Storms that left record levels of snow in the Sierra Nevadas in the
first week of January cheered ski-area operators and the Reno,
Nev., travel industry, even though the storms caused considerable
damage elsewhere in the West.
“Anytime you get 18 feet of snow you’re going to have a great
spring ski season,” said a spokeswoman for Heavenly, the largest
resort at Lake Tahoe.
Heavenly has dubbed the 2004-2005 season the “Epic Winter”
because January snowfall as of the 10th day of the month had
already surpassed the ski resort’s 10-year average for the entire
month.
Elsewhere in California, the storms caused a wide range of
damage. At the Pebble Beach Golf Links on the Monterey Peninsula,
for example, a 200-square-foot piece of land 200 yards from the
green of the 18th hole slid into a cove. The damage will be
repaired and should not affect play, according to Pebble Beach.
On a more positive note, the heavier-than-normal precipitation
is expected to provide a bumper crop of wildflowers and an increase
in the number of those who flock to view them each spring.
