buy a pass | You can run the numbers
Ditch the car | Avoid long traffic lines and limited parking by taking resort shuttles or public transportation to ski areas.
Purchase a specialty license plate through the Plates for Powder program and ski for free this season at one of 14 area resorts. Proceeds from plate sales
Tahoe XC Palisades Tahoe Tahoe FundDec. 17 | Classic Holiday Sprint
Dec. 18 | Holiday Distance Skate
Dec. 31 | New Year’s Eve Freestyle
Jan. 13 | Truckee Sprints race
Feb. 17 | President’s Cup Skiathlon
One of the oldest ski clubs in the West, the Auburn Ski Club, founded in 1928, serves a diverse array of skiers from the ASC Training Center located on Donner Summit. The nonprofit winter sports facility is one of the few training centers in the country to offer alpine, Nordic, biathlon and snowboard programs in one facility. Its athletes range from first-time skiers and riders to Olympic-level and U.S. Team professionals.
The Nordic center is open for the season and its alpine and snowboard teams train at neighboring Boreal Mountain Resort.
Night skiing | After a successful trial last season for cross-country night skiing, ASC will debut the permanent night-skiing facilities on Dec. 14 this year. Skiers will be able to enjoy the trails until 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday and Fridays, with additional night sessions Wednesday to Saturday from Dec. 21 to Jan 4. Some temporary lights will be used this winter until the permanent lights are fully installed, which should be completed by the end of the season. The New Year’s Eve Freestyle is a fundraiser for the lighting project. n
Events
Dec. 9-April 7 (select dates) | $25 Fridays
March 18-20 | Subaru Winterfest April 8 | Boreal Banked Slalom
Boreal continues its Go Time Lift Tickets this season – guests purchase tickets in advance online and pick a start time. The later in the day, the better the lift ticket deal.
Night Pass | Be sure to snap up one of the Night Passes this season (supplies are limited) to enjoy daily night access from 3 to 8 p.m. with no blackout dates.
12 & younger free | This year, Boreal has expanded its Kids Ride Free program to youth ages 12 and younger with their
own pass with the purchase of an Adult Unlimited Pass.
Woodward Tahoe | Boreal is home to Woodward Tahoe, offering indoor facilities at The Bunker with foam pits, trampolines, an indoor skatepark, ramps and drops. Outside, check out the network of terrain zones to build skills.
Feel Good Fridays | Enjoy $25 lift tickets with proceeds going to a nonprofit on select dates this season. n
It happens every year like clockwork. October’s shorter days and colder nights trigger weather prophets to come forth with their long-range winter fore casts. It’s traditionally a time to look forward to the upcoming storm season. In the West, precipitation (rain com bined with the liquid equivalent of snow) is measured in water years from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30 as opposed to a cal endar year. Early October is historically the time of minimum stream flow and reservoir levels, as well as the tradition al start of California’s rainy season. Is another dry season in the offing as we enter winter 2022-23 with yet anoth er moderate to weak La Niña episode influencing storm patterns over the Golden State?
Last winter’s weather was highly erratic, partially influenced by similar La Niña conditions in the equatorial Pa cific Ocean — with cooler than normal sea-surface temperatures. This negative phase of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) helped establish extended high-pressure blocking systems in the mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. These quasi-stationary anticyclones deflect the eastbound jet stream and its associated weather systems. Atmospheric blocking comes in various shapes and forms, but the pattern is not unusual in the eastern Pacific Ocean off the California coast. When the atmospheric ridge is directly over California or just to the west, weather systems are deflected into the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies. But when the high-pressure cell retrogrades west or south, it opens
the storm door.
This scenario seems to have become more common in recent years and has even been dubbed the Ridiculously Re silient Ridge, but blocking is a sporadic weather pattern and highly variable from year to year and even from decade to decade. Some scientists are con cerned that climate change may increase these blocking episodes in the Northern Hemisphere, but other experts affirm that so far there are no clear trends indi cating that this is the case.
The pattern is often caused by ampli fied Rossby waves — dramatic north and south meanders in the jet stream — an atmospheric configuration that drives frigid Artic air deep south; warm, moist air far north or brings a period of quies cent weather depending on location.
Last winter started off with an epic blast of rain and snow in late October when a powerful low-pressure system tapped into an atmospheric river out of the Pacific Ocean. Precipitation values in the Northern Sierra quickly reached 200 percent of average for that early in the season. On Oct. 25, Blue Canyon on the Sierra west slope was deluged with more than 10 inches in 24 hours, beat ing the previous one-day record from 1964. Nearly 10 inches of rain drenched Tahoe City, also a new record. About 5 feet of snow fell at the Central Sierra Snow Lab near Donner Pass.
The moisture tap turned off in Novem ber and for the first half of December, but then a nine-day megastorm roared into the Tahoe Sierra. In an overwhelm
ing display of nature’s raw power, In terstate 80 and Highway 50 were closed to trans-Sierra traffic for days. Travel by train, plane or automobile was shut down, while gasoline supplies ran out in many communities.
Many mountain and foothill commu nities lost electricity. Nearly 100,000 customers huddled in the cold and dark for days waiting for utility crews to fight through downed trees and deep snow to repair damaged lines.
Lead scientist Dr. Andrew Schwartz at the Central Sierra Snow Lab tallied al most 18 feet of snow during the barrage, the most December snow since at least 1970. (The lab was established in 1945, but snowfall data are not yet digitized prior to 1970.)
Palisades Tahoe topped its previous snowiest December (1970) with 211 inches for the month. Both Homewood Mountain Resort and Diamond Peak were hammered with 10 feet, while Northstar California reached a seasonal total of 23 feet — before New Year’s Eve. The first snow survey at the end of December 2021 revealed the Sierra snowpack was 160 percent of normal. Ski resorts were elated with the pro digious snowfall and according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the exceptional drought category had nearly been elim inated from the Golden State. And all this happened within eight weeks since NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC) issued its drier than normal fore cast for California’s winter season.
But after the exceptional snowfall in December — crickets. Strong high pressure with an amplified jet stream
built in over the eastern Pacific, effec tively shutting down the storm track for all of January. Overnight temperatures in the mountains dropped to near zero under the clear skies, but there was no precipitation. It was the third driest Jan uary in Tahoe City since at least 1909. Throughout the whole month, the upper mountain at Palisades Tahoe picked up just 6 inches of snow. By the second snow survey on Feb. 1, 2022, snow water equivalent (SWE) in the mountain snowpack had plummeted from 160 percent to 90 percent for the date.
Twenty out of California’s 30 major climate stations reported their Top 5 driest January’s on record. It was an ominous sign. In February, no sig nificant storms materialized but a mid-winter heatwave began to melt the Sierra snowpack in earnest. At South Lake Tahoe, sunny skies with temps in the mid- to upper 50s corresponded to record warm conditions more than 20 degrees above normal in the lower elevations.
The anomalous amplification of the jet stream with dry and balmy weather continued into March.
Arriving late to the party, a strong storm in mid-April finally broke down the blocking high pressure. Palisades Tahoe was stoked with 7 feet of snow at 8,000 feet, but by then many resorts had shut down for the season.
The dearth of winter storms was sober ing. San Francisco had 44 consecutive rain-free days in January and February, its fourth longest mid-winter dry spell since 1849. Reno, Nev. suffered through January with no measurable precipita
Retired National Weather Service forecaster Jan Null recently shared his analysis of 24 La Niña events … It’s clear, statistically at least, La Niña-influenced winter seasons are generally a good signal for close to normal precipitation in our neighborhood.
tion for the first time in nearly 130 years of record keeping. Although win ter-season dry slots are a normal part of Northern California’s climate, they are more common and longer during weak ENSO events.
In the heart of the 2022 wet season, Sacramento went 10 weeks without a drop of rain. In 2021, the capital city had set a record streak with 212 consec utive dry days, until the October “bomb cyclone” flooded the town with unprec edented rainfall. Weather extremes to be sure.
The dry winter of 2022 segued into a warmer-than-normal summer be fore peaking in a blistering heat wave in September that set new all-time high-temperature records across North ern California. Sacramento residents sweltered in a new record of 116 de grees on Sept. 7, exceeding 114 degrees set on July 17, 1925.
During the same event, Reno boiled under a temperature of 106 on Sept. 6, the hottest temperature ever recorded in September and the fourth highest in the city’s history. The Biggest Little City in the World also endured nine consecu tive days with triple-digit heat, its third longest streak, just one day short of the 10-day records set in July 2005 and July 2021. September’s average temperature in Reno was 71.3 degrees, 4.3 above average, making it the warmest ever. South Lake Tahoe set new daily highs in the low 90s.
Smoke transport from The Mosqui to Fire near Foresthill was an issue this past summer, but conditions were not quite as bad for the Lake Tahoe Basin as the Caldor Fire was in Au gust/September 2021. Fortunately, in mid-September 2022, as wildfire season approached its zenith, an exceptionally vigorous low-pressure system formed in the eastern Pacific Ocean and slid south along the California coastline, tapping subtropical moisture and drenching the mountains with several inches of rain. For the second year in a row, early season precipitation materially reduced the risk of forest fire across much of California.
As of Nov. 11, Lake Tahoe’s water level is 6,222.82 feet above sea level, dropping below its natural rim at 6,223 feet. It is not an uncommon occurrence because Big Blue has fallen below this point about 15 percent of the time since the dam was completed in 1913.
Since the development of massive irrigation projects in the arid American West, it has become clear that early 20th-Century officials overestimated the amount of water available to allocate. The poster child for this hydrologi cal exuberance is the Colorado River system, which has been desiccated by a mega-drought for two decades. A word of advice: If they tell you that you’re
in a 20- or 30-year dry spell, it’s not a drought. That’s your climate.
Virtually all of California was dri er than normal during the winter of 2021-22 except for some locations in the Central Sierra and a few rural areas north of Truckee. Unique among Cali fornia’s 10 hydrologic basins, the North Lahontan Hydrologic Region (NLHR) was the only one that achieved average annual precipitation. The NLHR, whose drainage basins are generally located in the rain shadow caused by the Sierra range, encompass much of the Tahoe Sierra topography.
The Lahontan Region includes a dozen major watersheds; among them the Truckee, Carson and Walker River drainages. Unfortunately, due to the timing and type of this year’s weather events, streamflow runoff was well be low average. Precipitation values on the west slope of the Sierra ranged from 81 percent on the Northern Sierra Precip itation 8-Station Index to 63 percent in the Central Sierra, falling to 59 percent on the Southern Index.
For the past two years NOAA’s CPC long-range forecast has envisioned below average precipitation based on similar La Niña conditions and this year is no different.
On Oct. 13, the CPC confirmed that the current ENSO-negative conditions should prevail and weaken through the 2022-23 winter with a 54 percent chance of a transition to an ENSO-neu tral phase during February to April.
There have only been three three-year La Niña episodes in 73 years of record keeping. The CPC’s extended, multimonth outlooks for precipitation and temperature have utility when consid ered in the broadest sense of large-scale trends but fail to indicate higher-resolu tion weather events like impactful atmo spheric rivers or juiced-up low-pressure systems from the Gulf of Alaska.
For skiers, boarders and outdoor en thusiasts, CPC outlooks are simply the agency’s educated guess, not a pinpoint forecast.
Retired National Weather Service forecaster Jan Null recently shared his analysis of 24 La Niña events and their impacts on the North Lahontan sector. Since 1950, out of two dozen negative ENSO oscillations, our hydrologic region averaged above normal precip itation for weak and moderate events and 97 percent during strong events. It’s clear, statistically at least, La Niña-in fluenced winter seasons are generally a good signal for close to normal precipi tation in our neighborhood. n
Jan. 13, Feb. 10, March 10
| Twilight Snowshoe
Feb. & March (Wed.) | Last Tracks
Feb. 3 | Ullr Fest & Torchlight Parade
March 5 | Retro Ski Day
March 14 | Pi Day
March 25-26
| Luggi Foeger Uphill/Downhill Festival
March 26 | Winter Wildlife Snowshoe
April 1 | Dummy Downhill
Diamond Peak is one of the region’s independently owned ski areas, and is owned by the residents of Incline Village, Nev., but is open to all. It’s also one of only a handful of downhill resorts located in the Tahoe Basin that also offers breathtaking views of Lake Tahoe from many of its runs.
New surface lift | A new magic carpet surface lift has been installed for the Child Ski & Ride Center for ages 3 to 6.
RFID access | Diamond Peak has installed new Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) access gates at the Lodgepole, Lakeview, School House and
Crystal Express chairlifts this winter providing touch-free convenience for season pass and lift ticket holders.
Terrain park changes | The mediumand large-sized features in Village Terrain Park are moving for the 2022-23 ski season to the Spillway run, opening the ski runs known as Penguin and Dusty’s for traditional groomed skiing and riding this winter. Smaller jumps and features will still be located near the bottom of the Wiggle run (in the same zone as last season). The Jump Start Park for firsttime terrain park users will remain at the bottom of Popular trail.
Uphill Access | Diamond Peak is now offering an Uphill Access Pass for $50 to existing Diamond Peak passholders or IVGID passholders.
Ski & ride free | Children 6 and younger and adults older than 80 years ski for free.
Deals | Diamond Peak offers a number of great deals including free skiing on your birthday, an Interchangeable Parent’s Pass, and a 2 for 1 deal for those with disabilities. n
Donner Ski Ranch is a family-friendly resort
a variety of terrain and is one of the few remaining independently owned and operated family ski resorts.
Donner Ski Ranch boasts more than 500 acres of sheer fun at one of the highest base elevation ski areas in the Sierra with sweeping views of Donner Lake. For beginner and intermediate skiers and snowboarders, Donner Ski Ranch offers easy access to novice runs. Advanced skiers and riders can enjoy untouched lines at Donner Ski Ranch’s aggressive high-mountain and backside terrain.
Old School Days | Enjoy throwback pricing on lift tickets and packages deals
Tuesday to Thursday starting Jan. 4 (excludes some holiday periods) with adult tickets only $49 and $19 for kids.
The Pie | I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: Don’t leave without a slice of fresh-baked yummy pie. The Old 40 Bar & Grill is known for its tasty cuisine, but the star attraction are the pies. They may bill themselves as “Donner Summit’s Favorite Dive Bar & Grill” but the fare is worth a trip in itself. n
NEW this winter, the Base to Base Gondola now connects Palisades and Alpine - giving you uninterrupted access to 44 lifts, 8 peaks and 6000 acres of legendary terrain.
palisadestahoe.com
Granlibakken’s ski hill is perfect for beginners. Approachable, uncrowded and easily viewed from the deck and warming hut making it great for families. It’s also one of the region’s independent and still family-owned ski areas.
The current resort opened in 1947, but the historic ski and sled hill originally known as Ski Canyon has been the site for winter sports dating back nearly 100 years.
The ski hill and ski school are open Friday to Monday and daily during holidays. There is also a Nordic trail around the property and an access trail to Page Meadows.
Tubing | The resort offers popular tubing lanes served by snowmaking systems
along with the Benny the Bear snow play area, which is open daily in the winter.
Night Sledding | Enjoy night sledding during the holidays on select dates in December and January from 5 to 6:30 p.m. with laser lights, music and glowsticks. Complimentary hot mulled wine for adults and hot chocolate for kids are included with every ticket.
Kids sled free | Kids younger than 3 sled for free.
Treetop park | The Tahoe City Treetop Park located at the resort offers aerial adventures for ages 5 and older. n
TBA | Gunbarrel 25
TBA | Pond Skim
TBA | Springs Fling Rail Jam
Heavenly sits in two states, providing a one-of-a-kind skiing experience with its iconic, breathtaking views of Lake Tahoe. From 34 miles of wide-open, groomed cruisers to 1,600-foot plunges in doubleblack diamond canyons, Heavenly has something for everyone. Then, after a day on slopes, enjoy the après ski scene, local brewpubs, diverse dining and Vegas-style nightlife
New lift | Heavenly’s upgraded North Bowl Lift will be open for the upcoming season. Upgraded from a fixed-grip, 3-person chair to a high-speed, detachable 4-person chair, this upgrade will increase uphill capacity by more than 40 percent and reduce the combined ride
time of the Boulder and North Bowl lifts. This is expected to also reduce wait times at the Stagecoach and Olympic lifts.
DJ Cat | On weekends starting in December, enjoy the on-the-mountain party as rotating guest DJs play favorites out of a specially modified snowcat
Après Tracks | After normal resort hours, guests staying at Zalanta, Lakeland Village or Gondola Vista on Sunday nights can join Ski Patrol members to ski down the lake-view Ridge Run. Waiting at the bottom for participants will be delicious culinary offerings paired with beverages.
Uphill access | Heavenly offers uphill access between 6 p.m. and 8 a.m. during regular ski season operations only on approved routes.
Kids ski free | Kids ages 4 & younger ski free. n
Plans for Homewood to move to a membership-based model in the next 3 years was unveiled by Art Chapman, chairman of JMA Ventures which operates the ski area, in early November at the First Tuesday Breakfast Club.
Chapman said that the newly rebranded Homewood Mountain & Lake Club will sell legacy memberships, as well as local resident memberships with access to skiing and riding to provide a sustainable revenue model for the ski area. There will be no changes for the 2022-23 season, with Chapman noting a more solidified plan would be released next year.
With a 40 percent decline in daily skier visits in the last 10 years, increasing traffic issues and competition from larger ski areas, Chapman said that Homewood’s current operations as a commuter-based ski resort is failing.
“It’s virtually impossible for small, commuter-oriented ski areas to compete against the monolithic, very large ski areas,” he said.
Chapman also noted that Homewood needs costly investments for its aging infrastructure that can’t be funded through its current model. Namely, the replacement of the 50-year Madden Chair
estimated at $12 million, replacement of the Ellis Chair in the near future, and upgrades to on-mountain dining that would cost around $15 million.
The membership model would be a legacy membership, passing to generations of families. It would include owners of the planned 175 to 180 on-mountain homes (seven are under construction now), as well as nonresidents. In addition, a local resident membership would be offered during some nonholiday, midweeks times for West Shore residents, he said.
Community Ski Days would also be offered to benefit local nonprofits.
Development | Along with building on-mountain homes (scaled back from the approved 223 residents), there will be a 15- to 20-room hotel. There will also be a general store and ice cream parlor, both of which will be open to the public.
Homewood High & Dry would continue to be open to the public, he said, and the public would continue to have access to hiking trails in the summer. n
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Dec. 10 | Santa Ski Day
Feb. 11 | McKinney Cup March 11-12 | Tahoe Freeride
Experience more than 1,200 acres and 1,800 vertical feet at Mt. Rose, boasting the region’s highest elevation base area at 8,260 feet.
New lift | Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe’s new Lakeview zone, a $7.5 million, on-mountain expansion, will offer the new Lakeview Express lift catering to low-level and intermediate skiers and snowboarders. Other lifts on the mountain also received a facelift with a fresh, modern paint scheme and low-voltagedrive updates on the fixed-grip chairs.
New trail | The new Lakeside trail will
feature views of Lake Tahoe and provide the preferred route to access the Around the World trail.
The Chutes | Opened in the 2004-05 season, the 200+ acre Chutes offer some of the longest vertical feet in North America. Tackle more than 1,000 feet of north-facing slopes with pitches from 40 to 55 degrees. This expert-only area may be accessed through designated gates –four on the Mt. Rose side and five on the Winters Creek Lodge side.
The Deals | Mt. Rose offers some great deals throughout the season including Two’fer Tuesdays, Ladies’ Day on Thursdays, SKI.G.I.F on Fridays and Locals Sundays.
Dec.
Celebrating its 50th anniversary this winter, Northstar’s diverse terrains and 100 trails offer something for every skier and rider to enjoy. Anniversary celebrations haven’t been announced but Northstar vice president and general manager Amy Ohran said revelers will need their best 70s outfit for the festivities.
New lift | The Comstock Express lift has been upgraded to a high-speed six-person chair to reduce wait times and increase uphill capacity by nearly 50 percent.
First tracks | For the first time, passholders will have early access to
the mountain every Monday at 8:30 a.m. starting mid-December.
Make a toast | Tôst, one of Northstar’s signature traditions will return this season; dates TBA. Enjoy a glass of bubbly. Local tip: Get in line by 1:30 p.m. to partake in the 2 p.m. Tôst glasses are first-come, first-served.
New eatery, shops | Ohran says Vail will be reopening seven owned stores in the Village at Northstar and 4 new tenants will be opening in the Village. As well, the new Wild Pine Kitchen Bar restaurant, a family-style rotisseries, will open in December.
Local transit | The Park & Ride shuttle will return this year offering service from the Truckee Tahoe Airport to Northstar. Kids ski free | Kids ages 4 & younger ski free. n
Sierra-at-Tahoe has rebounded from a devasting fire and will open its entire 46 trail network this season in celebration of the resort’s 76th anniversary.
In 2021, the Caldor Fire blazed through Sierra-at-Tahoe affecting 1,600 of its 2,000 acres, damaging lift towers, haul ropes, disintegrating terrain park features and melting four new snowcats.
Adventure Zones | On-mountain themed adventure zones feature terrain elements such as rollers, mini jumps and banked turns that keep children
entertained, while signage and animated characters educate them on local history and animal species. Each adventure zone focuses on a theme, including the Wampa Cave featuring a Star Wars theme.
Mountain Tours | Learn more about the geology and history of Sierra-at-Tahoe and the Lake Tahoe Basin on a guided, onehour tour on select weekends.n
Palisades Tahoe’s long-awaited
Base to Base Gondola will make it possible to explore all 6,000 acres of terrain at the ski resort connecting the two base areas of Olympic Valley and Alpine Meadows. The Gondola is set to open Dec. 17. The community is invited to ride the gondola for free (no skis or boards), Dee Bryne, president and COO announced at Good Morning Truckee.
The Base to Base Gondola can be operated as one continuous lift or as two separate lifts from each base area to the top of KT-22. The Gondola has four terminals: one in each base area, one at the top of KT-22 and one on private land (no disembarking will be allowed at this terminal). The scenic ride from one base area to the other will take around 16 minutes and cover 2.4 miles. Each of the 96 cabins can fit up to 8 passengers.
Red Dog | Red Dog lift will be replaced with a high-speed, detachable six-person lift. The base terminal will be moved to the east, giving skiers direct access to the lift from the parking lot.
World Cup | One of only four U.S. resorts featured on the World Cup circuit this season, Palisades Tahoe will host men’s slalom and giant slalom events Feb. 25 and 26, 2023. The event brings tens of thousands of spectators to the resort and tickets are on sale now.
Upgrades | The Funitel entrance, the gondola terminal and the member’s locker room at the Olympic Valley base area have all been renovated. At the Funitel there will be a new, accessible central plaza, pushing back the snow beach to start on the south side of the Funitel building.
Snowmaking | New snowmaking systems have been installed on Julia’s Gold and lower Red Dog Face on the Olympic Valley side. As well, automatic snowmaking systems have been installed on Weasel trail at Alpine Meadows.
Alpine updates | The Sun Deck and snow beach at Alpine Lodge have been expanded over the summer, as well as improvements at the Alpine Chalet including a new container kitchen to double service ability.
Transit | Mountaineer, the service that offers free winter transportation in Olympic Valley and Alpine Meadows, will add new service routes and expand its schedule for the 2022-23 season from Dec. 9 to April 9, 2023. Service will be offered four days a week between the two valleys.
The free on-demand TART Connect microtransit has also been expanded offering connections from Olympic Valley and River Ranch (at the base of Alpine Meadows Road) into Tahoe City. Both may be scheduled through their respective
apps.
The Sherwood Shuttle will be also running this year with access from the West Shore to Ward Canyon.
As well, guests can get real-time updates on the parking status through the resort app.
Development | Palisades Tahoe will be resubmitting development proposals to Placer County this fall, which will include housing for 300 employees at the entrance to Olympic Valley, that Bryne said they would like to start building as early as May. They also plan to pursue development of an enclosed, multipurpose mountain adventure center in the base area, she said, to include a pool at the minimum, a ski team fitness center, climbing walls, conference space and office space.
Peaks renamed | The U.S. Geological Survey ordered the renaming of several geographic features in September after declaring the work sq**w to be a derogatory term, a move that had long been sought by the Washo Tribe. These included Washeshu Peak from Sq**w Peak; Washeshu Creek from Sq**w Creek; and Olympic Valley from Sq**w Valley. n
Sky Tavern is unique among local ski areas in that is not only a nonprofit, but also a co-op that is run by volunteers who man the lifts, teach the lessons and perform every task around the resort to teach kids how to ski and ride. Sky
Tavern is the country’s oldest and largest nonprofit learn to ski and ride program.
Seasons passes are required to access the ski area along with a few hours of your time for adults or kids must be registered in one of their programs.
Snowmaking | For the first time in the ski area’s history, Sky Tavern will be making snow this season. Two new
snowmaking guns are coming from Techno Alpin and will be installed at Sky Tavern. Shop the Swap | Help the nonprofit that runs the ski hill continue its program at its annual Ski Swap on Nov. 18 and 19.
New mountain bike trails | Sky Tavern offers a fantastic mountain bike trail system in the summer and recently completed the new Sutherland Trail and the 4-mile Tamarack Lake Trail that connects to College Boy trail. There are also plans in the works for a shuttle to ferry mountain bikers to the top of Highway 431 to connect into the Sky
Tavern trail system, which can be ridden into Reno. E-bikes are also allowed on the trails. n
It’s a winter wonderland of kidorientated fun at Soda Springs from the Planet Kids snow play area for ages 7 and younger featuring tubing carousals, tubing lanes, snow volcanoes to climb and more to the 10 tubing runs for the whole family to enjoy at Tube Town.
Mountain Adventure | Mountain Adventure includes access to everything kids will love – the kids tubing carousel, snow tubing, rides on the snow Jeep, kids ski/snowboarding learning zone, Woodward Start Park zone, and the snow play area with snow volcanoes.
Family Pass | One of the best deals around is Soda Springs’ Family Access with full access to the resort for two
adults and two kids. The pass includes access to the lifts, Tube Town, Planet Kids, Woodward Start Park and other activities. And it’s good every day all season with no blackout dates.
Complimentary rentals |
Complimentary rental equipment (skis/ snowboard/helmet) is available from the West Meadows Lodge at Planet Kids for guests with a shoe size 4 or below on a first-come, first-served basis.
Jan. 21 | Poker Run
Feb. 25 | Banked Slalom
April 1 | Uphiller
April 8 | Tiki Pond Skim
Sugar Bowl will debut its new tubing park – dubbed Sugar Rush – on Dec. 17. The new 10-lane tubing center will be located off Judah Road and features a 400-foot magic carpet.
There will be a new parking lot for the center, along with lights, sugary treats to go with the Sugar Rush theme, a kids snow play area and a bar for adults. It will be open weekends and some holidays.
Tree thinning | There’s also been a lot of work on forest health throughout the West Village including removing about 10,000 trees and removing understory brush. The forest work will also provide improved tree skiing.
Limited passes | Sugar Bowl is limiting its season passes sales again for this year. “We pride ourselves on being uncrowded,” Sugar Bowl president & CEO Bridget Legnavsky said at the November Good Morning Truckee event.
Events | Legnavsky also said there will be pop-up bars around the resort, a Music in the Park series and races throughout the season.
New gondola | The historic gondola will be running this season, Legnavsky said, but noted that the resort’s master plan calls for a proposed realignment from Judah entrance with a new gondola sometime in the future.
The Deals | Sugar Bowl offers a number of lift ticket deals to military and veterans, law enforcement officers, EMTs, paramedics, firefighters, and registered front-line nurses working in hospitals or COVID-19 care facilities. n
Dec. 25 | Ski with Santa Dec. 31 | NYE Glowstick Parade & Fireworks Nov. 25 | Cross-country Opens
Tahoe Donner continues to work on the replacement of its lodge at the downhill area. The plan for the new lodge includes a three-level, terraced structure that would include dining, rentals and guest services, staff locker rooms, restrooms and the ski school offices. It would also include a deck that would be located on the same level as the existing ski lifts. The building would be 7,500 square feet
larger than the current structure. The Town of Truckee is reviewing the most recent updates to the application and public hearings will take place when that is completed. Updates on the process are available at townoftruckee.com. n
