Heavenly opens for skiing at Lake Tahoe

UPDATED: 1:30 p.m.: With blue skies, light wind and and pleasant temperatures, Heavenly Mountain Resort opened this morning, the first south shore Lake Tahoe ski resort to open for the 2008/2009 ski season.

Lifts began running at 8:30 a.m., amid a flurry of skiers and snowboarders from here and across the region. Snow of the natural kind and snow of the manmade variety enabled the resort to get a start to the season, the day after Thanksgiving.

For snowboarder Sarah Regnier of Salinas, the 25-year-old planned her trip to Tahoe around Heavenly's opening.

" I left Salinas at 4 a.m., to drive up to Tahoe to ski at Heavenly. I'd rather ski than shop on Black Friday," she said. "With the lower gas prices I hope to ski more this winter."

Skier Jonny Saputo, 38, of Walnut Creek said he was surprised at how good the snow conditions and coverage are at Heavenly.

"I thought it would be more crowded," he said.

The resort offers skiing on Orion’s run, with access through the gondola, said Heavenly spokesman Russ Pecoraro.

The opening is “all because of snowmaking,” Pecoraro said, adding crews have put in about 180 hours of snowmaking so far this season.

Heavenly’s California Lodge will also be open for season pass purchases, according to the Web site.

Last year, Heavenly opened on Nov. 25, just a few days earlier than this year's expected Nov. 28 opening.

Saturday is expected to be mostly sunny with a high near 51, according to a seven- day forecast posted on the National Weather Service Web site on Thursday.

The forecast showed nighttime lows staying well below freezing, but did not predict any precipitation for the region.

Other South Shore ski areas, Kirkwood Mountain Resort and Sierra-at-Tahoe, have asked visitors to check their respective Web sites for the latest information on opening dates.

Boreal Mountain Resort and Mount Rose Ski Tahoe, near Tahoe’s North Shore, opened earlier this month.