18 October 2016 — Trick or Treat! Serious snowfall in the Tahoe region has Mt Rose NV poised to open October 31st. Rose grabbed 7″ around the base and over a foot up high. They’ll flesh it out with snowmaking says Mike Pierce, marketing director at the resort. Mt Rose added some snowmaking power during the off-season, and has the advantage of a high base area elevation…up in Oregon, Timberline Lodge reports up to a foot of fresh in the past three days and they’re talking about possibly re-opening in November…snow across the region, even as far east as Idaho’s Bogus Basin, which got an inch or so…back to Tahoe, here’s what we know about opening dates: Mammoth, Nov 10, Squaw Valley, Nov 11, Heavenly, Kirkwood, Northstar have scheduled Nov. 18…water concerns in the east where some public water supply reservoirs are down to less than 20% of capacity, although New Hampshire’s old line Cannon Mountain reports that they aren’t concerned about it “at this time”…and on a sad note, we bid farewell to Stephen Clark Lieberman, age 75, a long time fixture in the Donner/Truckee ski scene and patroller/avy control at Sugar Bowl. Rest in peace…NJ resident Carol Dennis suing SkiCo for injuries allegedly suffered at Snowmass while waiting in line at the Village Express lift last December. Suit says she suffered “severe harms and losses” when the chair in front of her abruptly stopped, then swung back and hit her…West Virginia’s Winterplace Resort is adding terrain-based learning for the upcoming season. If you haven’t seen this, it’s a series of rollers and other features that introduce the sport with a very gradual approach, starting with basic balance. I’ve seen it used with great success at other resorts, including busy Mountain Creek NJ, which has long been one of the top ski schools for pure beginners.
Photo above courtesy Mt. Rose