A fresh dusting of snow at lake level, along with forecasts for a wet winter, are causing anticipation to build for the 2010/11 ski season at Tahoe. In preparation for hitting the slopes we’re taking a look at what’s new for this ski and board season. Here’s Part 2, a look at on-mountain upgrades at area resorts.

With skiers and boarders increasingly using technology to guide them on the slopes, Mt. Rose-Ski Tahoe launches a new application for smartphones featuring an interactive trail map, current conditions and an online store.

Alpine Meadows is the first U.S. ski resort to offer the latest technology in chair lift safety systems for children with Magnestick® on Subway and Meadow chair lifts. Chair lift seatbacks are equipped with a magnet which holds a child who is wearing a Magnestick vest in a secure position for the duration of the lift ride. When a child reaches the chair lift de-boarding platform, the Magnestick® vest is deactivated, allowing for a seamless release from the seatback.

Alpine has also purchased two newly introduced grooming machines equipped with the most state-of-the-art technology, speed, and engineering to date within the realm of snow grooming. Known as The Beast and manufactured by Prinoth, the new model lends a true breakthrough for slope grooming at Alpine Meadows: the Beast grooms 40% more terrain per hour than a traditional grooming machine, offering the highest-quality groomed snow surfaces for skiers and riders. The Beast is also equipped with the cleanest and most fuel efficient engine of any snow grooming machine.

Squaw Valley’s grooming is also improves with the addition of 3 new state-of-the-art grooming machines. Squaw Valley’s three new piston bully 400s are capable of grooming more terrain per hour while using significantly less fuel, therefore improving both the quality of grooming and the environmental sustainability of the fleet. The esteemed grooming team has decades of experience on legendary terrain across the world including New Zealand, Australia, Japan and multiple World Cups.

New snowmaking equipment ensures the Squaw team will have plenty of the white stuff to work with. Squaw Valley continues its multi-year effort of upgrading the mountain’s snowmaking equipment to greener and more efficient models. Now in its ninth year, Squaw has successfully upgraded 145 guns, including 39 new snowguns for the 2010-11 season. Further, Squaw Valley is demoing 8 new Saphyr snow-towers for the upcoming season. The Saphyr guns are nearly 30% more energy efficient than the most up-to-date B3 guns, requiring significantly less running time and less air to create the same amount of snow. Finally, Squaw Valley will be expanding snowmaking to terrain park’s halfpipe, improving Squaw Valley’s terrain park offerings throughout the season.

Night skiing expands at Squaw with improved lighting in the Riviera terrain park and halfpipe. Free with any lift ticket, skiers and riders can hit the slopes from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends (9 a.m. to 7 p.m. midweek) during the high winter season. The new lights mean big things for skiers and riders looking to get their fill of park riding. Along with night skiing and riding, guests can also enjoy other High Camp night activities such as ice skating at the Olympic Ice Pavilion or an amazing dinner at High Camp, el. 8200’.

In the next post we’ll take a look at what’s new for kids at area resorts. Check out our Flickr gallery of what’s new at resorts this year, and plan your ski getaway to North Lake Tahoe.