Snow Machines Keep Northern California Ski Resorts Going

Ski season is on in Lake Tahoe and the Sierra, thanks only to the snow makers

The weather is cold, and so are the skies -- as in cold-blooded. They're snow-withholding, and a lack of could should mean a lack of money and skiers for Northern California ski resorts.

So if it won't snow? Make your own, make your own, make your own.

Low temperatures mean ski resorts in the Sierra can get by -- and not miss out on a key time for business -- while the skies stay dry, thanks to their snow-making machines, according to the Reno Gazette-Journal.

Squaw Valley, for example, spent $5.2 million to upgrade its snow gun capabilities, the newspaper reported. Other ski resorts have lifts and trails open, thanks to the snow machines which can cover up to 73 percent of the resort, the newspaper reported.

December has been dry indeed, a dry end to a dry year. Snowstorms aren't expected until January.

In the meantime, snow-making's importance to the skiing industry can't be overstated.

"It's keeping them going, quite frankly," said Bob Roberts, president of the California Ski Industry Association.

So, let those machines run.

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