When it starts
Heavenly, Apr 9–13, 2026: the model's run on the day said 10.3" skiable over 5 days, best Sunday at 6.4" (Nice day); the Heavenly Valley SNOTEL pillow gained 10" of depth. Close.
Close. 10.3" skiable in the model, 10" on the pillow: inside 3" or 30%.
Pack going in: 0" on Apr 8, 0" on Apr 9. The storm total counts from the first reading, so snow after 5pm the night before is in it.
| Day | Call | First chair | On hill | Skiable | Starts | Pillow before | Pillow after | Gain |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu Apr 9 | Stay home | 0.0" | 0.0" | 0.0" | — | 0" | 4" | +4" |
| Fri Apr 10 | Stay home | 0.0" | 0.0" | 0.0" | — | 4" | 8" | +4" |
| Sat Apr 11 | Stay home | 1.2" | 0.0" | 1.2" | ~11pm Friday | 8" | 20" | +12" |
| Sun Apr 12 | Nice day | 6.0" | 0.4" | 6.4" | ~8pm Saturday | 20" | 13" | -7" |
| Mon Apr 13 | Nice day | 2.7" | 0.0" | 2.7" | ~5pm Sunday | 13" | 10" | -3" |
Model: the run on the day (Open-Meteo Previous Runs, best_match). PowHound does not keep superseded live forecasts, so this is not the number you saw the night before. It is usually closer.
Clocks, local time: first chair 5pm–8am, on hill 8am–5pm, skiable is both. Stay home under 2", Nice day 2–8", Full Send 8" or more.
Pillow: snow depth at the Heavenly Valley SNOTEL station, read once a day around midnight. A day's gain is the next midnight reading minus that day's, so it runs midnight to midnight, not 5pm to 5pm. Depth is not snowfall: new snow settles and blows around, so the pillow usually reads under what fell. Not the resort report.
Verdict: close is within 3" or 30%. Season numbers and method: llms.txt.