Tahoe storm perks up Sierra ski areas

RENO -- A weekend storm that dumped up to 2 feet of snow allowed Lake Tahoe ski resorts to kick into higher gear after a slow start to the season.

The Boreal, Donner Ski Ranch, Kirkwood, Northstar-at-Tahoe, Soda Springs and Sugar Bowl resorts are all in full operation with 100 percent of their mountains open.

Tahoe's eight other resorts were able to open more terrain Sunday, but still need more snow. Their terrain was up to 80 percent open.

Northstar spokeswoman Kelli Twomey said her resort was able to kick into full gear Sunday after getting up to 19 inches of snow from the latest storm.

"We had about 85 percent of the mountain open before that and the storm put the finishing touches on it," she said. "The storm definitely helped by building excitement and momentum (for skiing) that was missing out there."

Heavenly resort spokesman Justin Jaeger said his site was able to open three more trails Sunday after getting up to 17 inches of snow over the weekend. The resort got up to a foot of snow from a Wednesday storm.

"Needless to say, the snow has really made a difference," he said. "It's quite an improvement from a week ago," when Tahoe's snowpack was 20 percent of normal for the season.

The National Weather Service was calling for a chance of snow Tuesday through Thursday.

Skiers faced chain and snow tire restrictions Sunday morning on Tahoe highways, but most controls were lifted later in the day when the sun came out.

Interstate 80 was open with no controls, but chains or snow tires were required on U.S. 50 over Echo Summit and Highway 88 over Carson Pass.

Motorists on State Route 431 over the Mount Rose Summit near Reno faced delays when the highway was briefly shut down for avalanche control work.

No major weather-related accidents were reported.

The California Highway Patrol said a traffic jam Sunday afternoon on I-80's westbound lanes in Truckee, Calif., was caused by a mass exodus of skiers heading home.

"We expect the backups to be even worse Monday when most people go home" after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend, said CHP dispatcher Marsha Iverson.

archive