Start of Tahoe's Ski Season Delayed, But Mt. Rose Hopes To Open Soon
Reno’s local ski hill has delayed its season opening due to some unfavorable early winter conditions. Mt. Rose Ski Tahoe was originally scheduled to open for the 2025/26 winter season on Friday, November 7, 2025.
While the ski area began seasonal snowmaking operations on October 12, warmer temperatures at the end of October didn’t bode particularly well for their snowpack.
The mountain received 10″ of fresh snow on October 15 and was looking primed for their early November opening. Temperatures stayed in the mid-40s until roughly October 28 before spiking into the low 50s around Halloween. While they’ve since dropped, that spike likely didn’t do their natural snowpack or snowmaking operations any favors.
The Mt. Rose website currently has a banner saying that the mountain is in need of colder temperatures to get their snow guns cranking. According to Rose, the ski area needs a sustainable packed base of 12 to 14 inches of snow in order to open.
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As of November 10, Mt. Rose is reporting 6″ of fresh snow at their SNOTEL site. Temperatures over the next few days will feature highs in the mid-30s and lows in the high-20s. Over the next week, temperatures are forecasted to drop significantly, with a high of only 22 degrees (F) predicted for Monday, November 17, 2025. There are also a few inches of low-density snow forecasted over the next five days and potentially another 2″ over the next 10 days.
Mt. Rose has the highest base area elevation of any ski mountain in the Tahoe area at 8,260 feet, which should bode well for cold temperatures and early-season snow. In contrast, Palisades Tahoe has a base elevation of 6,200 feet.
A storm in the northern Pacific could pick up a low-pressure system that’s currently northeast of Hawai’i and draw up some subtropical moisture, which could bring a fair amount of precipitation to the Tahoe later this week.
Snow levels start around 8,500 feet, which bodes well for Mt. Rose, and could drop below 4,000 feet by Thursday night. Mt. Rose has promised to keep the public updated with any opening day updates in the meantime.
Related: Winter Is Here—18 Inches of Snow Forecasted for the Northeast This Week
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