TCR | April 18, 2026 — Heavenly Rises from the Dead

April 18, 2026

The Forecast

Heavenly Rises from the Dead

Saturday morning and the season just did something it wasn't supposed to do: Heavenly is back. The Tahoe resort that closed weeks ago is reopening today and tomorrow after that mid-April storm dumped enough to justify one last run at it — limited terrain, 10-to-5, no questions asked. Meanwhile, Sugarloaf in Maine is pushing to April 26, Jay Peak is serving up some of its best spring corn of the year this weekend, and Killington's Superstar is doing what Superstar does — grinding moguls into May with the quiet determination of a machine that doesn't know how to stop. The sensor data across most of the West reads zeros, which tells you nothing about what's actually happening on the ground. A-Basin is still spinning. Mammoth is still holding. And over in Sölden, 50,000 people just showed up for an EDM festival on a glacier, which is either the future of ski resorts or the end of civilization, depending on your perspective. The season isn't dying — it's shapeshifting. The people still chasing it this weekend are the ones who always understood that.

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Fresh Tracks

◆ Powder Magazine

Heavenly Reopens for One Last Weekend — Because Why Not

A late-season storm dumped enough on Tahoe to justify cracking the gates back open at Heavenly for Saturday and Sunday. Limited terrain, full vibes. This is the kind of encore nobody planned for.

Read →

◆ SnowBrains

Sugarloaf Pushes to April 26 — The East Coast Keeps Grinding

Fresh off its 38th Annual Reggae Festival and riding the 75th anniversary season, Sugarloaf is keeping the lifts spinning daily through April 26. Maine doesn't quit.

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★ TGR

Parkin Costain's Switch Cornice Send Defies Explanation

Parkin Costain takes the unconventional route off a cornice — switch — and somehow sticks the landing like it's a casual Tuesday. The last trick is the one that'll make you rewatch three times.

Watch →

◆ Backcountry Magazine

Treat It Right: How to Store Your Skis This Summer

The least glamorous part of the season is also the one that saves you hundreds next fall. Backcountry Mag breaks down the tips and tricks for summer gear storage before you shove everything in a closet and forget about it until October.

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The Edit

Shane McConkey never took himself seriously, which is exactly why everyone else did. MSP's 'Saucer Boy Forever' pulls from the 2008 classic CLAIM to remind you what made McConkey one of the most important figures in skiing — not the tricks, but the joy behind them. It's the perfect Saturday morning watch: irreverent, physical, and tinged with the kind of loss that makes you want to go ski harder.

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@Matchstick Productions · @Shane McConkey Foundation

Off-Piste

🔹 Reed Hastings is leaving Netflix to focus on Powder Mountain. The streaming co-founder and Utah ski resort owner announced he'll step down from Netflix's board this summer. One imagines the pivot from algorithm optimization to snow farming is surprisingly seamless. Powder Magazine

🔹 Vail's blended sales tax is angering New Hampshire. Vail Resorts quietly applied a blended sales tax calculation at its NH properties, and residents in the no-income-tax state are not having it. The Granite State doesn't take kindly to creative accounting. SnowBrains

🔹 50,000+ attended an EDM festival on a glacier in Sölden. The Electric Mountain Festival ran April 13–18 across six stages in the Austrian ski area. Whether this is the logical evolution of après or the apocalypse is a matter of personal taste. InTheSnow

🔹 Ikon Pass extends early-bird pricing through April 19. Technical difficulties crashed the renewal system Thursday night, so they pushed the deadline. If you were rage-refreshing at midnight, you've got a reprieve. Unofficial Networks

Dropping

Dermizax Waterproofing — You've heard of Gore-Tex. You might not have heard of Dermizax, the Japanese-made membrane from Toray that's been quietly outperforming on breathability for high-output mountain days. Unlike ePTFE membranes, Dermizax is a monolithic polyurethane film — no pores to clog, which means it breathes better the harder you work. It's the reason your favorite touring shell or spring layering piece might feel lighter and more responsive than expected. Brands like Descente, Peak Performance, and Helly Hansen build around it. If you're shopping for next season's kit, this is the tech spec worth understanding.

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Conditions Check

Pacific Northwest closed

Zero base depth across Baker, Crystal, and Whistler with no new snow in 24 hours and nothing in the 3-day forecast — the PNW season is a wrap at the majors. →

Rockies mixed

Zero base depth at the sensors but cold temps (-13°C to 1°C in Colorado) and 7cm in the last week suggest A-Basin and the holdouts are scraping by on maintained terrain; Mammoth remains open in the Sierra on a strong late-season base. →

Northern Rockies / Interior BC thin

Jackson and Big Sky show 24cm in the past week with minimal base (1cm) and cold temps (-11°C to 1°C); Revelstoke at 2cm depth with 15cm 7-day — backcountry touring only at this point. →

Northeast spring

Jay Peak is carving excellent spring corn through the trees this weekend, Killington's Superstar is running moguls into May, and Sugarloaf is open daily through April 26 — temps 3°C to 11°C with 12cm in the 3-day forecast that could extend the fun even further. →

Europe thin

Minimal base across the Alps (1cm at valley sensors in Chamonix, Verbier, and St. Anton) with warm temps up to 7°C and little to no new snow expected — high-altitude glacier terrain only. →

Japan closed

Zero snow depth across both Hokkaido and Honshu with temps 6°C to 14°C and no precipitation in the forecast — the Japanese season is done. →

The best days of the season are the ones nobody expected to happen. Go get yours.

The Conditions Report

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