What does a ski area do for its 60th birthday when the date falls two weeks before the lifts start turning? Diamond Peak's answer is to keep the celebration going for a second winter. It is also spending the anniversary on the system that made the place unusual from its first day.
Ski Incline opened on November 19, 1966. Incline Village developers Art Wood and Harold B. Tiller came up with the idea, and Wood hired the Austrian ski pioneer Luggi Foeger to design and build the ski area. In 1987 the mountain doubled in size and took the name Diamond Peak.
Some of this year's coverage calls 2026-27 the 60th season. The resort counts it differently. In its September 29 release, Diamond Peak says last winter was its 60th season of operations, with commemorative events, nostalgic gear giveaways and $60 lift tickets. Because the anniversary date falls in November, the resort says it is "still celebrating our 'Diamond' anniversary" this winter. So the coming winter is season 61, and the actual 60th birthday arrives on November 19, 2026, while the slopes are still closed. The target opening day is Thursday, December 3, conditions permitting.
The resort commissioned local artist Bryn Merrell to make a 60th anniversary poster. Merrell based the design on one of the resort's panoramic Lake Tahoe views from the slopes. Free copies are available at Diamond Peak special events and at the Diamond Peak Sports Shop in the Base Lodge this season.
The detail Diamond Peak puts first in its own history is about snowmaking. The resort says Ski Incline was "the first resort in the West to utilize a man-made snowmaking system to augment what Mother Nature provided." IVGID makes the same point from the infrastructure side: Diamond Peak has invested in snowmaking since the ski area opened in 1966.
The pipes running under the runs today are not from 1966, but they are not new either. According to IVGID, much of the existing underground snowmaking infrastructure dates to the late 1980s and early 1990s. The newest major pipeline went in during 2002. The district says the system has been maintained and upgraded all along, but its main water and compressed-air lines have reached the point where a full, phased replacement is needed.
That puts the anniversary in a different light. A mountain known for early snowmaking turns 60 with core equipment from roughly its 20th birthday, and it is planning the next system now.
The upgrade skiers will see first this season is small and carefully placed. Diamond Peak has added a TechnoAlpin TT10 tower-mounted fan gun and a TechnoAlpin TR10 movable fan gun in the base area, where several trails meet and the chairlift loading areas need extra snowpack. The resort says both use TechnoAlpin's latest technology and produce more snow across a range of conditions.
The location makes sense. Every run eventually funnels back into the base, so a thin spot near the lift lines affects the whole mountain more than a thin spot anywhere else. The resort has not published a cost for the two guns, and the research turned up no separate board approval for them.
The two new guns are a near-term fix ahead of something much larger. IVGID has started a multi-year project to replace and modernize Diamond Peak's snowmaking system. The preliminary scope includes:
TechnoAlpin, the same manufacturer behind this winter's base-area guns, did the preliminary system planning. That planning will serve as a technical reference while final alignments, equipment and construction packages are worked out. As of August 2026, IVGID was procuring a design-build contractor.
Diamond Peak's September status update gives an engineer's estimate of $8 million, a four-year phasing plan, and a first construction phase expected in May 2027. IVGID says work will happen over multiple summer seasons. Each year's section will be tested and put into operation before the mountain opens for winter, and the existing system will keep serving the rest of the mountain until its section is replaced. Scope, cost, phasing and schedule all still depend on final design, permitting, funding, negotiated pricing and approval by the IVGID Board of Trustees.
If that schedule holds, the 2026-27 season will be the last one run entirely on the older underground system. The district's stated goals are better reliability, more snow during short cold-weather windows, lower energy and labor costs, and more terrain open early in the season.
Snowflake Lodge has a parallel story but no change this winter. On September 23, 2026, the board approved a contract for 30% design of a possible replacement lodge. That design is preliminary, and the approval does not close the existing lodge. Diamond Peak lists daily winter hours of 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Snowflake. The lodge is reached by the Lakeview chair, not on foot.
For anyone who skis here regularly, the most time-sensitive part of the anniversary is the pass calendar. It also has a change from past years. Starting in 2026, IVGID season pass prices rise in mid-December, at the same time public pass prices do.
Here is what waiting past October 31 costs in each category:
| Season pass, 2026-27 | IVGID Preseason, through Oct. 31 | IVGID Prewinter, Nov. 1 to Dec. 18 | Public Preseason | Public Prewinter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult, 24-64 | $412 | $513 | $588 | $733 |
| Youth, 13-23 | $248 | $309 | $495 | $618 |
| Child, 7-12 | $141 | $170 | $282 | $341 |
| Senior, 65-69 | $259 | $309 | $519 | $618 |
| Super Senior, 70-79 | $113 | $136 | $282 | $341 |
| 6 and under, 80 and over | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
For an adult Picture Pass holder, buying on November 1 instead of October 31 costs $101 more. For a public adult pass, the jump is $145. The transferable pass is $1,269 in every window, with no IVGID discount.
Only an active IVGID Picture Pass qualifies for discounted season passes. Recreation Punch Cards apply to discounted daily tickets only, and neither one discounts lessons or rentals. All season passes are sold online, and Picture Pass status is checked before an order is filled. For skiers who expect only a few days on the mountain, the 2026-27 IVGID adult daily ticket is $40 on value and weekend days and $50 on peak days.
The rest of the anniversary program fills out a normal winter. Diamond Peak has promised more retro "$60 Days," with lift ticket and learn-to-ski package pricing, but has not announced dates. Last season, the $60 offer covered single-day lift tickets, standard rental packages and first-time group lesson packages. It did not apply to multi-day products and could not be combined with other discounts. Last season's named throwback event, Retro Ski Days on March 7 and 8, 2026, included DJ sets both days.
Beginner group lessons at the Ski & Ride Center for ages 7 and up and the Children's Ski & Ride Center for ages 4 to 6 now run 2.5 hours, from 9:30 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 3:30 p.m. The new Get Lifted Coffee + Waffles trailer will set up in the Base Area Plaza on busy weekends and holidays. Local DJ Dom Morelli will host Friday Fundays après-ski parties at the Loft Bar on select Fridays, moving out to the Loft Bar Sun Deck when the weather allows.
Season pass holders also get at least 42 free lift tickets across 14 partner resorts, generally three days at each. The list includes Bogus Basin, Loveland, Mt. Ashland and Tahoe Donner, plus four discounted Bring-A-Friend tickets for Diamond Peak. Free passes for children 6 and under and seniors 80 and over do not include these perks.
The community-owned hill has 1,840 vertical feet across 655 acres. It opens December 3 if conditions allow, two weeks after its 60th birthday, with two new fan guns at the base and a plan to replace much of the system underneath it starting as early as 2027.
Questions about how IVGID projects like the snowmaking replacement or the Snowflake Lodge design affect ownership in Incline Village come up often in my conversations with clients. I'm glad to talk them through with you. Dayna Nielsen is available whenever you'd like to talk. Let's Connect.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
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