Ski season kicks up in South Lake Tahoe

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (KGO) -- The ski season has begun at two major resorts at Lake Tahoe. Heavenly and Northstar both opened Friday, thanks in large part to their huge snowmaking efforts.

What Mother Nature has yet to provide, man will. The round the clock snowmaking operation is underway at Heavenly Mountain Resort.

"Heavenly fortunately has the West Coast's largest snowmaking system and with that we were able to fire it up and we've been working nonstop to try to get it open," Sally Gunter from the Heavenly Mountain Resort said.

We asked Jeff Richmond of San Francisco why it is worth it to travel all the way to South Lake Tahoe. He replied, "Just a good time, good vibes. Everybody who's here on these days are diehard, avid snow-sports fans. They're just happy to be here."

For some making the first turns, on the first day of a new season is a family ritual.

Aaron Forrest of Hayward says he come up because "it's tradition. We come up for opening day every year for the last seven or eight years, maybe."

We asked if Kaylee Forrest of Hayward should be in school and she replied, "Cough, cough."

And while the terrain is a bit limited the quality of the snow that is there, it isn't bad.

"You can look around here and it looks like there's plenty of snow. You're not about to hit a dirt patch or anything like that. It's really impressive actually," skier Molly Novasel said.

And while sister resort Kirkwood decided to hold off on opening this weekend, Heavenly and Northstar both opened Friday. Boreal and Mt. Rose opened earlier this month. Squaw Valley plans to turn on its lifts next Wednesday.