It’s closing time today for five Lake Tahoe ski resorts.
Homewood Mountain Resort will close on Sunday, along with Donner Ski Ranch, Diamond Peak, Soda Springs and Granlibakken.
Warm temperatures and a lack of snow since January has resulted in earlier openings than usual for many Lake Tahoe ski resorts.
Tahoe Donner ski resort was the first Lake Tahoe-area resort to close, stopping operations on April 2. The five closings today will be followed by six more by Monday (April 15).
“It’s what we had scheduled from the very beginning. We would have liked to extend the season if we had the snow and interest levels, but this year it’s not looking like that will come together for us,” Homewood spokesperson Paul Raymore said earlier this week.
Spring skiing hit Lake Tahoe resorts early. Skiers and riders have been shedding clothing and enjoying the sun-drenched days for a while. Pond-skimming events, snow golf, and other odd activities are part of the typical spring activities as the season winds down.
Like many resorts that are shutting down, Diamond Peak won’t go out with a whimper. Sunday is the 13th annual “Dummy Downhill” and the resort’s Season Pass Holder Appreciation Lunch.
“Sadly, all good things must come to an end, and that means that the 2012/13 season is ending on Sunday,” the resort issued in a press release. “One thing is for sure though, we’re not going out quietly. We’re throwing a big old end-of-the-season party. We’ll have live music from the Mark Castro band both Saturday and Sunday from noon to 3 p.m.”
At family-oriented Granlibakken, visitors to the resort were enjoying other winter sports besides skiing and snowboarding.
“As the snow conditions have varied we have an increase in sledding and use of our ski hill – the idea that you can try skiing affordably,” said Granlibakken spokesperson Kay Williams. “A family of four staying at Granlibakken can ski and sled for $38 (for all four) all day. We are finding customers trying snowshoeing, or cross-country skiing, we have access to back country cross-country skiing. Our Treetop Adventure Park is a surprise to people that you can play in the trees in the snow.”
Despite the lack of snow in 2013, snow arrived early in November and it continued to snow quite regularly through December, which made for early openings and great early-season conditions.
“Fortunately, we had some significant early storms and then very cold weather that carried us through the season and kept us quite busy,” Donner Ski Ranch spokesperson Kathy Mosby said. “Right now, it looks like our last day to be open will be Sunday because we're running out of snow! If we get some late storms, it’s easy for us to re-open. As usual, we will open Chair 2 for late spring, early summer skiing.”
Lake Tahoe ski resort closing dates:
• Tahoe Donner: Closed
• Homewood: April 7
• Donner Ski Ranch: April 7
• Granlibakken: April 7
• Diamond Peak: April 7
• Soda Springs: April 7
• Alpine Meadows: April 14 (open weekends TBA)
• Northstar California: April 14
• Sierra-at-Tahoe: April 15
• Sugar Bowl: April 14
• Boreal: April 14
• Heavenly: April 14
• Sierra-at-Tahoe: April 15
• Mt. Rose: April 21
• Kirkwood: April 21
• Mt. Rose: April 21
• Squaw Valley: April 28
• Sugar Bowl: TBA
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