During big snow storms winds stronger than 35 mph or 40 mph can make it unsafe to operate chairlifts. Ice can form on their cables and gears. And if the snow is deep enough, it must be dug out by crews with shovels to allow people to even access the chairs at the lift stations.

In addition, heavy snow can bury rope lines and signs, parking lots, and dirt roads on mountainsides that are used for snow cat equipment that plows snow and grooms trails.

“When the snow comes in this quickly with this kind of wind it requires almost a full mountain reset,” said Mike Reitzell, president of Ski California, an industry association.

Getting each lift open after a heavy snowfall can take an hour instead of a few minutes, said Northstar lift operator Santiago Piñiero, who worked hard with a pickaxe, rake and shovel to smash ice, clear snow off chairlift seats and smooth out the entry passage to open the Village Express lift Friday morning.

With snow continuing to fall heavily, “the whole day we’re just trying to keep the area as clean as possible,” said Piñiero, 23.

Some resorts also were planning to set off explosive charges — a few shot by World War II-Howitzer-type guns — to reduce avalanche risk.

The Sierra Avalanche Center in Truckee issued a backcountry avalanche warning for the Lake Tahoe area on Friday, saying that “high to extreme avalanche danger is expected in the backcountry through Sunday.”

Avalanches rarely harm people inside the main areas of ski resorts. But earlier this year, on Jan. 10, an avalanche on the upper mountain at Palisades Tahoe swept up four skiers, and killed one, Kenneth Kidd, 66, an experienced skier who had homes in both the Point Reyes and Truckee areas.

With large amounts of snow at resorts, even areas safe from avalanches pose a different deadly hazard: tree wells, the gaps around tree trunks that can trap people and lead to suffocation or death by exposure.

“They can always be a risk,” said Amy Ohran, Northstar’s general manager. “It’s really important that with these big storms that people are aware of deep-snow safety. The most important thing is riding with a buddy, and keeping your buddy close to you and within sight.”

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