Posted on Friday, December 1

Happy Fortune Friday!

It feels great to be open for skiing and riding again! I hope you have all gotten the chance to enjoy your first couple of days on the slopes. While we opened this season with a slight delay, I cannot say enough about the Heavenly team that made it happen. Mother Nature can be unpredictable, however a drier start to the season is not uncommon. Each year is different, and we roll with the punches regardless.

This morning, before we opened, we learned that Powderbowl Express had a maintenance issue which delayed our opening on the Cal side. Our Lift Maintenance and Lift Electrical teams immediately began to troubleshoot and diagnose the problem, which turned out to be an issue in the electrical drive system. The team has been working incredibly hard to fix it all day, and because of the expertise, experience, and determination they have resolved the problem and Powderbowl will be ready to safely spin again tomorrow, December 2. For those of you who joined us today, thank you for your patience – we are really grateful and hope you got to enjoy the extra half hour that we stayed open due to the inconvenience.

Looking back to opening day, we kicked off the season on Maggie’s and Patsy’s with access from the Tram, Patsy’s, and Powderbowl lifts but were quickly able to get Gunbarrel spinning for uploading and downloading. Yesterday, we added more skiable acreage to our early season footprint for the first time this season, thanks to our expert snowmaking team. Ridge Run is now open via Canyon Express, giving you that front-row seat to the beauty of Lake Tahoe. Ridge Run is such a great run and provides one of the best views you can get at the resort. It just never gets old!

Additionally, the Gondola reopened today for sightseeing, and for skiing and riding on Big Easy. Lower California Trail is also open for one-way access from the top of the Gondola over to the California side. We’ve got shuttles running throughout the day to get you back to the Gondola and Heavenly Village.

With our snowmaking progression plan set in place, we’re focused on getting some more runs open as soon as possible. Temperatures have been cooperating at night and staying cold, and our snowmaking teams are working hard on Mombo, Canyon up to Sky, Orion, and Upper Cal Trail. Then, we’ll look towards Nevada and hope to get another base area open for our friends over at Stagecoach as soon as possible. It is seasons like this where you really appreciate the job our snowmakers do. Despite the lack of early season natural snowfall, they have been working nonstop to allow us to get on the mountain – the importance of their work and expertise cannot be overstated, and we are so lucky to have the crew that we do here at Heavenly.

Lastly, I’d like to thank you all for your support as we kicked off yet another ski and ride season. It is a special feeling to see all of the smiling faces and hear the excitement around the mountain. Hopefully that snow starts falling soon! 

Tom