See the snowmaking begin as early mid-October snow falls on Lake Tahoe ski resorts

Lake Tahoe area ski resorts reported anywhere from a dusting of snow to up to 2 inches on upper mountains from Thursday’s storm system — enough to set snowmaking machines in motion.

“The weather in Tahoe yesterday took a polar plunge,” Madison Condon of Palisades Tahoe said in an email.

The drop in temperatures enabled the ski resort to get 2 inches of new snow on its upper mountain and “allowed our snowmaking team to start up the fan guns and rev up more snow,” Condon said.

Palisades Tahoe is celebrating its 75th anniversary season and is on schedule for a Nov. 27 opening this year. Lift tickets that day will be offered at a reduced price of $75.

Meanwhile, Northstar, Heavenly and Kirkwood woke up Friday to a fresh blanket of snow. Snowmaking in preparation for winter began at those mountains, as well.

“With temperatures dropping fast, our teams were able to kick off snowmaking last night up on the mountains,” Carly Mangan of Vail Resorts said in an email.

Vail Resorts owns Heavenly Mountain Resort, Kirkwood Mountain Resort and Northstar in California.

Lifts are expected to start spinning at Northstar Ski Resort and Heavenly Mountain Resort on Nov. 22. Kirkwood Ski Resort will open the 2024-2025 season Dec. 6, weather and ski conditions permitting.

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