Big November snowfall allowing some Sierra ski resorts to open early
SODA SPRINGS — This week's winter blast means the ski season will start earlier in the Sierra.
Boreal Mountain has now pushed up its opening to this Friday. The Boreal ski resort's snow plows are preparing the parking lots and its snow guns are firing onto the slopes.
Skiers and snowboarders are on alert.
Shane Cintay is the owner of Truckee Boardhouse and has been waiting for this moment to arrive.
"We're psychologically stoked," Cintay said. "Everybody wants to ride. There's been a palpable buzz in town, at the grocery store, with the people coming through the shop."
His 10-year-old daughter Shiloh Cintay knows what opening day means.
"There's a lot more people like from the Bay," Shiloh Cintay said.
Tucker Norred works at Borreal, which strives to be one of the first of 15 Lake Tahoe-area ski resorts to open.
"So we're so excited to kick off the Veteran's Day weekend," Norred said. "I know some kids have Friday off."
Boreal has hired about 150 seasonal employees for the winter and is still seeking more.
"Once the ski resorts start opening up, you see the restaurants fill up, the rental shops start seeing people, and it really is a big impact not only for us but the whole local economy," Norred said.
This is the first winter since 2019 with no COVID-19 restrictions in Lake Tahoe. What that will look like remains to be seen.
"The back to normal, we don't know what that is anymore. It's never going to go back to what it was pre-March 2020. It's just not," Cintay said.
This early winter blast is giving businesses an early boost and skiers and snowboarders an early reason to buckle up.
"I think we're in for a big year in Tahoe where we're all going to ride a lot of pow," Cintay said.
Besides Boreal, Mount Rose Ski Resort on the other side of the state line is also opening Friday, with many more choosing to wait one more week.