Poor snow conditions end Sugar Bowl ski season
Sugar Bowl Ski Resort is closing early due to the lack of snow, the latest casualty of the California drought.
The Donner Summit resort announced Wednesday that Sunday will be the last day of the season.
“Deteriorating snow conditions at the base of the mountain and no snow in the immediate forecast prompted the decision,” the resort announced. Sugar Bowl was expected to stay open through mid-April.
The announcement came just a few days after Sierra-at-Tahoe announced it was closing for the season as well. With Sugar Bowl and Sierra-at-Tahoe, six ski resorts have closed prematurely in the area. The others are Donner Ski Ranch, Homewood, Soda Springs and Tahoe Donner.
In its statement, Sugar Bowl thanked its staff and customers for making the season “the best it could possibly be, despite the challenging weather.”
The drought has left the Sierra snowpack at a fraction of normal levels. Tourism officials said the bookings at Tahoe-area hotels got off to a strong start this season but tailed off considerably in February as the dry weather persisted.
Call The Bee’s Dale Kasler, (916) 321-1066. Follow him on Twitter @dakasler.
This story was originally published March 18, 2015 at 3:10 PM with the headline "Poor snow conditions end Sugar Bowl ski season."