“The snow kept falling throughout the day meaning free refills were on tap until we were too tired to stand.”
I was excited to get out this past weekend and loosen up my ski legs after a long summer. After checking the weather forecast, I decided to head down to Kirkwood Mountain Resort for opening weekend and fresh snow.
Kirkwood opened on Nov. 14 with top-to-bottom riding from Chair 6, and additional runs on Chairs 1 and 5.
We arrived on Sunday morning just as the snow was starting to fall and knew we were in for a good day. There’s no time for warm up runs when fresh snow is falling, so we dove in and skied hard. The coverage was surprisingly good for this early in the season and we were able to venture off the beaten path and explore some of the fun terrain and tree runs that Kirkwood is known for. The snow kept falling throughout the day meaning free refills were on tap until we were too tired to stand. When all was said and done, Kirkwood claimed a foot of new snow at the base and 14” at the summit.
Ski conditions around the lake
Kirkwood wasn’t the only mountain to celebrate the storm during opening weekend. Northstar, Heavenly and Squaw Valley also opened on Nov. 14 with Alpine Meadows preceding them on Nov. 12 with a run open on Kangaroo Chair. Squaw Valley skiers and riders were treated to laps on Gold Coast. Meanwhile on the South Shore, Heavenly opened with the Gondola, Tamarack Express, Dipper Express while Northstar ran Vista Express, The Big Easy Quad, Comstock Express, Big Springs Express and Arrow Express.
Boreal continues to spin Castle Peak Quad and Accelerator. Over on the Nevada side of the lake, Mount Rose received enough snow to open Northwest 6 in addition to Lakeview and Wizard. Additionally Squaw Valley will be adding Red Dog to the roster.
What to look forward to this weekend
Sierra-at-Tahoe and Sugar Bowl both announce they will be spinning lifts starting this weekend. Sierra-at-Tahoe will open tomorrow, Nov. 20, with Nob Hill, Easy Rider and Rock Garden. Sugar Bowl kicks off its season on Nov. 21 with top-to-bottom skiing on Mt. Lincoln Express with Christmas Tree and Nob Hill also spinning.
More snow is in the forecast as early as Monday so keep doing those snow dances!
