Heavenly seeks to expand summer operations
Heavenly Mountain Resort wants to start expanding its summer operations next year, with the goal of having the projects in the ground in the next building season.
Before they can move forward the U.S. Forest Service must sign off on the proposal. Public comment is being taken by the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit.
The projects are consistent with the improvements identified in Heavenly’s Master Plan Amendment.
Additions would include a climbing wall, zipline canopy tour, adventure course, aerial challenge park and zipline center.
The Adventure Peak climbing wall would be replaced with a larger, realistic three-dimensional rock structure approximately 30-feet high adjacent to the Tamarack Lodge. A Discovery Forest Zipline Canopy Tour is proposed for the forested area between Tamarack Express lift and the Big Easy trail. The Discovery Forest would provide a tree-bound zipline and canopy tour activities that would incorporate environmental education information designed for children. This would require selective tree removal.
A proposed Bear Cave Challenge Course adjacent to the ski school near Tamarack Lodge would include a multi-level climbing structure approximately 40-feet high. Selective tree removal would be required.
Boulder Cove Challenge Park would be built across from the base of the gondola stairs and would include a self-guided challenge activity that consists of a series of vertical wooden columns, platforms and rope walkways/bridges approximately 30-feet high. Limited tree removal and limb removal of existing trees would be required.
A new Zipline Center would be constructed in the area between the existing tubing hill and the Big Easy lift and would include four ziplines approximately 1,000 feet in length. Limited tree removal would be required and low voltage electrical and communication lines would be installed. A total of 40 trees would be removed for the entire project.
Comments should be turned in by Dec. 21. For more information on the proposal, contact Jonathan Cook-Fisher at (530) 543.2741 or email jcfisher@fs.fed.us. A map of the proposed project area is online.
Why don’t they open some mtn bike trails?
Heavenly would love to but the USFS has been very restrictive on what can happen up there. The USFS is restrictive because their NEPA documents dont have mt. bike trails included. So include mt biking in the NEPA docs right? Good luck, the Sierra Club would sue.
Bikes please!
Remember this is public land owned by the taxpayers, Heavenly doesn’t own the land. Are a dangerous zipline and other amusement park type attractions the highest and best use of public land? And to what extent would these activities be made affordable to ensure equal enjoyment by all who actually own the land?
Downhill bike trails could be put in off stagecoach and would be out of the basin. It probably wont happen but sure would be nice.
Bike trails at Heavenly Valley!
Here’s my idea for a course. Fire up 3 chairlifts to get you to the top of Skychair. Start your downhill ride from the top of sky. Great views of the lake! Head down Ridge Run. Turn left at Mombo Meadows and take the cat track to your left before you hit Waterfall. When you get to the Creek Station pedal on over to Roundabout. From there it’s a gradual narrow trail that drops you off at the bottom of the tram.
That’s the route I took to get home years ago when everybody started skiing on the little skiis. You can’t ski the face with 210’s when the moguls are being formed by skiers on 150’s or shorter.
Hence the name Old Long Skiis.This idea has a pretty remote chance of becoming a reality.It is USFS land and probably would reject any such thing that would possibly cause erosion
Take care and keep on pedalin’
Old Long Skiis,
Come to Kirkwood!
Great to see Heavenly continuing to invest. Who else does anymore?? The bike situation is a bit ridiculous. Want trails? You got ’em. Their called roads, which extend all over the mountain and have continuous truck traffic. Why does the SC and TRPA think trucks are fine, but not bicycles? And bikes just fine on most of the nearby rim trail, but not on a far less impacting dirt road? No common sense. Too much weed being smoked up there, I suspect. On the other hand, the bike snob in me hates the idea of crowds of wimps getting rental bikes trucked to the top, so they can coast down. Use the roads, but if you want a ride down, you gotta pedal up. That’s a rather natural way of keeping traffic reasonable. Don’t you think.