Does anyone ski Heavenly in March frequently?  Can you comment on typical conditions there?

Friend has a condo and is planning to go then :-) Free lodging sounds pretty good.

My impression is that it's hard to define "normal" for Tahoe at this point.  Hopefully this season will be as good as last season and not like the super drought years.  My impression is that March is fine for Heavenly.  Suggest you do a day trip to Kirkwood too.  Think there is a bus if you don't feel like driving.  Did that back in 2000 and it was well worth it.

Some ideas here:

http://www.epicski.com/t/144436/lake-tahoe-trip-need-advice

March is prime time and should be very dependable.  I have lived in SF and ski the south Lake Tahoe areas on the Tahoe local pass for the past 3 seasons.  I also taught at Sierra at Tahoe last year.  It has been 5 years since the Sierra had a big year, but that does not mean bad conditions during the prime time of March.  In each of these seasons I have had a half dozen or more deep powder days in the trees.  And the groomers will be dependable.  

I love Kirkwood but am not aware of a bus there.  It's a 45 minute drive from south lake over Carson Pass (8600ft) which has frequent avy closures in storms.  Sierra at Tahoe runs a bus shuttle from the town of south Lake Tahoe.  

Id be happy to meet and ski with you but not this year.  I'll be recovering from rotator cuff surgery scheduled for Nov. and I've been told that recovery takes 6 months.  This likely means a lost season except for May and June. 

Hmm, found this on a Heavenly website but no details.

"HEAVENLY/NORTHSTAR/KIRKWOOD SHUTTLE SERVICE 

Why settle for just one resort?  Elevate your Tahoe skiing experience and ski Heavenly, Northstar, and Kirkwood!  Our shuttle service will transport you between the best of Tahoe so you can indulge in all three world-class resorts with ease.  Multi-day group tickets are interchangeable between resorts."

marzNC wrote:

My impression is that it's hard to define "normal" for Tahoe at this point.  Hopefully this season will be as good as last season and not like the super drought years.  My impression is that March is fine for Heavenly.  Suggest you do a day trip to Kirkwood too.  Think there is a bus if you don't feel like driving.  Did that back in 2000 and it was well worth it.

Some ideas here:

http://www.epicski.com/t/144436/lake-tahoe-trip-need-advice

I agree that it hard to define "normal" in Tahoe. Altitude brings predicatability. I beleive that Kirkwood is higher than the rest. IMO it also has better terrain. Since it is farther away it also is less crowded.

Be aware that California has chain laws. If it's snowy, you will need to show your chains in order to drive to Kirkwood. 

As I said altitude brings predicabiility. There 'isn't anything higher than Summit County Colorado. 

Yes, altitude matters and also wind.  Winter storms in the area typically have winds on the Sierra Crest exceeding 100mph.  That's on the highest peaks of course.  Winds of around 50 +/- a bit result in lift shut downs.  Higher means better snow but also more wind exposure.  It pays to keep your eye on everything and be flexible.  Kirkwood is on the crest and has frequent wind holds.  It has a base of 7800 and summit of 9900 IIRC.  

A tale from last season:-  big storm with lots of wind.  It was snowing so hard that I was whited out for 10-15 seconds at a time on the short drive from my house in NV to South lake.  I stopped and waited until the wind subsided enough to see. I gratefully pulled into McDonalds to wait a bit with a hot coffee and consider my options.  The original plan was KIrkwood but I didn't want to attempt Carson Pass in such weather.  My fallback was Heavenly which has its gondola base right in town - easy.  Then word spread thru the place that Heavenly was on wind hold, all lifts.  Then the snow almost stopped, which proved to be just a brief respite.  I decided to try for Sierra, which involves a shorter, less daunting drive over the lower Echo Pass.  Sierra is low, heavily treed, with less wind exposure.  It was the right decision and I had a great day of powder in the trees.  On return in the evening I learned that Kirkwood and Heavenly never opened.

it is true that CA requires you to carry chains in their 'R2' condition.  Carry, but not necessarily mounted.  I have skied 40-60 days per season for the last 3 years in Tahoe and never been asked to show chains.  I have a Subaru AWD with good snow tires and the inspectors take one glance and wave me thru.  I have learned from locals to flash the 4 fingers sign.  This is understood as a secret handshake that says you not only have 4WD or AWD (obvious to them) but that you do this a lot and know what you're doing.  I don't personally know of anyone who had AWD being turned back in an R2 condition because they didn't have chains.  Further south, LA friends who drive to Mammoth have occasionally been turned back for not having chains.  They turn around, wait a bit and come back.  Usually there will be a different Caltrans inspector who will let them thru.  They laugh that the problem is inspectors from LA who never saw snow in their life until they were hired a month ago.  Don't get me wrong about Caltrans.  I think they do a great job on a hard and thankless task. There is a third Caltrans condition, R3, which requires 4WD or AWD with chains on all 4 wheels.  I have not experienced an R3 condition and if I did I'd accept it as a sign that I really should be somewhere else.

Enjoyed your article, Denis!

MorganB

aka The Colonel

Denis wrote:

Yes, altitude matters and also wind.  Winter storms in the area typically have winds on the Sierra Crest exceeding 100mph.  That's on the highest peaks of course.  Winds of around 50 +/- a bit result in lift shut downs.  Higher means better snow but also more wind exposure.  ........

A tale from last season:-  big storm with lots of wind.  It was snowing so hard that I was whited out for 10-15 seconds at a time on the short drive from my house in NV to South lake.  I stopped and waited until the wind subsided enough to see. I gratefully pulled into McDonalds to wait a bit with a hot coffee and consider my options.  The original plan was KIrkwood but I didn't want to attempt Carson Pass in such weather.  My fallback was Heavenly which has its gondola base right in town - easy.  Then word spread thru the place that Heavenly was on wind hold, all lifts. 

You are right that it seems that really BIG storms tend to bring wind in most higher altitude ski areas..

My best day in Colorado in the last 20 years happened 4-5 years ago. I don't start my skiing days when the lifts start unless it's a powder day (I dont ski weekends or holidays). Anyway there was 18 inches down at Keystone. I was at the gondola base at 8:15. At 8:30 nothing happened. All lifts were on wind hold. Now i've frequently experienced Keystone's gondolas on wind hold, but never had I experienmced EVERY LIFT on wind hold. FInally at 10 they opened Summit Quad, Montezuma, and Peru. I desperatlely wanted to get to North Peak or the Ouitback, but couldn't because they remained closed (stayed that way all day). Then I tried to get to Go Devil (Keystone's downhill run) on the far side of the hill. Couldn't get there either. Itt was closed, as was everything under or past the A51 lift. Then I went to a short blue run with some nice double fall line steep terrain on it's left side. It had been groomed. It had alwasy been a place for nice powder, but not that day. Skied down to the Peru lift, and under me was steep, black, double fall line, UNTRACKED Last Hoot. It's normally an iceball and not much fun, but not that day. I skied Last Hoot maybe 7 times, with no  one on the trail except me. Freshies every time.

So I give the high wind credit for what started out being a frustrating awful day that turned into what was probably my best day of skiing in 20 years.

wojo wrote:

 Can you comment on typical conditions there?

better than it is here.  all you need to know.