Lake Tahoe Visitors Greeted By Snow Shortage

LAKE TAHOE (CBS SF) – Ski resorts in Lake Tahoe are struggling this winter with a shortage of snow, affecting both resorts and local businesses in the area.

Snow levels are nowhere near where they were at this time last year, with only a light dusting of snow seen this week. John Monson with Sugar Bowl Resort said that most of their runs remained closed on what is traditionally one of the biggest weekends of business for ski resorts.

KCBS' Mark Seelig Reports:

"We don't have all of our terrain open so with that comes a subsequent impact on staffing," said Monson.

In fact, a local food bank recently reached out to the seasonal workers at some of the resorts and gave them a helping hand in the form of food to tie them over until work starts up again.

Sue Horten clerks at a hot dog diner along Highway 50 in Pollock Pines and said no snow means no traffic heading up the hill. That means a loss of about 90 percent of their customers and some drastic operating reductions.

"Monday through Friday they're closed and they are open only on the weekends," she said.

Leena Kumar was in the mountains this week for what she thought was going to be a beautiful trip to the snow with her kids. "I was taking pictures and I was posting it on Facebook saying, we're here in Tahoe, where's the snow?"

She said all the things that they wanted to do, like snowball fights and making a snowman, had to be cancelled.

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