Heavenly Mountain Resort kicks off the holiday with opening day

A dash of cold weather made for snowmaking overnight, allowing Heavenly Mountain Resort to open today, the kickoff of the 2006-2007 ski and snowboard season.

Kirkwood Mountain Resort and Northstar plan to follow suit on Saturday with their own openings. Boreal was the first to open last week.

The Heavenly Gondola will open to the public at 9 this morning.

"We're thrilled to be opening on Thanksgiving. Although terrain is limited, coverage will be very good," said Blaise Carrig, Heavenly's chief operating officer. "We're looking forward to another great snow-filled season."

Guests can access the mountain via the Heavenly Gondola in Heavenly Village. Heavenly will offer skiing and riding, sightseeing, and children's snow play.

Warm weather and the lack of snow have been a challenge this year, so Heavenly fired up the West Coast's largest snowmaking system to get the resort ready to open. Heavenly's snowmaking crew has worked more than 120 hours to get the mountain ready to open.

Snow conditions on open trails will be packed powder and machine-groomed snow. Guests will be asked to stay only on designated runs to avoid thin coverage on areas of the mountain without machine-made snow.

Meanwhile at Kirkwood, temperatures look promising to make snow over the next 48-72 hours, a spokesperson said Thursday. If temperatures hold and snowmaking is successful, the resort will open Chair 5 on Saturday. The decision for opening will be made Friday afternoon. For the latest updates go to www.kirkwood.com.

At Heavenly, hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Lifts open a half-hour earlier at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Full-service ski school, rentals, and food services will be available at the Heavenly Village and on the mountain.

Parking will be available in the parking garage at the Heavenly Village or at Heavenly's California Lodge. The resort's complimentary shuttles will be operating with service to the casino corridor, as well as from the California Lodge to Heavenly Village.

Ski Schools of Heavenly will offer Level One/Beginner lessons, as well as adult and child lessons for intermediate skiers/riders and above. Lessons will be booked out of the Ski School Center at the base of the Gondola, or by calling 1-800-HEAVENLY and pressing "7."

Full-day and half-day day care will be available out of the California Lodge. Due to limited operations, there will be no ski play and no half day care/half ski lesson option.

"Heavenly's snowmaking capacity and high elevation gave us the ability to get open first, which provides even more value to our season-pass holders," Carrig said. "Our guests will be skiing and riding on the best snow in Tahoe, and they can thank our snowmaking crew for their hard work and dedication."

For more information on Heavenly, visit www.skiheavenly.com or call 1-800-HEAVENLY.

If you go

WHAT: First day of skiing at Heavenly Mountain Resort

WHEN: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. today

WHERE: Guests can access the mountain via the Heavenly Gondola in Heavenly Village. Heavenly will offer skiing and riding, sightseeing, and children's snow play.

COST: For opening day, Heavenly lift tickets will be specially priced starting at $51 for adults (19-64), $37 for teens (13-18), $29 for children (5-12) and $37 for seniors (65+). Children 4 and under ski for free. Sightseeing tickets will be $28 for adults, $24 for teens and seniors, and $18 for children. Kids 4 and under ride for free.