New snow a big draw for skiers, boarders

Pick your adjective — awesome, incredible, amazing — they were all  working last week and likely will apply this week at local ski resorts. Sierra-at-Tahoe near Echo Summit on Highway 50 recorded more than 70 inches of new snow, courtesy of the storm that blew in last Friday morning and decided to hang out for much of the rest of the week. More is on the way.

As of midday on Wednesday, another inch or more had fallen, according to Kirstin Cattell in the Sierra-at-Tahoe media relations office.

"Yesterday, it was just amazing," she said. "The powder was perfect. And over the weekend and even into today, we've been very busy. With the kids out of school, we have lots and lots of locals coming up."

Cattell advised anyone interested in Sierra-at-Tahoe to get up-to-date information on snow conditions and lift ticket specials on the resort's Website, sierraattahoe.com. She said the Website also offers helpful tips such as how to beat the traffic to and from the mountain.

Boreal Mountain Resort

Snowfall over the past two months has broken a 30-year record in the Donner Summit area. With the latest storm's contribution, Boreal Mountain Resort last week reported 333 inches of snow since the beginning of November. The previous record was 225 inches set in 1980. Between last Friday and Wednesday, Boreal received from 90 inches to 112 inches, said a prepared statement from Boreal's media relations department.

"The amount of snow we have seen this season is incredible," Marketing Director John Slaughter wrote. "I have never seen the snow banks as tall this early in the season. With the holiday season here, our customers are going to be in for a treat during their ski vacations."

With 41 trails served by six chairlifts, Boreal's snow base is now between 82 inches and 125 inches, the statement noted.

Operations Manager Shaydar Edelmann said, "The snow conditions couldn't be better; we do not generally see this type of snow coverage until February or March."

Located 90 minutes east of Sacramento and 45 miles west of Reno on Highway 80, Boreal is the self-styled "most affordable and accessible resort in Northern California." Check the "rideboreal.com" Website for more information on Boreal Mountain Resort.

E-mail Chris Daley at cdaley@mtdemocrat.net or call 530-344-5063.

Chris Daley

Chris has written a weekly column for the Democrat for more than 20 years and has Master’s Degrees in Russian History, Psychology and Career Counseling. He has been a staff writer for a number of years and enjoys it because he "learns so much about so many things."

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