Boreal open now; Heavenly next week

They're doing it up on the mountain trails - skiing or snowboarding, that is. Boreal opened earlier this week - one lift, one trail. But open. Mammoth opened last week with minimal conditions. As one ski shop techie remarked, "It was 800 skiers and boarders on two square feet of snow." And now Heavenly joins the action opening next weekend. Due to recent weather patterns, Heavenly is projecting the opening of the resort for Thanksgiving weekend. The resort plans to open on Friday Nov. 23.

"A colder pattern is expected to settle in early next week, allowing us to get our snowmaking operation into full swing," said Blaise Carrig, Heavenly's chief operating officer. "Our snowmaking crew is ready to jump into action as soon as temperatures allow. With the predicted colder temperatures and our huge snowmaking system, we expect to be able to provide the high quality snow experience that we are known for."

Heavenly will be opening on the upper Nevada side of the mountain, accessible via the Gondola.

The new Olympic Express, the three new Olympic trails and the Heavenly Flyer ZipRider are all on-track to open as scheduled in December. Heavenly will be open for holiday sightseeing Friday, Nov. 23 as well. Call (775) 586-4461.

SUSHI, ANYONE?

Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar opens at the Village at Northstar for the winter season. The public grand opening of Mikuni Sushi's latest location will be Monday.

The restaurant will be open daily for lunch and dinner from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., with its full bar open until midnight.

KELLY MEMORIAL AT SQUAW

SnowBomb and Squaw Valley announce the Coogan Kelly Memorial Rail Jam Thanksgiving weekend Sunday.

In memory of local snowboarder, Charles "Coogan" Kelly, SnowBomb will present a $1,000 cash purse to top riders of the day, and SnowBomb and Squaw will donate all competitor registration fees to the Coogan Kelly Memorial Foundation. In addition, Squaw will award a scholarship in Coogan's name to the Squaw Valley Snowboard Team. A raffle will be held at the Rail Jam with snowboard-related prizes.

"Out of all the times snowboarding with Coogan, I never heard weather as an excuse not to ride," says Coogan's riding partner Shane Reide.

"He would snowboard in rain, wind and ice, and as a result of that savage attitude, he became, and always will be, the most naturally talented and well-rounded snowboarder I have ever encountered."

The Coogan Rail Jam is open to riders of all ages and talents and will consist of open and amateur classes in both men's and women's ski and snowboard divisions. Registration will begin at 9 a.m.

Entry fee for all riders will be $10 (plus refundable $10 jersey deposit) and helmets are mandatory for all competitors. Athletes under the age of 18 must have a parent or guardian present at registration to sign a liability release form.

The Coogan Kelly Memorial Rail Jam is the first of more than 12 stops on this year's Toyota Sick n' Twisted Freestyle Tour presented by Under Armour Performance Wear. Prizes will be awarded from top industry sponsors. Call SnowBomb at (530) 581-0553. The Squaw Cable Car will be running starting Saturday.

• Contact Sam Bauman at 881-1236 or Sbauman@nevadaappeal.com

The Cable Car operates daily with the first ride up at 10:40 a.m. and the last trip down at 4:40 p.m. The Olympic Ice Pavilion is open for ice skating from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 22 and Sunday, Nov. 25, and from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday Nov. 24 and Saturday Nov. 25. Squaw Valley is open for snowtubing on Thanksgiving weekend (Nov. 22 Ð Nov. 25). Check www.squaw.com or call 530-583-6985 for details.

Saturday Nov. 24 the Festival of Lights begins. The Village will be twinkling and the 30- foot Christmas tree will be sparkling. The Village at Squaw will officially begin receiving toys for the Toys for Tots toy drive, as well.

All activities and events are subject to change based on conditions. Visit Squaw Valley at www.squaw.com or call (530) 583-6955

SAVE THE PENGUINS

The movies make us love them, and now Diamond Peak wants to save the formally attired birds. Diamond Peak is trying to do their part to protect the environment by adopting penguins. You can adopt a penguin for as little as $25 and in return, you'll get an adoption certificate and a photo of your adopted animal. For $100 or $250, you'll receive a plush toy, a framed certificate, a gift box and the satisfaction of knowing that your little penguin in the Antarctic will have a happier life.

Diamond Pete is Diamond Peak's mascot who is closely associated with the Bee Ferrato Child Ski Center. Bee Ferrato picked up a yellow-eyed penguin when she was walking along the beaches of New Zealand as a little girl. She developed an interest in penguins and years later she visited Diamond Pete's brothers and sisters in Antarctica. It was about that time when Diamond Pete swam and waddled his way to the Resort in Incline Village.

Help Diamond Pete's family by adopting one of his friends. Each adoption is symbolic and your donation will be used to fight threats like habitat loss and poaching. A few things that Diamond Peak has done or continues to do to join the cause in helping our winters stay cool include: implementing a ridesharing program in which employees get paid up to $3 a day for carpooling or getting to work in a self-propelled fashion, environmentally-safe containers for to-go food that is easily recyclable, fan guns for our snowmaking, which uses one-fifth of the amount of electricity used before that, upgraded chairlifts with more efficient motors, and more.