Fortune Friday

Happy Friday and September 1st!

Believe it or not, we have just a few days of summer operations remaining (our closing day is September 4). This summer has flown by - probably because of the long winter and wet spring we had. If you haven’t already, I hope you join us in these final days to take in those views that just never get old from the Observation Deck and the Gondola, or enjoy some live music at Tamarack Lodge.

Speaking of the Gondola, I want to address something we shared on our social channels a few weeks ago. After wrapping up summer operations, and after more than 20 years of spinning in both the winter and summer, we’ll be replacing the gearbox, torsion shaft, and bullwheel bearings. Additionally, both of the motors will be rebuilt. This is regular maintenance that needs to be done every so often, and it is a big undertaking for our Lift Maintenance team. They will be starting right after Labor Day and expect to have all the work completed well ahead of the upcoming ski and ride season. The Lift Maintenance team members are some of the unsung heroes at every resort, and our team is one of the best. The projects they take on are complex and important and I am grateful to have such an incredible team that I trust with our lifts. They are safety experts and truly keep us going!

The last month has been jam-packed with events, and I wanted to recap a few:

  • We hosted an open house in early August to help explain and answer questions about our new reservations-based paid parking program that we are implementing in the upcoming season at the California Base Area on weekends and peak periods. It was helpful to hear our community’s feedback and we take it seriously. As such, we’re making tweaks to our parking plans accordingly. We are looking forward to putting our new plan into action, and truly believe it will help with traffic and congestion on those popular days. More than anything, we want it to encourage carpooling to the resort, which is a key aspect and goal of this program and is aligned with our sustainability goals.

  • On August 16, we hosted the first ever South Lake Tahoe Epic Promise Community Roundtable. This was an opportunity for us to gather and collaborate with community partners whose shared passion and missions support the long-term wellbeing of South Lake Tahoe. This event was a testament to our community’s commitment to engage in meaningful dialogue with the intent to drive positive change. You can read a bit more about my takeaways in the Tahoe Daily Tribune here.

Last but not least, one of the running jokes around Heavenly right now is that it feels like we just put down the shovels from last ski + ride season... but we are excited to pick them right back up again because we have a targeted opening day for our next season! If Mother Nature delivers what we need, then we’ll plan to open for winter on November 17. We’ll have a lot more information on early season terrain and more as we edge closer to the season.

Enjoy the warm weather while it lasts – winter is coming and there are only 61 days until snowmaking starts!

Tom