Posted on December 30, 2022

Greetings, everyone!

This is the last Fortune Friday of 2022! I wanted to start by thanking all of you that take the time to read about what is going on at our resort, and for your continued support throughout the entire year. There is a lot to talk about as we close out one year and start another. 2022 marked a big shift around our resort as we emerged out of important public health restrictions and into a more normal looking operation. We also had a fun summer full of activities, and we have had an incredible start to this season. An early opening, a new upgraded lift, lots of cold temperatures, and a great base of natural snow had us 100% open by the December holidays… that is something we don’t get to say every year!

The past two weeks have been a tale of opposites; the first week being clear and sunny with great conditions, followed by a series of powerful storms this week which brought winds clocked at 111mph, rain and snow on the mountain, plus icy roads and parking lots around our base areas. On Tuesday we got hit with serious rime ice on lifts. While we were lucky to get a break in the storm on Wednesday, much of that day was spent de-icing lifts, cables, and towers. Thankfully, we were able to get the Gondola and several of our upper mountain lifts open by the afternoon. This could not have been done without our incredible lift operations and lift maintenance teams. Their daily work is so critical to ensuring our lifts are always safe to operate. There is no break in sight as we are in another atmospheric river today with high snow levels and a lot of precipitation and winds impacting operations. All of this snow should make for some seriously good skiing early next week… Plus, there is even more snow in the forecast then, too! All of this is to say we genuinely appreciate your patience and grace through operational weather delays. While it can be frustrating for all of us at times, it is all done with safety at top of mind.

The other big news is that North Bowl Express opened on Monday, December 19th!  We are humbled by the feedback we have gotten from longtime locals and visitors alike about this upgraded lift. An incredible part of the mountain that has been underutilized is now far more accessible.  In all, North Bowl Express took about a year from approval to the day we got it open. It was so great to see all of the smiling faces in line when we cut the ribbon, and to hear the excitement from our guests after their first ride on the new high-speed quad. The ride on North Bowl used to be a great time to eat your lunch or even take a 15-minute nap… now the ride is only about 5 minutes! If you haven’t checked it out, I encourage you to park at Boulder and take some laps. I think you will be impressed with this new addition to the mountain. To complete this project, it took a lot of support from our amazing partners, agencies, and contractors. Furthermore, I have to call out Heavenly’s own crew who jumped in and pushed this project to the finish line. Lift Maintenance, Lift Operations, Grooming, Health and Safety, Mountain Operations Leadership, and so many others worked tirelessly every day to get this lift open. Thank you all for your hard work and dedication!

Finally, I wanted to wish everyone Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year. However, you celebrate this time of year, I hope it was a safe and special time that was filled with memorable moments. For those of you that spent the holidays with us, thank you and see you in 2023!

Tom