An abundance of early-season snow has allowed the three Vail Resorts in Lake Tahoe to open up more terrain this week.
Heavenly Mountain, Kirkwood Mountain and Northstar California will continue to open additional terrain prior to the weekend. Each resort has received more than 4-plus feet of snow in December alone.
Kirkwood has 125 inches this season, the most among Tahoe ski resorts. Northstar has received 110 inches, while Heavenly is just an inch behind with 109 inches for the 2019-20 season.
All projected terrain expansions are subject to change. For daily updates on terrain and mountain conditions, visit SkiHeavenly.com, NorthstarCalifornia.com, and Kirkwood.com.
HEAVENLY: The resort will open the California Lodge base area for the first time this season Wednesday (Dec. 11), putting it ahead of schedule. The South Lake Tahoe resort will also have additional terrain and chairlifts. Heavenly will have more than 50 open trails on more than 1,200 skiable acres.
Skiers and riders will have access to terrain off of the Canyon Express, Sky Express, Powderbowl Express and Patsy’s chairlifts. Heavenly’s Aerial Tramway and Gunbarrel Express will also open Wednesday, providing guests uphill and download access as there will be no skiing or snowboarding access to the base of California Lodge.
The resort is offering skier services from Heavenly Village, Stagecoach Lodge and California Lodge.
KIRKWOOD: The resort, located off Highway 88 near South Lake Tahoe, plans to open the entire mountain Friday (Dec. 13) and potentially be the first resort in the Tahoe Basin to offer access to 100-percent of skiable terrain.
Kirkwood currently has all terrain on the front-side of the resort open, including famed trails off Chair 10 with access to the Wall and the family-focused Timber Creek base area.
On Friday, the resort will open backside terrain and the popular Devil’s Corral area. Kirkwood has received more than 10-feet of snow this season, including more than 6-feet of snow to start the month of December.
On Saturday, the resort will host the seventh annual #KirkwoodDeep Rider’s Awards. The free event begins at 4 p.m. and brings together skiers and riders for a night of ski films, friendly competition and community connections. Event details are available at Kirkwood.com.
NORTHSTAR: Located off Highway 267 in Truckee, Northstar currently has 51 open trails on more than 1,100 skiable acres and has been consistently expanding terrain to begin the season, including top-of-mountain access via the Comstock Express.
On Friday, the resort plans to open additional terrain via the Tahoe Zephyr Express chairlift and provide access to Northstar’s Cross-Country, Telemark and Snowshoe Center. Northstar Terrain Parks currently has more than 20 rail features and five jumps across Pinball and Pipeline. Northstar will also start the daily tradition of Friday of a tōst, a bubbly experience at Lake Tahoe’s only ski-up bar.
OPENING DATES TAHOE SKI RESORTS (all dates are weather dependent)
- Mt. Rose: Opened October 25
- Squaw Valley: Opened November 15
- Alpine Meadows: Opened November 15
- Boreal Mountain: Opened November 23
- Heavenly Mountain: Opened November 27
- Soda Springs: Opened November 28
- Sugar Bowl: Opened November 29
- Northstar California: Opened November 29
- Kirkwood Mountain: Opened November 29
- Sierra-at-Tahoe: Opened November 30
- Homewood Mountain: Opened December 6
- Diamond Peak: Opened December 7
- Granlibakken: December 13
- Tahoe Donner: December 13
