Heavenly Mountain Resort | |
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The gondola lift base in South Lake Tahoe
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Location |
El Dorado-Toiyabe National Forests El Dorado County, California / Douglas County, Nevada |
Nearest city | South Lake Tahoe, California |
Coordinates | 38°56′07″N 119°56′24″W / 38.9353°N 119.9400°WCoordinates: 38°56′07″N 119°56′24″W / 38.9353°N 119.9400°W |
Vertical | 3,812 ft (1,162 m) |
Top elevation | 10,067 ft (3,068 m) |
Base elevation | 6,255 ft (1,907 m) |
Skiable area | 4,800 acres (1,900 ha) |
Runs | 97 total 20% beginner 45% intermediate 35% advanced |
Longest run | 5.5 mi (8.9 km) (Olympic downhill) |
Lift system | 30 total: 1 high speed gondola, 1 high speed aerial tram, 2 high speed six passenger chairs, 7 high speed quads, 1 quad, 5 triples, 3 doubles, 6 surface, 4 magic carpets |
Lift capacity | 52,000 passengers/hr |
Terrain parks | 3 Groove Park, Ante Up Park, High Roller Park |
Snowfall | 360 in (910 cm) |
Snowmaking | Yes |
Night skiing | No |
Website | www.SkiHeavenly.com |
Heavenly Mountain Resort is a ski resort located on the California-Nevada border in South Lake Tahoe. It has 97 runs and 30 lifts that are spread between California and Nevada and four base facilities. The resort has 4,800 acres (1,900 ha) within its permit area, with approximately 33% currently developed for skiing, boasting the highest elevation of the Lake Tahoe area resorts with a peak elevation of 10,067 ft (3,068 m), and a peak lift-service elevation of 10,040 ft (3,060 m).
Since 2002, Heavenly has been owned by Vail Resorts, which also operates Northstar California and Kirkwood Mountain Resort at Lake Tahoe and seven other ski resorts in Colorado, Utah, Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin (Vail, Breckenridge, Keystone, Beaver Creek, Park City Resort (Canyons), Afton Alps, Mt. Brighton, and Wilmot Mountain).
With an average of 360 in (910 cm) of snow annually, and one of America's largest snowmaking systems, their ski season usually runs from mid November to mid April.
Heavenly is notable as the resort where Congressman Sonny Bono died after hitting a tree on January 5, 1998.
Under the recently approved 10-year Master Plan Amendment, Heavenly can continue to improve their resort with the replacement of fixed grip lifts with high speed detachables. The first of these, Olympic Express, debuted on December 23, 2007. Future lift upgrades include the upgrade of the Galaxy double chair to a high speed detachable quad, the upgrade of the North Bowl triple chair to a high speed detachable quad, the replacement of the Patsy's and Groove triple chairs with a single high speed detachable quad, a high speed detachable lift to replace the Aerial Tram that will terminate at the future Powderbowl Lodge, the extension and conversion of the Mott Canyon double chair to a fixed grip quad that will terminate at the top of Dipper Express, the construction of a fixed grip quad between the base of Sky Express and the top of the Gondola, the reinstallation of the Wells Fargo chair, accessing abandoned terrain on the Nevada side, and the upgrading of Sky Express from a high speed detachable quad to a high speed detachable six-pack.