Many Tahoe ski resorts will be shutting down operations for the 2020-21 ski season by April 11.
Six Tahoe ski resorts will be closing Sunday, April 11. Five more resorts will run their lifts for an additional week, with tentative closings on Sunday, April 18.
Weather and conditions permitting, Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows will be open approximately seven weeks longer than any other Tahoe ski resort, establishing a closing date of Memorial Day – Monday, May 31.
“Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows is known for its amazing spring skiing and riding. We are so happy we can continue to offer up outdoor recreation to visitors and locals,” said Squaw-Alpine spokesperson Christine Horvath. “While it might look a bit different with fewer events and music this spring season, the skiing and riding will be in our usual tradition of fun at (what we call) the Spring Skiing Capital.”
TAHOE SKI RESORT CLOSING DATES
- Tahoe Donner: April 11
- Diamond Peak: April 11
- Sierra-at-Tahoe: April 11
- Kirkwood: April 11
- Homewood: April 11
- Sugar Bowl: April 11
- Soda Springs: April 18
- Northstar: April 18
- Heavenly: April 18
- Boreal: April 18
- Mt. Rose: April 18
- Granlibakken: TBA
- Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows: May 31
Due to COVID-19 considerations, the ski season in Lake Tahoe got off to a later start than usual. Mt. Rose, which is normally the first Tahoe ski resort to open, often times in late October, pushed back its opening day until Nov. 20.
Northstar California and Heavenly also opened Nov. 20 and six other Tahoe ski resorts were running lifts by Thanksgiving weekend.
“Our guests have done a great job adhering to the COVID precautions that were put in place this season,” said Sierra-at-Tahoe spokesperson Keith Lederman. “We are so grateful that we were able to offer an opportunity for people to get outside and recreate. It has been very rewarding to see the joy from everyone having fun and being active with their family and friends.”
COVID-19 was not the lone issue facing Tahoe ski resorts this season. There was a general lack of snow, evidenced by no Tahoe resort has reached the 300-inch snow mark for the season.
Squaw Valley is the closest with 297 inches as of March 26. In many normal snow years the totals of at least several Tahoe ski resorts exceeds 500 inches.
Despite the low snow totals, most Tahoe ski resorts have enjoyed solid snow conditions this season. While overall numbers of skier and snowboarder visits are down at all resorts nationwide, considering the possibility that resorts could have been shut down sometime during the season due to COVID-19 implications, the 2020-21 should be considered a huge success.
To our knowledge, no U.S. ski resort had to shut down this season due to the pandemic.
“Interest in skiing and riding remains strong across all three of our resorts. The skiing and riding have been excellent,” Vail Resort spokesperson Susan Whitman, regarding the operations of Heavenly, Kirkwood and Northstar. “Cumulatively, we’ve received over 17 feet of snow this season, with an average of a foot last week alone.”
While Vail Resorts or any other Tahoe resort won’t disclose skier visit numbers or financials, some information on the Vail resorts can be located here – http://investors.vailresorts.com/investor-relations.
Despite the COVID restrictions and many people’s natural inclination to stay away from any place that draws a crowd, Sugar Bowl has seen an upsurge in skier visits following the Christmas holidays.
“Yes, we have seen strong visitation during the second half of the season. Compliance with our policies has been consistent all season and mirrored what we expected,” Sugar Bowl spokesperson Jon Slaughter said. “People want to get out and enjoy the mountain. Our policies are simple to follow and guests are more than willing so they can ski and snowboard our uncrowded slopes.”
