The U.S. Forest Service is seeking comment on a proposal for capital improvements at Heavenly Mountain Resort, including a lodge at the top of the gondola, new runs and a new lift.

If approved, the resort would implement these projects next summer.

The projects are consistent with the improvements identified in Heavenly’s accepted Master Plan Amendment and would be constructed in accordance with the applicable portions of the Construction Erosion Reduction Program outlined in the master plan and the 2007 Environmental Impact Statement, according to the Forest Service.

Heavenly is proposing to build a lodge with approximately 500 indoor seats near the top of the gondola. This would be a single-story building with a simple shed roof providing self-service dining, a small bar, open seating and restrooms. The building would cover 14,750 square feet and have a maximum height of 39 feet. The lodge would also feature a 4,320-foot poured-in-place concrete patio for outdoor dining. Other than a 300-foot delivery spur from the existence maintenance road, no new roads would be needed.

Heavenly plans to situate the lodge in an already disturbed site, minimizing the need to remove trees for construction. To accommodate the new lodge, Heavenly would relocate the Magic Carpet ski school conveyor lift and move the Umbrella Bar from the top of the gondola to Snow Beach on the California side, requiring the pouring of new concrete footings and running utilities to the site.

The resort is also proposing to replace the Galaxy fix-grip double chairlift with a high-speed detachable lift. The alignment and terminal locations would be the same. Replacing the lift would require widening the lift corridor to a maximum of 33 feet, which would necessitate removing trees.

Four new runs would increase the skiable terrain served by the new lift. The proposal includes installing below-ground snowmaking infrastructure for these new runs, as well as the two existing runs. Temporary ground disturbance would result from installation of snowmaking lines, but these areas would be promptly restabilized and revegetated. The Galaxy runs are located outside the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency’s boundary.

A final element of the proposal would implement the Easy Street Run Hazard Reduction prescription on a section of the California Trail. This prescription, named for the trail on which it was initially implemented, would be used to carefully and selectively reduce the height of natural obstacles such as boulders and felled trees, minimizing the amount of snow required to cover the trail. The prescription is designed to remove large obstacles while keeping ground cover intact to avoid additional runoff, sedimentation and erosion. A buffer zone would protect Tahoe draba (a sensitive plant species). This prescription would also apply to the new runs served by the Galaxy lift.

The full proposal is available on the LTBMU website at http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/ltbmu/projects/local/heavenly-capital-projects-2010.shtml.

For more information, contact Matt Dickinson, (530) 543.2769.

Comments should be received by Jan. 15.