Posted on December 15, 2023

Happy Fortune Friday! 

I hope you checked out our exciting announcement in the video clip - we're opening more lifts and terrain today! In addition to what was announced in the video, we are also opening Dipper Express today! 

Our entire mountain operations team is the reason we have been able to open additional lifts and terrain earlier this week and today. I also want to give a special shout out to the snowmaking and grooming teams. They have taken advantage of every cold snap and every cold pocket to make, push, and haul snow wherever it is needed in order to get things open. I can’t thank them enough for their dedication and hard work! 

On Wednesday, we were able to get Sky Express open with top to bottom skiing and riding on Ridge Run. It also adds much-needed lift capacity on the California side and is one of my favorite views on the entire mountain. In addition to getting more terrain open on the California side, the snowmaking team has been making snow in Nevada for the past two weeks and we’re happy to announce we’ve got enough snow to open Orion, Upper Comet, Von Schmidt, and Easy Street runs. To access this terrain, we are opening Tamarack Express, Dipper Express, and Comet Express lifts today. In California, we are also opening First Ride chair.

Here is a breakdown of all the additions today: 

Lifts: 

-Dipper Express 

-Comet Express 

-Tamarack Express 

-First Ride Chair 

Terrain: 

-Orion 

-Von Schmidt 

-Upper Comet 

-Easy Street 

-Baby Bear Carpet 

-Tubing 

To ski the Nevada lifts, you’ll have to take the Gondola up for now. We recently got a snow bucket for one of our snowcats and we are moving snow to get Skyline Trail as soon as possible to access the Nevada terrain from the California side. We hope to get this connection soon. In the meantime, you’ll be able to ski to California from Nevada and take a shuttle from Cal Base to get back to the Gondola and Heavenly Village. We’re also just a couple of good snowmaking days away from opening Mombo and Big Dipper Trail in Nevada. 

At the same time, our priority is opening mountain access from Stagecoach. We totally understand how much more convenient it is for those who like to access the mountain in Nevada, and we will get that open as soon as possible. The snowmaking progression requires a prioritized approach as we balance out the water, air, and pumphouse capacity with the temperatures on the mountain. 

The Terrain Park team - led by David Spurlock - is working hard to get the new Lakeview Terrain Park open in the next couple of days. This park is in the same location as the old Remix Park just above the Hike Park we have had open since the beginning of the season. It’s a small/medium sized park with jumps, rails, boxes and other interesting features, all with a view of Lake Tahoe! In case you are wondering, we will still have Groove Park coming this season as well. 

A quick reminder that our reservations-based parking program goes into effect tomorrow, December 16. You’ll have to make a reservation to park at the California Base Area on weekends and peak periods until noon. We highly encourage carpooling to the resort or utilizing public transportation. Your reservation will be free with four or more occupants in the vehicle. To make a reservation or get more information, be sure to visit parkheavenly.com.

Finally, every winter is different. As we saw last year, some winter seasons allow us to open a lot of terrain in a short period of time, and others (like this season) it’s a more of a gradual start. The entire team is working hard with what we have and they are doing the best they can. It’s early and we have a long season ahead to enjoy the mountain together.

See you on the slopes! 

Tom