China Peak, Lake Tahoe among most popular local runs

Photo courtesy of China Peak

Despite the thick Central Valley fog, Fresno State students are still willing to make the drive to their favorite peaks during the winter season to go skiing or snowboarding.

Local ski resorts at China Peak and Lake Tahoe have continued to see college students turn out to engage in their favorite winter pastime.

“College students are a big part of our market,” Andy Chapman, director of tourism for Lake Tahoe, said. “They’re definitely very interested in what we have to offer here, and they do come up a lot.”

China Peak, one of the closest ski resorts to Fresno, sees quite a few Fresno State students on its slopes.

Members of the Fresno State Ski and Snowboard club frequent the mountain.

“I ski the most at China Peak,” Jessica Martinez, president of the Fresno State Ski and Snowboard club, said. “I have a lot of friends there, and I see a lot of people I know when I’m there. It’s a very tight-knit community.”

The skiing community at China Peak grew even closer over the loss of Jack Pieroni, a longtime legend in the Fresno ski community.

“They’re dedicating a run to him at China Peak,” Martinez said. “He was so awesome, and was extremely dedicated. He continued working until right before he died.”

Despite China Peak’s loss and no new snow on the slopes in three weeks, business for the recently renamed slope is good.

“Business started off extremely strong, and we had pretty consistent numbers with last year,” Jacob Williams, an employee at China Peak, said. “We’ve had no new snow in a few weeks, but we’re expecting some new weather patterns that will give us some fresh snow.”