First Snow of the Season in Lake Tahoe

I was driving back from my cabin in Tahoe and as I went over the summit, sure enough, there was some snow mixed with rain.  I sure got excited seeing that!  Maybe it will be an early season this year.  Yesterday morning I looked out at my temp gauge above my hot tub and saw the needle dip below 40.  lt looked to be about 38 give or take.  YEEEEEHAAAW!

pic of first snow courtesy of Sugar Bowl

New Lodge at Kirkwood Breaks Ground

The new Expedition Lodge at Kirkwood Mountain Resort broke ground with a projected opening date of December 2009.  It is a ski in-ski-out shared ownership lodge with 22 3 and four bedroom residences with club house.  8 ownership interests will be sold for each residence.  Expedition Lodge is part of the ‘Registry Collection’, which means that you can trade for other resorts in the group.  Available floor plans are on their website.

Changes at Homewood Ski Resort

Big changes are in store at Homewood Mountain ski resort in Lake Tahoe.  JMA Ventures, the San Francisco development company, best known for rebuilding Ghirardelli Square in San Francisco, owns both Homewood and Alpine Meadows and plan some major changes at Homewood.  The plans include a small village at the north base, a mid mountain lodge with gondola, and even underground parking.  They are also planning private residences at the South Lodge.  The village at the North Base will have an ice rink and community swimming pool.

Construction is still a couple of years away, but the plans for the North Base have been solidified.  The small village will contain an ice cream shop, hardware store, market, 50 room hotel, spa and a 40 condo complex.  They are also considering making the resort “green” by using hydro powered lifts and increased public transit.

I guess this is good and bad.  For us die hard Homewwod skiers and boarders gone will be the days of $27 lift tickets.  I tried buying my mid-week pass the other day that used to cost me $175 and is now $299.  It sounds like it will be an amazing facility though.  I wonder how long it will take to connect both Alpine and Homewood.  You can buy a dual pass now for both resorts.

We’ll see how it goes.  The environmental review process is expected to be completed by around 2008.