LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — It was a record-breaking hot summer in Southern Nevada. Now, we're seeing an unusually warm winter too, especially in the last few weeks.
That includes places in our mountains, like the Lee Canyon Ski and Snowboard Resort, which has seen very little snowfall and exceptionally warm temperatures this winter.
Lee Canyon opened for ski and snowboard season on the first weekend of November this year, which marked its earliest opening day in 13 years.
"I definitely put my jacket back in my car," said Emilee Viray, who was snowboarding Saturday with Dean Picarra.
The two grew up in Las Vegas and have been coming to Lee Canyon for at least five seasons.
"Right now, it's okay. It's a little hot, but we have a little bit of powder," Viray said. "I'm just praying for the big ones [to open up]."
The "big ones" mean the two ski lifts that remain closed out of Lee Canyon's five total lifts at the resort due to the warm temperatures and lack of snow.
"From here it doesn't look too bad, I think everyone would be happy if it opened up soon," Picarra said.
No one would be happier to see all of the lifts open than resort manager Josh Bean.
We're chomping at the bit. Our snowmakers are sitting here watching temperatures and are grabbing every minute of it that they can.
Bean said they need about eight more hours of temperatures consistently below 27 degrees to open their Bluebird lift, which he called a local favorite.
The problem is, though, that just hasn't been happening so far this winter.
"The hot temperatures are holding in the mountains–it's been colder at my house most mornings than it has been up here," Bean said. "So, you're driving up the mountain and watching the temperatures rise, which is abnormal."
It's what's known in weather to be an "inversion," and it will only change when we see a front roll through with winds that blow the warm air out of our area.
"When it gets windy in town, that's when it'll get cold up here again," Bean said. "For once, I'm praying for wind, sorry to all the fishermen."
The warm temps aren't the only challenge–so far this season, Lee Canyon has only seen about 3 inches of natural snowfall.
The rest of it is man-made, thanks to about $8 million in improvements to the resort's snow-making system over the last few years.
"This [season] is a lot like last year, where we were sitting with less terrain open than we have right now on this day, then we had a huge dump [of snow] come in," Bean said. "It can happen in a moment's notice, where we'll get a lot of snow really fast, and then we try to get things open as soon as we can."
This season's challenges haven't kept people away, though. In fact, Bean says business has been good.
"I say the more the merrier, to be honest," Picarra said. "Although we don't have all the trails open yet, people are still up here to just have a good time."
It's still relatively early in the season, too–Bean says their goal is to have runs open as far into the spring as they can.
"All the lifts are prepped and ready to go, so all we need is that snow," Bean said.
For information on reserving a lift ticket and more information about visiting Lee Canyon, visit their website here.
