Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

Snow flurries help usher in ski season on Mount Charleston

Ski season

Courtesy of Lee Canyon

A view at the Lee Canyon ski resort on Mount Charleston, Friday, Nov. 27, 2015. The resort officially welcomed skiiers Friday.

Snow enthusiasts made the trek Friday to Lee Canyon to celebrate the resort's grand opening for the season as weather in the Las Vegas Valley prepared to warm up.

Lee Canyon, formerly known as Las Vegas Ski & Snowboard Resort, saw a "decent crowd" Friday with good turnout from season pass holders, marketing director Jim Seely said.

While ski terrain is limited, there is early-season lift-ticket pricing of $50, he said.

The resort last year pushed back its official opening twice as unseasonably warm weather hurt snow conditions.

"Things are looking up," Seely said. "It was flurrying today, which was a nice christening."

Since mid-October, the area has seen a total of about 20 inches of snow, Seely said. During the entirety of the last ski season, the area saw 70 inches, he said.

Temperatures are expected to hit highs of 25 degrees Saturday and 30 degrees Sunday in the area, with lows between 10 to 12 degrees, National Weather Service meteorologist Reid Wolcott said.

Over the next two weeks, there's not much of a chance of snowfall, but temperatures will stay cool, he said.

The resort is expected to be open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day until late March or early April, Seely said.

Business is expected to ramp up as the December holiday season nears, he said.

"We look at opening as the start of a train getting ready to accelerate and go full speed," he said.

Ticket prices are available on the resort's website.

Meanwhile, high temperatures in the valley are expected to stay about 10 degrees below normal over the weekend.

Highs between 50 and 53 degrees are in the forecast Saturday and Sunday, Wolcott said.

Lows should be in the mid to upper 30s, with the weather gradually getting warmer through next week, he said.

The highest temperature in the forecast for the coming week is 64 degrees on Friday.

There's not a lot of moisture in the area, so precipitation is unlikely, Wolcott said.

The normal high is typically about 61 degrees with a low of 42 degrees.

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