Sierra-At-Tahoe Opening for the 2021-22 Season—For One Weekend in April

A view up Sierra-at-Tahoe’s Grandview zone prior to the Caldor Fire.

Background

In late August 2021, the Caldor Fire passed through Sierra-at-Tahoe ski resort, causing extensive damage to lifts, facilities, and some terrain. Until recently, it was unclear whether the resort would have a 2021-22 season at all.

But this week, the resort announced it would open the resort this season for a single weekend—April 9-10, 2022. The opening will coincide with a series of live music events, competitions and giveaways to celebrate Sierra’s 75th anniversary. Subaru WinterFest will headline the festivities on Saturday, followed by the Methodology banked slalom competition on Sunday.

Limited terrain will be open for Sierra’s reopening. Only the Easy Rider Express, Rock Garden, and Slider Magic Carpet lifts will be open, offering service to beginner terrain as well as the Broadway terrain park. Terrain openings are dependent on weather conditions.

Lift tickets for this event will go on sale on March 16, 2022 at 8:00am PT.

Sierra-at-Tahoe’s trail map. The area highlighted in green denotes the terrain likely to open for the April weekend—which will amount to the resort’s entire 2021-22 season.

Our Take

Looking at this announcement, we can deduce a couple of key realities. Sierra-at-Tahoe clearly faced considerable obstacles in addressing its extensive wildfire damage, and the updates that trickled in over the past few months conveyed a winter season that looked less and less likely. But at least with this update, we get positive news that Sierra is going to open at least once for the 2021-22 season—even if it can’t be during the core season. The fact that they’re planning to open at all conveys a fundamental statement of resilience—and a message from the resort that they’re not going anywhere.

But looking at the announcement, we can also see why the resort is not planning to open for any dates besides this one weekend. Trail offerings are going to be extremely limited—with no intermediate or advanced offerings—and would not be enough to satisfy most guests on a typical ski day. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that the rest of Sierra’s footprint has been cleared for safe skiing and riding. With the festivities planned, Sierra’s reopening strikes us as more of a marketing and branding move—chiefly to show that it’s still around and celebrate with loyal resort fans—rather than a true return to its standing as a practical ski hill.

That being said, one aspect of Sierra’s announcement did give us hope. The resort conveyed plans for a full opening for the 2022-23 season, and hopefully during the summer season, the resort will have ample time to restore everything they need to get fully operating again. If all goes as planned, we’re looking forward to returning to Sierra next winter to reassess the rehabilitated resort.

For more on Sierra-at-Tahoe and the regional resort landscape, check out our Sierra review and Lake Tahoe rankings.