A still shot from Heavenly Mountain Resort's live mid-gondola camera at 8:20 a.m. Saturday morning. The Gondola will open on Nov. 22 to sightseeing.
With almost 9 inches of new snow on the ground, Heavenly Mountain Resort announced Friday that it will open Nov. 20, two days earlier than originally planned.
“These ideal conditions, along with the incredible work of the resort’s snowmaking and mountain operations teams, will make for an exciting opening day,” resort officials said. “Guests heading to South Lake Tahoe to break out their skis and boards for the start of winter will enjoy an early-season footprint on the California side of the mountain.”
A Heavenly weather station at 8,750 feet showed 8.7 inches of snow as of 8 a.m. Saturday after 1.8 inches fell over the previous 24 hours. However, with thermometers on the mountain registering around 8 degrees, conditions are ripe for snow making.
The Gondola will operate on Heavenly’s original opening date, Nov. 22, for sightseeing only. The Ridge Rider Mountain Coaster at the top of the gondola will be open throughout the Thanksgiving holiday period as conditions permit.
“It has been such a privilege to work alongside this dedicated team as they have been working tirelessly ahead of our opening day,” said Heavenly Vice President and General Manager Shaydar Edelmann,. “Thanks to them – and some recent help from Mother Nature – we can open for the season two days ahead of schedule. I am so thankful for the contributions of the team, and every single one of us is fired up to welcome guests back to the mountain and soak in the great vibes and those iconic winter views of Lake Tahoe.”
