South Lake Tahoe - Heavenly Ski: Early December

[Ski-Dad]

Any advice on what the skiing is like at Heavenly by second week of December.

From the East Coast of Canada. I am an avid skier. I will have an Epic Pass next year (Vail resorts), and I will be in the West on business the first week of December. There are a few good getaway deals in II for Dec 6 to 13, which match up well with the end of my business trip.

I don't expect powder skiing at that point in the year, but will they at least have 20-25% of runs open. I skied in Colorado first week of December 2023 at Copper. It was about 15% open, but it was worth it to kick my season off and get the legs primed for the season.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Sometimes resorts start that early but I wouldn't risk it if there is significant cost or travel involved. Usually manmade snow and groomed trails during that time. Last few years we've seen a dump just before Christmas. They can get a dump at Thanksgiving but I haven't seen that since 10 years. Infrequently they don't get snow until after New Years. This happened this year in Colorado too. Best guaranteed time for Tahoe is mid-Jan to early-March

 

[Ski-Dad]

I am booked into the two Sheratons at Beaver Creek, CO back to back the 3rd and 4th weeks of January.

I am now trying to squeeze in an early 24/25 ski season week. I am in Western Canada the week of December 2 anyway. Makes for a cheaper starting point than from the east coast.

BUT since I have an Epic pass, I am focused on trying to land a cheap timeshare week at or near an Epic hill. Whistler fits the bill in terms of location, but landing a timeshare unit in Whistler can be more challenging. Highly unlikely to score a getaway or AC at Whistler once ski season starts.

I have my eye out for Summit County, CO, but then noted a great getaway Dec 6 to 13 at HVC Lake Tahoe South. Sounds like I may be better off waiting for something in CO. You are always at risk with early season ski trips, but I keep my expectations low. Makes it easier to be happy.

 

[DAman]

For several years I did a similar early/mid December ski week at Heavenly. It is impossible to predict. Sometimes there’s no snow and sometimes an abundance of it. Heavenly can have wind holds too.

One thing I noticed is that they may not open terrain to early season skiers because they are waiting for the Christmas/New Year’s time. Even if they appear to have the coverage.

I no longer plan these early season trips.

 

[vacationtime1]

December skiing in California is dicey. I have had little success this millennium.

I agree with @DAman's statement that "sometimes there's no snow"; I disagree that "sometimes [there is] an abundance of it". There may be enough man-made snow to ski some of the groomers (but there may not be); there will not be enough snow accumulation to ski off-trail.

To give one example: a few years back, I reserved a Getaway for Red Wolf Lodge (at Palisades) for the second week of December. My son and I skied a half day and drove home. Not worth it (and I had a season pass).

 

[claraj]

I recommend going to Colorado for early Dec. I think you would have a better chance there in early ski season because the altitude is higher there. I went last year during the first week of December on a cheap Getaway ($330 for a 1 BR at Marriott's StreamSide Vail) and there was a snowstorm. I'm booked to be in Beaver Creek for the second week of December and hoping for similar conditions.

 

[Ski-Dad]

After posting this morning I checked RCI and II for ski season and spotted a late Feb week in Whistler sitting there all by itself (different than the one I posted in the Sightings forum) I grabbed it. This means I will need to now upgrade from the Epic Local Pass to the full Epic pass as the Epic Local is restricted to a total of 10 days between Vail, BC and Whistler. I now have a week at Whistler and two weeks at BC.

Still on the hunt for a December week. I will take the advice of sticking to Colorado for early season. I do see some 1 bedrooms, but hoping to land a cheap two bedroom. Makes it easy to invite a bud to come skiing for the week. Will land something in due course even if its up in Dillon. Stayed at Swan Mountain resort in Dillon last year. It was great, especially the real fireplace with unlimited free wood. So chill/cozy.

 

[DAman]

December skiing in California is dicey. I have had little success this millennium.

I agree with @DAman's statement that "sometimes there's no snow"; I disagree that "sometimes [there is] an abundance of it". There may be enough man-made snow to ski some of the groomers (but there may not be); there will not be enough snow accumulation to ski off-trail.

To give one example: a few years back, I reserved a Getaway for Red Wolf Lodge (at Palisades) for the second week of December. My son and I skied a half day and drove home. Not worth it (and I had a season pass).

I forget what year(maybe 2014) in early December I was at South Shore Tahoe for a week. It snowed several feet while we were there. Lots of snow but we encountered wind holds four of the seven days. I saw a lot of movies that week. So at least that year there was a lot of snow.

I had a mid January week(maybe 2012)at the Red Wolf and there was very little snow. After skiing Shirley Lake exclusively for a couple of days I went home.

Most years in early December there’s not enough snow. I no longer do trades during that time period. I’m cautious about early January too.

 

[mark201235]

We too are east coasters with Epic Passes. I booked a 3BR unit at Heavenly Valley Townhouses for January 11-18, 2025 via RCI. Looks very close to the tram. I sure hope there will be enough snow by mid January but realize that there is no guarantee. Most likely use some United airlines miles to secure airfare. Worst case if there’s no snow, then I’ll just eat the RCI exchange fee and the points needed for that transaction. We’ve never skied Heavenly, usually do Park City sometimes Colorado resorts.

 

[davidvel]

I agree with those that say that early December will be poor conditions most years at Heavenly, if open. Also, the Nevada side is always the last to open, and this is where most timeshares are. It is usually not open until the holiday period. You can shuttle to the main (California) lodge, but it is not the ideal experience.