by Armand Gutierrez, President

November is coming in crisp and cool and Tahoe resorts are beginning to get some snowfall. Remember two years ago when Palisades Tahoe actually opened before Halloween with a rare early snowfall? Well, this year it’s back to the usual November opening dates. And this month the main attraction is also Thanksgiving. Yup, this is when we all gather around the feasting table and forget about diets, counting calories, and enjoy a bountiful meal with family. And on the subject of feasting, we certainly did that at the NSC 65th Anniversary Dinner on Saturday, 28 October. China Stix kept bringing out entrées and more entrées throughout the evening.

For those of you that dream about skiing in November, and before Thanksgiving, here are some important resort opening dates:

  • Northstar – 17 November
  • Heavenly – 17 November
  • Alpine/Palisades – 22 November
  • Jackson Hole – 24 November
  • Kirkwood – 1 December

The Latest from NSCF/OnTheSnow

The National Ski Council Federation (NSCF) issues a monthly newsletter on ski-related items within the ski industry, and OnTheSnow also offered a few items. Here are some of the highlights:

  • Lift prices are going skyward. Expect to see $300 (no, that’s not a typo) window prices, and here are some expected prices for the Tahoe area:
    • $259 – Heavenly
    • $269 – Northstar
    • $279 – Palisades
    • Do you feel the burn in your back pocket?
  • Resorts are transitioning to cashless systems.
    • Vail went cashless in late 2022
    • Use of reverse ATMs.
    • Kids use smart phones to pay for everything, now it’s time for us adults to get on that bandwagon.
  • Resort Upgrades (this is the good news)
    • Remember that 15-person cylinder that went to the top of Lone Peak at Big Sky? Well, rejoice, it’s been replaced by a 75-person capacity tram
    • Sun Valley has two new lifts.
    • Not an upgrade, but Palisades will be introducing a new parking reservation system. The majority of the parking inventory will be dedicated to free reservations, paid parking reservations are available for those of you that have the money, and want to arrive late in order to secure a parking spot.

Upcoming Events Get your calendars out and mark these dates down for planned events for the remainder of the year.

November 4  – NSC Pickleball Event – Tina Woo reports that she has people signed up for this latest craze happening across the states, and there’s room for more. See the flyer for details.

November 11 – NSC Bowling Event – Following Tina’s Pickleball Ball there’s Jeff Honda’s Bowling Event the week after. This should be a fun experience because it’s unknown who is good and who is not good at rolling a 13-16lb. ball down a wooden floor just to hit a bunch of wooden pins. Come and join us for an exciting morning and then lunch afterwards and hear the bragging on who had the best scores. See the flyer and an Evite for details.

2024 NSC Jackson Hole – 27 January to 3 February

The Jackson Hole trip is fully booked with 46 signups and a few extras going along on their own arrangements. Since there were only 21 signups for air we will be taking Alaska Airlines, and all remaining Alaska and United Air seats have been released. If you have an Ikon Pass then you will need to make reservations for the week we are there, and you can login in to your account at ikonpass.com and make reservations. And yes, that is a current picture at the summit of the Teton Lift.  The upper mountain has already received 36” of snow.

QotM: If you’re not criticized, you’re not doing enough.