Ever since its start, Heavenly Mountain Resort has been the place to be for endless entertainment (and it has a good amount of terrain for skiing and snowboarding activities, too). Its iconic events have drawn celebrities and launched the early freestyle skiing hotdogging movement; here’s proof of Heavenly continually embracing the past and looking towards the future by subliminally evolving South Shore’s vibrant ski and snowboard scene:
The John Denver Celebrity Ski Classic
In the mid-1970s, beloved folk singer John Denver graced South Shore’s casino stages, playing hits such as “Take Me Home, Country Roads” alongside fellow Tahoe favorite Frank Sinatra. Being an avid skier, Denver became friends with the Killebrew family and started holding the John Denver Celebrity Ski Classic in 1978 and ran through 1987. Broadcast nationwide on TV drawing millions of viewers, the Celebrity Ski Classic included participants such as George Hamilton and the Hill Street Blues cast (the show won three Golden Globes and 26 Primetime Emmy Awards).
“People still talk about the John Denver Classic and Clint Eastwood being here,” says former Heavenly VP and COO Tom Fortune when asked what some of Heavenly’s biggest events were during his tenure in South Shore from 2010-2024.
Held on the World Cup run next to the California Base Lodge, people who attended back in the day recall Denver staffing the barbeque and serving them chicken sandwiches, then partying with him by night at Harrah’s.
Robin Barnes, who has been working at Heavenly since 1987 (starting out selling tickets for ski school) recalls, “Way back when we used to have Pro Tour races, professional athletes competed on Lower East Bowl and World Cup. I remember being in awe of the competitors– the strength and athleticism that they displayed in the racecourse and over the jumps amazed me. It is what got me hooked on ski racing.”
Even though she started working at Heavenly the final year the John Denver Celebrity Ski Classic was held, she adds that she remembers it being a huge deal with celebrities milling around all over the place that winter. “It felt like so many Hollywood actors would come and compete in a race. Ski instructors would coach them to prepare for the race and tour them around the resort. Ski school locker rooms at the day’s end would revolve around who skied with who and what the celebrities were like. I remember skiing with the “Zit” from Animal House! Heavenly turned into a mini Hollywood for actors and their families. It was a big deal to be involved with the event and super fun to rub elbows with celebrities,” Barnes adds.
The Gunbarrel 25 and Face Rats
When Heavenly opened in December 1955, the Gunbarrel double chairlift stretching over the mountain on the California side was the second of its kind in the US. Two decades later, Gunbarrel attracted a new type of skiing showoffs, a style of freestyle skiing which started the hotdogging movement (one famous household hotdogger name in the Tahoe ski industry is Wayne Wong, who invented a move called the Wong Banger). These hotdoggers began doing aerial tricks off jumps and bouncing fashionably through moguls on their Hart skis (or K2’s). This naturally attracted them to the mogul-laden Gunbarrel run, a run on full display from the California base area. Heavenly hosted the Chevrolet Freestyle Championships in the 1974-75 season, where John Clendenin won the mogul masher with his aerial maneuvers and “ballet skiing.”
Hot dog skiing took hold of Heavenly and remained popular when local ski legend Glen Plake started the Gunbarrel 25 challenge in 2004. Joining Heavenly’s Blue Angels race team in 1968, it soon became common to see the pink-mohawk-haired Plake leaping through the snowy landmines of Gunbarrel often, so he decided to invite everyone else on his favorite run.
“The GB25 has always been a big event. It was started by Glen Plake; it’s a hardcore event,” Fortune says.
“There are two main competitions within the event” adds Heavenly Senior Manager of Communications Cole Zimmerman, “ironman or ironwoman and the fastest skier or snowboarder. Some people just attempt their 25 laps; others do as many laps as they can. The fastest time is generally around three hours and the highest number of laps in a competition is usually over 50!”
Considering the Gunbarrel run is around 1,600 vertical feet of double black diamond moguls, it’s an accomplishment if an average skier can stay in the course for even one run.
“It’s a grueling way to spend a day,” adds Heavenly Director of Skier Services Robin Barnes. “There are not many runs in the world that have steep, sustained, big moguls like The Face. Skiing 25 or more runs in a day is no small feat. The Face is one of those runs, though– at least for me– where you think you’re going to do one or two runs and a dozen laps later, you’re still saying, ‘That was so fun, maybe just one more’. It’s a game that goes on for hours — and why we cater to, and love, our Face Rats.”
Heavenly will sometimes keep the chairlift open later at the end of the season for The Face Rats, a crew that has been around for decades. It’s rumored that the name came from Bill Killebrew, who was 15 years old at the time and looked up the Gunbarrel run and told his dad that all those skiers looked like rats coming down the run.
“Some people have been in that group for 40-50 years. I saw them in the parking lot for 15 years skiing The Face every day. In late spring, we would stay open later in the day so they could ski when the snow is softer and then they’d have their tailgates down, their lawn chairs out, and barbeques going,” says Fortune.
“I have spent many afternoons out doing ‘face laps’ with the Face Rats, it’s a wonderful, passionate group. Many Face Rats have become Komet Kats — posting up residence on Nevada’s Comet run instead of Gunbarrel. Maybe it’s a bit gentler,” adds Barnes. “However, there are still many Face Rats that rarely go up beyond Gunbarrel chair in favor of the athletic pursuit of doing face laps all day. They know exactly where the best snow is, where the best lines are, who is fast and who is not. They truly are a wonderful bunch of Heavenly allies who love skiing, and love skiing big bumps! On occasions when East Bowl run is groomed, you will find this cohort off to the side snaking their way around the bumps – no groomers for them,” she adds.
Heavenly’s DJ Parties
In February 2011, Heavenly built a new lodge at the top of the gondola– the Tamarack Lodge—which became the epicenter for South Shore’s ski scene. Right around the time the lifts closed, it started hosting après ski parties on Friday and Saturday nights– complete with DJs, games, shot skis, and the Heavenly Angels go-go dancers. Nowadays it still has Happy Hour specials daily , but the real party is wherever the DJ cat is.
“We modified one of our snowcats, put a DJ set on the back of it, and it moves all over the mountain,” says Fortune. Heavenly’s Katie Ficeto added that the DJ Cat has been around for at least 10 years, hosting live DJs every weekend from opening day to closing day.
“Rotating guest DJs play some of your favorite songs out of a snowcat on the mountain and your dance moves always look better in ski boots,” Zimmerman adds. Last year the series featured appearances by Hayden James, Vandelux, What So Not, and more; and the John Summit Experts Only Weekend hosted three days of après parties with DJ sets taking place at the Rockstar Bar, on the Tram, and at Lakeview Lodge. The DJ lineup for this season includes Foster the People, Dombresky, SkiiTour, and Vandelux is coming back.
Another fun après event in store for this season is the Brews and Views, an experience on select days throughout the season at the Lakeview Lodge with incredible views paired with food, beverage, and music.
Air & Après, Heavenly Pond Skimming
March Madness isn’t just an NCAA basketball tournament…it can also refer to the crazy spring snowstorms that blow in before daylight savings comes around.
Back for its fourth season, Air and Après taking place Feb. 27-28 and March 1 is a thrilling big-air event at the base of the World Cup run. The three-day event features DJ sets and an array of food, beverage, and retail vendors, but the real draw is watching skilled athletes perform gravity-defying stunts on a 45-foot jump with Heavenly Mountain as the canvas for a light show.
“One event that sticks out in my mind was the 2022-23 season was a record snow year and on New Year’s Eve everyone was snowed in and the Gin Blossoms played in the Heavenly Village. All the roads were closed, and the power was out. In that same season, we built a big jump for our Big Air event and a storm cycle blew in; it snowed two feet overnight. We didn’t think we’d be able to have the event, but then it magically cleared up and didn’t affect the event at all,” says Tom Fortune.
Coming back again this year sometime in April is also its popular pond skimming event which will be held on the same World Cup run.
“It’s the ultimate spring send-off where costumes and chaos collide. It’s a great time to watch—or join– as participants try to skim across a pond at the bottom of World Cup,” says Zimmerman. The ice cold Arctic blue pond is about 90-100 feet long, and maybe only one or two people out of every 10 make it across.
“Costumes can be all over the place. Lots of beach outfits, swimsuits and Hawaiian shirts, and whether you’re skimming, cheering, or just soaking in the vibes, it’s one of the most fun and unforgettable days of the season,” he adds.
“To see families enjoying super fun events like the pond skim in the springtime is just awesome, watching the brave souls test their skills on crossing the cold pond and the rest having a good, hearty, hours-long giggle,” adds Barnes.
What Heavenly Has in Store for This Season
Between Heavenly’s snow, the tree runs, Gunbarrel, Mott’s Canyon, the Comet moguls, terrain parks, Killebrew Canyon, and all the nooks and crannies in between, there’s terrain—and events– that appeal to everyone.
“The extra bit of altitude at Heavenly keeps the snow dry and lovely, and our snow quality both from Mother Nature and our passionate team of snowmakers is tops,” adds Barnes. “Everywhere you look there are breathtaking views; they never get old. We also have a truly great culture – we welcome skiers from all over – and our team of employees is friendly, dedicated and love being in the mountains. It shows in how we greet guests, take care of each other and respect our environment.”
She also believes that Heavenly’s guests and employees love seeing celebrities and musicians having fun on at the resort. “The local vibe when we host iconic events is really special. We have the absolute perfect venue to host so many on-snow events and guests flock to see them during the day or under the stars. Whether it’s a music event or a big air event, we draw a crowd.”
Heavenly’s 70th Anniversary Party to Be Held December 20, 2025
Heavenly is kicking off its 70th anniversary season with a special birthday party to be held December 20. Ski through time at Heavenly’s Lakeview Lodge with vintage vibes, DJ sets (including Foster the People) and music from throughout the decades, celebratory food and beverage, and more.
