Tahoe Conditions | Heavenly

[Sapphire]

Hello! Newbie here.

First off, I just want to say how much great information and insight there is on this forum. It’s the primary reason I decided to join!

I was curious if there were some people who have a familiarity with Heavenly?

I’m headed out next week. I’ve had this ski trip planned since late last year. It’ll be my second attempt to ski on the mountain. Unfortunately, when I went last spring - the wind was so bad, they closed the entire mountain my whole trip. So, I essentially did not get to ski on the mountain at all that week.

Now, I’m glancing at the forecast and getting a bit disheartened because the winds are looking a tad gusty at times.

Does anyone have some general idea of how high the gusts are before deciding to place the gondola on windhold and/or lifts? The wind in general next week seems to still be low, but I worry about the gusts, as I mentioned above.

Just looking to see if anyone on here may have some insights. Obviously, with this being several days away, the weather forecast can change between now and then. So who knows. In the end, Mother Nature will do her thing.

Thanks for reading!

 

[santacruz skier]

Hi @Sapphire ,

I ski Heavenly every year and have been skiing Heavenly for decades. As a matter of fact, I just got back 2 weeks ago.

The gondola shuts down due to wind often. Lucky me, it never shut down once while I was there. When the gondola shuts down, you can take a shuttle to the CA side (and used to go to Stagecoach on NV as well). So there's always a way to get to the mountain.

I can't tell you at what point the gondola doesn't run, but I can tell you it will shut down when windy and so will the Tamarack chair as well as the Sky chair on the CA side. Heavenly is such a huge mountain that there's still plenty of terrain to sk. Yes it's a drag if you are staying near the Gondola and then have to drive or shuttle to the Cal Lodge or Stagecoach on NV side.

On the other hand, if you have Epic, Northstar almost never shuts down due to wind. It is very protected by all the trees plus the location of the mountain.

And welcome ! Where do you usually ski?

 

[Sapphire]

Hi @santacruz skier !

Thanks for the kind response. I’ll be sure to keep your suggestions in mind.

I am staying close to the Gondola, but I would be totally fine taking the shuttle over to the Cali side, if needing to do so!

My ski experience is limited to holiday/family trips about 10+ years ago. So, I don’t have a mountain I would call home. Most frequented places I’ve had the pleasure to ski at would be Vail/Beaver Creek.

In truth, I will be refreshing/relearning how to ski. My ski level would be considered an intermediate skier, with bare minimum proficiency at parallel skiing. So given the absence of time, it’s back to basics. Haha!

 

[santacruz skier]

Heavenly has great runs for you on the Nevada side.. Be sure to go to Comet and Dipper chairs as well as over to Olympic and Stagecoach. On the Cali side, Canyons, Powderbowl and Sky chairs have great runs for you! Ridge Run with the beautiful views is your friend!

 

[not_a_cat]

Howdy!

I just spent the last few days skiing at Heavenly. As @santacruz skier said, the gondola shuts down pretty often, but even then, there’s still a ton of mountain left to ski on! If you get there and there’s a wind hold on the gondola, just shuttle on over to California. :D

 

[Sapphire]

Heavenly has great runs for you on the Nevada side.. Be sure to go to Comet and Dipper chairs as well as over to Olympic and Stagecoach. On the Cali side, Canyons, Powderbowl and Sky chairs have great runs for you! Ridge Run with the beautiful views is your friend!

Great to know! Thank you for this bit of information. Super helpful. I was just looking at the trail map today and peeking at Ridge Run! Here’s to hoping I can get up there to see the view.

 

[Sapphire]

Howdy!

I just spent the last few days skiing at Heavenly. As @santacruz skier said, the gondola shuts down pretty often, but even then, there’s still a ton of mountain left to ski on! If you get there and there’s a wind hold on the gondola, just shuttle on over to California. :D

Hi! Thanks so much for chiming in on this. Looks like the CA side is the way to go for now until those winds die down. Appreciate the info!

 

[santacruz skier]

Looks like snow midweek!

 

[santacruz skier]

Planning on skiing Heavenly the week of March 19..... Tahoe is getting HAMMERED with snow. Most resorts were closed yesterday due to too much snow and travel conditions near impossible. Snowfall setting records this season. It just won't stop snowing....

 

[santacruz skier]

Just saw on the Northstar and Heavenly websites that resorts will be closed tomorrow due to anticipated significant storms and road closures. Now that I have never seen a day in advance. They simply can't dig out and no one can get there.

 

[Pequenita]

Kirkwood and Sierra at Tahoe are both closed tomorrow as well, consistent with the State of Emergency in the area, making all the South Lake resorts closed.

Kirkwood Mountain Resort on Instagram: "Another (yes ANOTHER) atmospheric river is headed our way…there are going to be significant operational impacts over the next week. Please read this carefully if you will be around Kirkwood between now and next

3,917 likes, 42 comments - kirkwoodmtn on March 9, 2023: "Another (yes ANOTHER) atmospheric river is headed our way…there are going to be significant operational impacts over the next week. Ple..."

www.instagram.com

Sierra-at-Tahoe on Instagram: "“Hello snow, my old friend” The storm door continues to be wide open + this next storm is pushing the limits on all fronts. We pride ourselves on mountain operations that persevere through the storms while maintaini

1,350 likes, 28 comments - sierra_at_tahoe on March 9, 2023: "“Hello snow, my old friend” The storm door continues to be wide open + this next storm is pushing the limits on all fronts. W..."

www.instagram.com

 

[santacruz skier]

Who’s up for Tahoe on the week of the 19th???? Got some good runs at Heavenly you would like ! And there’s tons of snow!

 

[mustski]

We’ll still be around but probably sticking to Rose. Our O’side tenant bought a house and is moving out March 31 so we will have to work on the house to get rented by May1st. If it rents on time, we’ll be back out for May and June including some Mammoth time!

stupid tenants moving during ski season! Oh well, at least it’s a massive snow year! Slush bumps into July!

 

[santacruz skier]

We’ll still be around but probably sticking to Rose. Our O’side tenant bought a house and is moving out March 31 so we will have to work on the house to get rented by May1st. If it rents on time, we’ll be back out for May and June including some Mammoth time!

stupid tenants moving during ski season! Oh well, at least it’s a massive snow year! Slush bumps into July!

Lmk if you decide to come to Heavenly!

 

[gr8outdoors]

Who’s up for Tahoe on the week of the 19th???? Got some good runs at Heavenly you would like ! And there’s tons of snow!

Will you still be here next weekend?

 

[santacruz skier]

Will you still be here next weekend?

No.... I'm leaving Monday and returning on Friday so only skiing Tuesday thru Thursday...

 

[santacruz skier]

There is SO MUCH snow at Heavenly. We used to ski under this sign to Aries Woods that was at least 20 ft high

 

[sorcamc]

WOW...Maybe a late April trip...anyone, anyone??

 

[santacruz skier]

WOW...Maybe a late April trip...anyone, anyone??

I'm going April 10-14....

 

[sorcamc]

tempting...I am going to look at hotels!