Chairlifts in California's Ski Resorts Are Buried in Snow Right Now
So far, this has been one of the snowiest winter seasons for many California ski resorts.
Tahoe's ski resorts in California are, quite literally, buried in snow. So much so that ski resort workers need to dig out chairlifts, which have been covered by ice and a thick layer of the white stuff.
Winter storms and heavy snowfalls have recently been hitting the Lake Tahoe area pretty hard. On March 13, Palisades Tahoe, one of the area's ski resorts, reported 648 inches of snowfall this season, which is 162% of its usual average. While big powder days are usually a skier's or a snowboarder's dream, the amount of snow is actually too much this time, and it's been difficult to keep the lifts running.
"While the snow is terrific, our mountain operations crews have been working non-stop since the storms started," Palisades Tahoe wrote, according to Kron4. "As there is no end in sight to the storms, we are asking for patience while we continue to dig out lifts."
After days of non-stop storms and lift closures, the resort announced that lift operations would be resuming on March 15."We appreciate your patience with us being closed today: Our teams NEEDED this day to try to get ahead," reads a Palisades Tahoe Facebook post. "We spent the day continuing to dig out, performing snow safety, and addressing flood zones. Tomorrow, expect that some of our lifts will be delayed."
Palisades Tahoe isn't the only resort in the area that saw its chairlifts being buried by snow. According to a Facebook post, on March 11, the Heavenly Mountain resort in South Lake Tahoe got so much snow that it had to close entirely for two days, while operations crews did their best to dig chairlifts out of the snow and get them back in operation.
On Monday, the Sierra-at-Tahoe resort in Twin Bridges also reported record snowfall numbers, with 619 inches total so far this season. According to the resort, this is its third highest snowfall in its history.
"This historic year is a sight to see," the resort wrote on Facebook. "Chairs have significant rime ice buildup that must be manually removed, lift shacks + ski patrol stations are completely buried, Puma chairs in West Bowl have been covered."