Scarcity of snow puts winter businesses in Tahoe in a bind
By Bill O’Driscoll, Reno Gazette-Journal
Presidents Day weekend is when Paco Lindsay usually puts sale prices on ski gear in Paco’s Bike & Ski shop in Truckee.
Not this year. Sales at Paco’s began the day after Christmas — a first for Lindsay. Now eight weeks later, struggling like others in a winter devoid of snow by Sierra standards, he aims simply to survive what’s left of the ski season and look to next year.
Clouds on Presidents Day deliver zero moisture to Lake Tahoe. And temps are expected to be in the 50s all week. Photo/Kathryn Reed
“This is one of those winters you just want to get out of,” Lindsay said of a Tahoe Basin snowpack that last week was less than one-third of last winter’s epic depths as measured by the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
“It’s tough. On the ski side, we’re off by a good 35 percent,” he said. “This is the first time I’ve had to go to my vendors and restructure my payments. In talking to credit people, it’s a bad year everywhere. Everybody’s pulling the ripcord.”
With up to a foot of new snow earlier this week, Tahoe-area ski operators are hoping for something extra out of the Presidents Day holiday, the last three-day weekend of the season, to boost visitor numbers running as much as 40 percent below a year ago.
“It’s crucial. We’re tremendously down from last year,” said Janet Tuttle, co-owner of Donner Ski Ranch. “We opened Jan. 25, the latest opening since we’ve owned it in eight years. So this will be the first holiday we get this year.”
Other operators who opened earlier on machine-made snow say it’s difficult to overcome perceptions the dry winter has created in their key drive-up market, the San Francisco-Sacramento corridor.
Bummer for all in the industry and the related businesses like lodging and restaurants. Now that Heavenly has stopped making snow up top, it could get real scary unless Mo’ Nature decides to sevrve some up and keep temps cool through April.
They will close as soon as possible.
You paid for your pass so hope you used it.
They already spent the money(CEO GETS RAISE)-(OTHERS GET LAID OFF),better luck next year.
Going to be a blazing dry forest fire summer,so keep your roaches ,cig butts in the bag.
Drycleaning, after March snow just never last long,the coldest ,dark days make for long lasting snow pack.(never came)
One thing about it ,we will have larger beaches to play on this summer,so buy a beach pass,can’t go wrong there.
NEXT PLAUGE FOR OUR AREA FUEL PRICES,those BIG BLOCKS POWER HOUSES WILL SUFFER IN SALES AND Action ,that means boating cost more.Groceries are already SKY HIGH, COWS ARE TURNING INTO GOLD BARS.
Oil the life blood of our daily lives. April till the 4th damn dead time.Don’t throw away those old ski boots leather bladders,might need some beef broth,crock pot cooking, to hang till the heat drives the people up to chill out.
THERE’S A FEW WET STORMS LEFT,IT JUST MELTS FASTER.
SPUD CAN START RAPING THE LOCALS ON THE WATER BILLS,Car washes make you put in another couple quarters.
But there might be more room to ride the spokes on the empty highways here in town.
“The beat goes on”.Have mercy!
Dry clean the Russians are building new ski resorts over there, big bucks for smart investors. 2014 WINTER GAMES WILL BE TURNED INOT SKI RESORTS AFTER THE GAMES,USE THE BUILDING FOR HOTELS,BIG DRAW FOR THE EU AREA.RUSSIAN WOMEN ARE KINDA HAIRY, BUT YOU DON’T HAVE TO WINE DINE, TO ROCK ABUY BABY INTO THE WEE HOURS OF MORNING WITH PLENTY GOOD VODKA.
I LOVE EUROPE,THEY ARE SO REAL,THEIR OLD CITIES ARE REALLY BEATIFUL,THEY AREN’T SO DAMN SPOILED, GOT TRAINS EVERYWHERE YOU WANT GO.