Sierra Skiing Kicks Off Friday

By Bay City News Service, with additional reporting by Bea Karnes

It's official, ski season will kick off Friday at Boreal Mountain Resort in the Lake Tahoe area, the resort announced Wednesday. Boreal will be the first resort to open this season. The resort recorded a foot of fresh powder this week to cushion the white stuff coming out of snow making machines.

The National Weather Service recorded 10 to 20 inches of snow on Monday in the higher peaks of the Tahoe region, forecaster Eric Kurth said. 

Lake Tahoe saw 10 to 15 inches of snow, with heavier snowfall west of the lake, he said. Donner Pass on Interstate Highway 80 got a total of 19 inches Monday, he said. 

Most of the snowfall has ended, and dry weather is expected later in the week, Kurth said. 

Thirteen inches of snow fell at the base of Alpine Meadows since Sunday, and 19 inches fell on the upper mountain, Alpine spokeswoman Melissa Brouse said. 

The resort is scheduled to open Dec. 13. 

At Squaw Valley, which is slated to open Nov. 27, 7 inches of snow fell at the base and 18 inches fell in the upper elevations since Sunday, Brouse said. Neither resort plans to open any earlier than scheduled, but Brouse said that could change depending on what Mother Nature decides to do. 

Further south, Mammoth Mountain Ski Area recorded 10 to 12 inches of snow Monday, eight days before its opening day of Nov. 7, spokeswoman Joani Lynch said. 

Crews at the resort are making their own snow and hoping to open with 12 to 18 inches of snow at the base, Lynch said. 

"Mammoth is one of the highest mountains in elevation for ski resorts in California. We get earlier snow and are able to hold on to it," Lynch said. 

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