Heavenly Fires Up West Coast’s Largest Snowmaking System
Super-cold temperatures, both last night and in the forecast, have allowed us to engage the West Coast’s largest snowmaking system. Barrett’s crew got on at about 4am last night, and they’ve been making snow since then. Check out these photos! The one to the right almost looks skiable! All the hard work these guys put in ensures that YOU get to ski or snowboard on Lake Tahoe’s finest snow surface conditions come November 20 (weather and conditions permitting)!
Nothing signals the onset of winter at Lake Tahoe like the sounds and sights of Heavenly blowing snow! It’s now OFFICIALLY time to purchase your season pass, and our Refer-a-Friend program makes it easy and affordable for everyone! We’ve also got a special “Holidays On Us” promotion going on, but you have to book it by Halloween! Now THAT’S a treat!
October 27th, 2009 at 11:46 am
Yah for snowmaking! Such an exciting time of year and so cold too.
October 27th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
So where are you making it? Will Dipper be the first one open again this year?
October 27th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
We’re starting on California Trail so we have that “pod” right above the Gondola, all accessed by Tamarack Express.
October 27th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
When do you think Heavenly will be open?
October 27th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
Mike – we’re shooting for a Nov. 20 opening, weather and conditions permitting. Keep thinking snow (or at least cold)!
October 27th, 2009 at 11:38 pm
My hat is off to all the guys that run the snow blowers…..GREAT JOB!!!!
October 28th, 2009 at 7:37 am
I’m going up to Heavenly a day after they open to celebrate my birthday with friends. I’m axiously awaiting the snow to come!! (The snow, not the cold
October 28th, 2009 at 10:54 am
favorite time of the year!!! looking forward to seeing you debbie! EAST PEAK CREW!!!!
October 28th, 2009 at 11:34 am
If it dumps, maybe you might consider opening by Vet’s day???? Hope so, but Nov 20 is still good…
October 28th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
I’m sure we’d consider it (for those of you who don’t know, Veteran’s Day is November 11). One thing people don’t realize about snowmaking is that it provides an incredible base that you ski and snowboard on all year long. It all goes back to the kind of quality experience we want to provide for our guests. It’s not about getting open first or early – it’s about providing a mid-winter experience that people don’t have to qualify with “well, it was early season.” When we open, it’s the real deal.
October 28th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
Looks on the webcam like you are blowing Orion/Comet/Dipper bases. BTW, what happened to the Dipper Cam?
October 28th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
Kudos to Heavenly. I agree, the man made snow conditions at Heavenly are like no where else. Two years ago they opened on all man made snow but the conditions were like a mid winter dusting had just past. Not sure how they do it, but I think it is safe to say there is a lot of technology and expertise involved. Plus they had the longest run open in all of California with Express lift. So if your itching to get some turns in early you won’t be disappointed.
October 28th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
Good observation, Chris. We’re building a new Ski Patrol shack at the top of Dipper, and we had to tap into the power supply up there, which knocked out the Dipper Cam. We hope to have it up soon. We’ll keep you posted on the blog.
October 28th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
Hi,
I’ll be visiting from Europe and I was wondering if it was possible to ski all 3500 vertical?Judging from the map it seems impossible to get to roundabout trail and gunbarrel trail without poling uphill or taking the lift.I know it has nothing to do with snowmaking but I would appreciate your answer.
Thanks
October 29th, 2009 at 5:53 am
Will you have college season passes or tix this year?
October 29th, 2009 at 6:10 am
How many runs do you expect to have open on opening weekend? We have got a package booked for the first 3 days of the season – will it be enough to keep us entertained for 3 days?
See you on the 20th (note the positive thinking!!)
October 29th, 2009 at 7:40 am
Has the skyline trail been modified to a slightly steeper level? We were at heavenly earlier this year and the skyline trail was so flat that I had to unstrap my snowboard several times. Of course I was a beginner. Also it felt like I was going to fall over the left side of the trail. But i do love the view.
October 29th, 2009 at 7:59 am
First of all, thanks for coming to see us! Second, it is possible to ski all 3,500 vertical on the California side. Here’s how: From the top of Sky Express, take Ridge Run all the way down to the Powderbowl Terrain Park. When you pass Powderbowl, you’re going to take a left (watching out for cross traffic) onto Mombo. When Mombo splits you can either keep following Mombo to the left, or hang a right to Cat Track (which is an awesome name for a ski run, by the way). On Mombo when you’re right above the Powderbowl Express chairlift, you’ll want to stop and plan your next move, because to get to Round-a-Bout with no poling, you’ll have to carry a little speed past two lift mazes, which we don’t really recommend. But if you plan it right and wait for an opening, you should be able to make it to the “skier spine” on Round-a-Bout without stopping. The “skier spine” allows you to skate more efficiently to get you through the flats, and then off you go! There are multiple ways to get through all this, but that’s the most straightforward way.
October 29th, 2009 at 8:04 am
Hey, JD. College Passes are on sale now. Follow this link and hit the “Teen” tab to see the College Pass rates. See you on the slopes!
October 29th, 2009 at 8:09 am
Hey, Carl. It’s a little early to say at this point how many trails we’ll have when the resort opens. We’ll have upper California Trail to Tamarack return at the minimum, and maybe Orion’s if snowmaking continues to go well. Either way, you’ll be on snow and not in an office, so that’s a win right there, right?!
October 29th, 2009 at 8:14 am
Hey, Rick. We actually regraded Skyline Trail two summers ago to make it easier to reach Nevada for beginning skiers and snowboarders. Snow conditions may not always cooperate (warm weather can sometimes make it slower), but it should be an easy glide from California all the way into Nevada.
October 29th, 2009 at 10:14 am
How is this coming week of mid 60’s temperatures going to treat the mountain? Will it be cold enough above 8,000 or did we jump the gun on snowmaking?
October 29th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
love snowmaking. i am 16 and want to be a snowmaker
October 30th, 2009 at 8:24 am
Can’t wait, my ski gear is out of storage. Debbie, East Peak…see you soon!
October 30th, 2009 at 8:27 am
I’ve been walking around my apartment with my ski boots on to warm up. EAST PEAK RULES!
October 30th, 2009 at 8:45 am
Do you know why the large PDF map is unavailable for download right now? I need to plan my day!
October 30th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
Hey, Phil. Excellent question. I posed it to Jim Larmore, our director of snow surfaces (which is the coolest title in the industry, I think) and he said this three-day run we just had was the “best early-season run in many years.” We made snow for 56 consecutive hours over three days. In short, what we made is there to stay. – Russ
October 30th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Hey, Brad. It downloaded fine for me. Give it another try. – Russ
October 30th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
I have my year end vacation ready!!
Can’t wait to get there, I will be arriving December 20th, do you think we will have all the runs ready by then?
Greetings from Mexico City
October 30th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
thanks Russ… on another not, I read we are opening the 20th… I’ve also heard the 28th? If we open later than the 20th I won’t make rent!
October 31st, 2009 at 2:26 pm
I’ve had my ski boots on…doing wall sits…I’m at 100 working my way up to 200.
November 1st, 2009 at 9:02 pm
Hey Russ. Brad is right, the PDF link to the trail map is not active. Can you provide us with the PDF version? The regular .jpg images are not high quality enough to read well.
November 2nd, 2009 at 5:52 pm
Just go to snow.com then explore are resorts,go to heavenly and then you’ll have option to see the big map
November 2nd, 2009 at 9:55 pm
I am comming in from Hawaii to snowboard. I came last year and it was sooooo asome. I am soooo exited!
November 2nd, 2009 at 9:56 pm
I cant wait to hit the powder. WOOOOOO BRING IT! XP
November 4th, 2009 at 10:54 am
Hey Russ, Thank you for responding so fast to everyones questions. It shows just how much Heavenly cares about it’s customers even before they arrive at the park. Now to my question: I don’t see it mentioned under passes/deals yet but is there any talk about bringing back the deal with Save-On stores that ran last season? I used it last year for my 4+ trips and it really worked out well. See you around Dec 1st.
November 5th, 2009 at 5:44 am
Hey Russ, thanks for all the info so far, i am over from scotland on the 6th of Dec. we are there for two weeks how much of the mountain will be open by then (weather permitting?) i remember when i came out last year at the same time it took a while but then it dumped and more of the mountain got open as the fortnight went on. I am so excited about leaving the greay skys of the UK and riding Heavenly once again!
See you in Dec!
November 5th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
So how’s the snow making going? Looks like good weather for it for the next few days at least… we looking good for the 20th?!
November 5th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Keep it up! I’m hoping to ski Thanksgiving weekend, so I’m counting on you. I’m probably going to book my flights and hotel this weekend.
November 6th, 2009 at 12:25 am
only 14 days. I can’t wait
hoping to have enough money to take off work and go up!
November 6th, 2009 at 10:22 am
Hey up there!, time to fire up the snow guns! Cold front on the way! Pray for snow ya’all!!
November 6th, 2009 at 10:52 am
How come there is no dipper cam anymore? and is there any news on pushing back the opening date due to no snow:(
November 9th, 2009 at 11:17 am
We are flying out on Dec. 8th for 8 nights. Fingers crossed there will be lots of snow by then. Our first visit to Heavenly and Lake Tahoe. Is it true we can walk from Harrah’s to the ski lift?
Thanks and fingers crossed for lots of snow!
November 9th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
If the Cold Front comes through, will the guns fire up Wednesday? I have to admit that I suffered from some false bravado 2 weeks ago when the guns got started. However the webcams are showing a slow erosion. How cold and for how many hours a day will the weather need to be to start the machine?
November 9th, 2009 at 6:21 pm
Congrats on the early snow making! So give us an update! How’s it looking? How close are you to having a decent base? Is November 20th still realistic?
November 10th, 2009 at 10:09 am
Chris – The October 27 snowmaking run was the best early-season run we’ve had in the last six or seven years. While it was warm up there, we were able to keep the snow we blew and now we’re back on it and the mountain is looking great. I’ll post an update today. – Russ
November 10th, 2009 at 10:10 am
Hey, Kathy. Being able to walk from Harrah’s to the Gondola is absolutely true! That’s one of the great things about Heavenly – it’s truly a “no-car-needed” resort. Just park it and forget about it! We’re looking forward to seeing you on the 8th! – Russ
November 10th, 2009 at 8:17 pm
Russ, thank you for the reply. We are super excited to get to Heavenly! Both Wayne and myself visiting the website daily for updates on conditions.
Kathy
November 13th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
Kathy, Conditions have been excellent for snowmaking, and our crews are working hard to get as much terrain open as possible by the 20th.Barrett