Resorts: 'We will not be closing'

With the recent warmer temperatures and lack of natural snow, rumors have been circulating this week that ski resorts will be forced to close. According to officials, that's not the case for any South Shore resorts.

"It's actually the opposite," said Heavenly Mountain Resort's Russ Pecoraro. "We're focused on making more terrain available."

The closure rumors grew legs this week partly as a result of a spate of blog and social media posts. The news that Mount Ashland Ski Area in Oregon and Mount Baker Ski Area in Washington were forced to close due to mild weather didn't help, not to mention Homewood Mountain Resort's reduction of operations to weekends only. Mount Baker reopened Jan. 5, a day after stopping lifts.

After a weeklong pause at Heavenly in snowmaking due to warm temperatures, a colder spell headed in next week will allow it to resurface and refresh the runs that are open, Pecoraro said. There's plenty of water to continue to snowmaking operations, he added.

Sierra-at-Tahoe Ski Resort has no plans of closing any time soon, said spokesman Steven Hemphill.

"I can confidently tell you that we will not be closing," Hemphill said.

With the dip in temperatures, Sierra will continue snowmaking as well.

"Obviously we wish it was the natural stuff, but we're doing everything we can to continue to stay open," Hemphill said.

The Volcom Peanut Butter and Rail Jam will kick off Saturday morning on Broadway Trail. The competition is one of the biggest of the year for Sierra, and the terrain park staff will have plenty of snow to build a great rail feature, Hemphill said.

Kirkwood Mountain Resort is offering numerous ski-and-stay packages as well as special deals for beginners. Runs from top to bottom are open seven days a week there.

Squaw Valley CEO Andy Wirth has been battling the closure rumors since he first heard them.

"If anyone hears rumors like that, they should question the intellect, the judgment and the motivations of the people who are forwarding those rumors along," Wirth said Thursday in an interview with the North Tahoe Bonanza. "When I heard (the rumors), I immediately laughed ... but once I really thought about it, it made me think it's sad and unfortunate, because it lacks any rational thought that people would forward these types of rumors."

A change in the overall weather pattern is expected next week though, according to a forecast by Bryan Allegretto of TahoeWeatherDiscussion.com.

"Let's watch this new pattern develop next week," Allegretto said. "If the ridge moves up into Alaska and then southeast into western Canada, we know from history that the storms should then come underneath for a prolonged snow event."

Recent weather models indicate California will see little precipitation until at least Jan. 17, according to Accuweather.com. But the models aren't always reliable more than five days out, Allegretto said.

"If your calculator told you two plus two equals seven, would you just go with that because the calculator told you?" Allegretto asked.

One thing's for sure, said Sierra's general manager, John Rice: "When the snow comes, we'll be ready to rock and roll."