California/Nevada 2022-2023 Tahoe Ski Resorts/Conditions/Meetups

[Dougb]

I was at Northstar today on snow from 10:30 am to 1pm. I turned into Northstar Drive at 9:30am and was happy that Village Lot still had parking. Finally on snow after the shuttle, walk, and gondola to find petty much no waits worth mentioning in any chair line.

Comstock 6-pack:
However, the advertised "open" terrain is very misleading. If you take the new 6-pack to Mt. Pluto summit, you have East Ridge or West Ridge to choose. West Ridge -> Luggi's is the only groomer path back to the chair. All the rest of the upper mountain runs are ungroomed and with lots of shrubs/trees sticking out.

Examples of "open" ungroomed runs...

Thanks @textrovert for the report. I'm glad I didn't hit it. Should be better after this weekend if the snow projections hold up.

 

[MarkG]

That's almost 7 miles as the crow flies.... pretty sure that would be the longest ski lift of any type in the world. They should DEFINITELY do that.

I think it would get approved in no time flat.

Wait til you hear of my plan to connect Palisades to Sugar Bowl and Sierra via High Speed Monorail! Of course, Sugar Bowl will have to rename their Palisades to something like the Matterhorn.

 

[dbostedo]

I think it would get approved in no time flat.

Wait til you hear of my plan to connect Palisades to Sugar Bowl and Sierra via High Speed Monorail! Of course, Sugar Bowl will have to rename their Palisades to something like the Matterhorn.

Ooh ooh... can I wait in line for two hours to ride the Sugar Bowl express, and then get a $12 ice cream bar afterward?!?

 

[Don4Fun]

I think it would get approved in no time flat.

Wait til you hear of my plan to connect Palisades to Sugar Bowl and Sierra via High Speed Monorail! Of course, Sugar Bowl will have to rename their Palisades to something like the Matterhorn.

That will never happen and you can cancel your plan. Sugar Bowl is not going to rename their Palisades. Or connect to them. That other place took the name idea from Sugar Bowl's iconic landmark.
Pic of Sugar Bowl's Palisades.

 

[Andy Mink]

Northwest on wind hold, Lakeview closed for finishing touches.

 

[Philpug]

Northwest on wind hold, Lakeview closed for finishing touches.

Tomorrow is supposed to be crazy windy ...maybe Friday now.

 

[Andy Mink]

Tomorrow is supposed to be crazy windy ...maybe Friday now.

Definitely pushing in. Even though the wind speeds don't show that high it must be coming in.

 

[Pequenita]

Well, to be fair, there are palisades as a geographic term in a lot of places. I associate it with the highway in NY/NJ.

So, are "blizzard" and "thundersnow" new weather designations on Open Snow? I don't remember seeing them on the resort-specific 10-day weather reports before.

 

[PupManS]

So does the hive mind have a view on where to ski Friday for those of us with Ikon & Epic but no Rose pass?

I'm sort of thinking Northstar. They have some sharks now but even if it's totally blower 18 inches should be ok. Because it's Northstar. At Alpine, once you get off the groomers it was very, very thin. Same way at Heavenly. So I am concerned that if it's truly blower on top of them my dad bod will sink just enough to get a ski stuck under a tree root or something. It's the same depth everywhere but it's the old grass vs rocks underneath discussion.

I think after Saturday Palisades OV may be the ticket, that will be enough snow (3 feet or more) to make my preferred powder skiing haunts (Olympic Lady and Solitude) relatively free of sharks, and it will take them time for snow safety anyway; I sort of think Friday might be real frustrating over there.

 

[textrovert]

So does the hive mind have a view on where to ski Friday for those of us with Ikon & Epic but no Rose pass?

I'm sort of thinking Northstar. They have some sharks now but even if it's totally blower 18 inches should be ok. Because it's Northstar. At Alpine, once you get off the groomers it was very, very thin. Same way at Heavenly. So I am concerned that if it's truly blower on top of them my dad bod will sink just enough to get a ski stuck under a tree root or something. It's the same depth everywhere but it's the old grass vs rocks underneath discussion.

I think after Saturday Palisades OV may be the ticket, that will be enough snow (3 feet or more) to make my preferred powder skiing haunts (Olympic Lady and Solitude) relatively free of sharks, and it will take them time for snow safety anyway; I sort of think Friday might be real frustrating over there.

There's another variable for Saturday - wind.

"Snow levels look low enough for all snow below lake level but could hover between 4500-6000 ft. through the region and bounce around depending on the intensity of precipitation through this period. Winds should also be gusty Saturday into Sunday but maybe only 40-50+ mph from the southwest if the latest model runs are right." - BA

Northstar would be the windy day choice. Let's see how the forecast refines over the next few days.

 

[MarkG]

+1. Windy day, Northstar or stay at home.

 

[Andy Mink]

Mt. Rose already called it for Thursday 12/1. 75+mph winds expected.

 

[SSSdave]

From satellite images, next storm, 2 of 3 is looking can't miss now. By next Tuesday, both Kirkwood and Heavenly should be opening up much of their mountain. Nice mid winter moderately cold snow for excellent packed powder. I'll finally get a couple days in then midweek to start my season. Nicely gas prices have dropped about 75 cents and now gasbuddies site is showing some station locally in the South Bay below $4.50/gallon.

 

[Philpug]

Mt. Rose already called it for Thursday 12/1. 75+mph winds expected.

Thank you for saving me a trip to their site.

 

[SpeedyKevin]

Well, to be fair, there are palisades as a geographic term in a lot of places. I associate it with the highway in NY/NJ.

So, are "blizzard" and "thundersnow" new weather designations on Open Snow? I don't remember seeing them on the resort-specific 10-day weather reports before.

Was looking that up and it seems to be an actual but rather rare weather phenomenon. ?Thunderstorm but with snow instead of rain?

 

[raytseng]

Was looking that up and it seems to be an actual but rather rare weather phenomenon. ?Thunderstorm but with snow instead of rain?

It's become sort of a meme in the meteorological weather world due to The Weather Channel's Jim Cantore's reactions when he caught it live:

 

[LouD-Truckee]

Now that’s my kinda water park

 

[Don4Fun]

Winter Storm Warning.
Snow & windy conditions until Friday morning and another storm Saturday to Monday for the mountains. Woohoo!
Expecting feet of snow when it's done.
Hazardous travel conditions, so be safe out there.

 

[4ster]

I first heard the term “Thundersnow” while driving to Utah 20+ years ago. It can be great skiing after the lightning holds end & usually leaves a quick layer of delicious graupel.

In the meantime, Snow is just beginning to stick in SLT. No thunder yet!

 

[Philpug]

Snow & windy conditions until Friday morning and another storm Saturday to Monday for the mountains. Woohoo!
Expecting feet of snow when it's done.
Hazardous travel conditions, so be safe out there.
View attachment 184628

Looks like with this wind it will create a good base ... in the trees.