Tahoe ski resorts rejoice after early storm dumps 2 feet of snow

Martin Griffith

Monday, Oct. 30, 2000 | 10 a.m.

RENO, Nev. - One of the strongest October storms in years dumped up to 2 feet of snow in the Lake Tahoe area, and ski resort operators could not be happier.

Most resorts usually don't open until around Thanksgiving, but the Saturday night storm offered hope for an earlier start.

Squaw Valley USA and Boreal reported at least 2 feet of new snow on their upper mountains.

"We almost always get snow by Halloween, but normally we don't get this much snow this early," said Squaw spokesman Sandra Poulsen. "This is one of the heaviest early season storms I can recall in quite a while - maybe 15 years."

Boreal, the only resort open at Tahoe, reported large weekend crowds drawn by top-to-bottom skiing and snowboarding on light, dry powder.

The Donner Summit resort on Oct. 10 became the first ski area to open in the nation.

"We're really excited because we have the conditions we usually don't get until December," said Boreal spokeswoman Jody Churich. "Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come this winter."

Chain restrictions were lifted late Sunday morning on Interstate 80 over Donner Summit.

But controls remained in effect on other Tahoe highways, including Highway 88 over Carson Pass and U.S. Highway 50 over Spooner Summit.

No major weather-related accidents were reported.

The National Weather Service was uncertain how the storm stacked up against past October systems.

"But a couple of feet of snow in October is not a normal thing," said agency forecaster Ray Collins. "It's certainly bigger than the storms we usually get in October."

The weather service was calling for a chance of lingering snow showers on Monday morning and for a chance of snow with the arrival of another system Wednesday.

"We're off to a good start and let's hope it continues," Collins said.