This season, regions in the West saw record-breaking snowfall and, as a result, several ski resorts have already decided to push back their closing dates. With the Easter falling on April 16 this year, it would not be surprising if even more resorts with original early-April closing dates end up staying open at least through that holiday weekend.
1. Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows
The resorts on the California side of Lake Tahoe plan to stay open until June. Squaw Valley expects to reopen for a special day of skiing and riding on July 4 for the first time since 2011. By the first week of March, both Squaw and Alpine Meadows had recorded more than 600 inches of snowfall by their measuring stations at an elevation of 8,000 feet. See Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows lift tickets.
2. Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe
On the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe, Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe announced on March 1 that the ski area would stay open through Memorial Day. By March 6, Mt. Rose had already totaled an amazing 678 inches for the season. According to Mt. Rose’s director of marketing Mike Pierce, the ski area has never previously stayed open that late to his knowledge. When Mt. Rose closed on May 8 last season, even that early-May date was considered rather late by historical standards. See Tahoe lift tickets.
3. Northstar California
Vail Resorts announced on Feb. 22 that its resort on Lake Tahoe’s north side would stay open through April 23. Northstar passed the 600-inch season-to-date snowfall mark on March 6. See Tahoe lift tickets.
4. Heavenly Resort
In the same Vail Resorts announcement, the company’s resort on the south side of the lake extended its daily operations through April 23 with an additional weekend of April 28-30. Heavenly was just inches away from the 600-inch milestone through March’s first week. See Tahoe lift tickets.
5. Mammoth Mountain
Farther south in the Sierras, Mammoth broke its all-time single-month snowfall record in January with 245 inches. The resort had so much snow that it was comfortable even back to mid-February to extend its season at least through July 4. With a summit base depth of 350 inches (that’s settled base depth, not total snowfall!), there’s plenty of snow to last that long. See Mammoth Mountain lift tickets.
6. Keystone Resort
After a snowy December and January, the Colorado resort decided in late January to extend its season by a week through Easter, April 16. The December through January stretch marked the first time in resort history that Keystone received 80 inches of snow in back-to-back months. See Colorado lift tickets.
7. Arapahoe Basin
Just down the road from Keystone, A-Basin has not made a formal announcement regarding a definite closing date. However, it’s a safe bet the ski area that often stays open into June will have lots of summer skiing on tap. As evidence of the area’s bountiful snowfall, the steeps of the famous East Wall opened incredibly early way back on Jan. 15. See Arapahoe Basin lift tickets.
8. Sierra-at-Tahoe
Along with extending normal operations through April 23, the California resort plans a customer appreciation day on April 24 to cap off the season. Proceeds from the $35 lift tickets on that day will go toward youth recreation and education in South Lake Tahoe. Lifts will operate from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with an official “last run of the season” from the top of Grandview Express at 2 p.m. See Sierra-At-Tahoe lift tickets.
9. Purgatory Resort
On Tuesday, March 14, Purgatory Resort in Colorado announced that it would add Fridays through Sundays in April beyond its original closing date of April 2. At the time of the announcement, the resort had received 240 inches for the season. See Colorado lift tickets.
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