Backcountry
Industry News
Operations Update: Mixed Precipitation Followed by Powder
By Maddie Condon/Palisades Tahoe on December 27, 2024
The storm that rolled in on Thursday dumped 12 inches of new snow in 24 hours on our upper mountain, and 2 inches of snow at the base. That being said, winds are playing a big factor in our operational ability, as this storm is here through Sunday. We will do our best to open all of our terrain as weather and conditions allow. As the weekend ends and the weather clears up, there should be some sensational skiing and riding going into the New Year.
Weather
Friday-Saturday: Scattered showers are expected, with freezing levels rising to 8,000-9,000 ft. and winds gusting 50-90+ mph. Highs range from the 30s on the mountain to near 40°F at the base, with rain and a coating of wet snow. On Saturday morning we could see 2 inches of wet snow on the upper mountain.
Sunday: A stronger storm arrives mid-morning, bringing heavy precipitation. Snow levels are expected to drop from 7,500 ft. to 5,000 ft. by late afternoon, with 1-4 inches at the base, 4-8 inches mid-mountain, and 6-11 inches at the summit by night. Winds gusting up to 100+ mph will likely affect upper mountain lifts.
Monday – Thursday: High pressure system coming in with mostly sunny – sunny days and highs into the 30s & 40s along with lighter winds. Monday could be quite the bluebird powder day.
For a more in-depth look at the weather, check out the weather blog by Open Snow’s Bryan Allegretto.
Operations
The high winds lingering throughout the weekend will pose an obstacle in opening our upper mountain lifts, but every day our goal is to open all of our terrain (with the current exception of Sherwood and Silverado). To get the best idea of what will open the following day, we release our projected lift operations at 6 p.m. for the following day both on our website at Lift + Grooming Status as well as the Palisades Tahoe App. If a lift is scheduled as “AWI”(Anticipated Weather Impact), it is on the schedule and we will try for it if weather and conditions allow.
Friday: At Palisades, we opened Red Dog, Resort Chair, Far East, Exhibition, and First Venture. At Alpine, we opened Treeline Cirque to mid-station, Roundhouse, Kangaroo, Subway, Meadow, Yellow, and both the Big and Little Carpets.
Saturday: The conditions for Saturday appear to be more favorable, and it is more likely that our teams will be able to open upper mountain lifts at both Palisades and Alpine. We anticipate with weather and conditions permitting to open Lakeview for the first time this season. The storms from previous systems had 100+ mph winds that stripped the snow off of areas of Lakeview. Our mountain operations teams have been working to pull the snow from the backside of Lakeview where previous storms had moved it and patch the stripped areas to create a skiable groomed surface.
Sunday: The forecast calls for the storm system to pick back up with higher winds and falling snow elevation levels which could affect upper mountain lifts.
Monday- Thursday: Monday should be an incredible day for skiing and riding, but with the intensity of Sunday’s storm, we may experience some delays in opening. The rest of the week is forecasted to be clear we will likely be able to have the majority of our terrain open daily.
Sherwood Update: While the Sherwood terrain still needs more snow, our grooming team has been out creating snow berms that will hopefully capture more snow and allow us to ski this terrain sooner.
Mountain Surf Report
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Parking
We are currently in the holiday period where mid-week parking reservations are required every day from December 27th-January 5th. Free parking reservations for the weekend of January 4th-5th will be available on December 31st. There are still free reservations available at this time. Reservations are required throughout the entirety of this holiday period. There are other free ways to get to the mountain: the Mountaineer Shuttle, which offers free rides in Olympic Valley and Alpine Meadows, TART, and the free Park and Ride, available in both Truckee and Tahoe City with frequent rides between 6:30 a.m. and 5:45 p.m.
