With a steady stream of storms dumping foot after foot of snow in the Sierra Nevada this winter, Bay Area skiers have been flocking to the mountain resorts that ring Lake Tahoe. Just in time to capture that steady foot traffic, the Ritz-Carlton Club has started preconstruction sales of its new [fractional] project in Lake Tahoe, which is set to open in late 2009.

The Ritz-Carlton Club, Lake Tahoe is selling on-twelfth shares of 78 two- to four-bedroom units. Prices start in the low $200,000s and go up to more than $600,000 for 21 nights of use per year. This new fractional project is actually located 12 miles north of Lake Tahoe at the Northstar-at-Tahoe resort in Truckee, Calif., which is home to a new pedestrian-friendly base village with shops, restaurants and an open-air skating rink. The Village has another fractional development, 80|50 Northstar, that opened its doors to the first fractional owners in the winter of 2007. Fractional units there start at $299,000 and come with 28 days a year of guaranteed reservations.

This latest fractional project from Ritz-Carlton will be part of the Ritz-Carlton Highlands, Lake Tahoe, a development with a hotel, full-ownership residences and a 21,000 square foot spa. Fractional buyers will have access to those amenities as well as the obligatory ski butler, a staple employee at any five-star mountain resort.

With some 80 trails, Northstar-at-Tahoe is well known for its family friendly ski conditions, with plenty of beginner and intermediate runs. Where the new Ritz project differs the most from 80|50 is in its mid-mountain location. Owners at 80|50 Northstar access the slopes by heading to the ground floor of the development where the gondola whisks passengers up the mountain. The Ritz fractional development is ski-in/ski-out, and to access the village below, residents can hop on a gondola to the base of the mountain or get there the old-fashioned way, on skis.

Buying a fractional at a ski resort undoubtedly comes with its own challenges for owners looking to secure reservations at the height of the ski season. After all, the prime ski season is compressed into just a few months, dotted with major holidays like Christmas, Martin Luther King Day and President’s Day weekend that can send the same owners (especially those with school-aged children) jostling to book the same weeks. A recent study from market researcher Reach Advisors cited the lack of reservation availability at some Colorado private residence clubs as leading to a host of dissatisfaction among owners. The lesson? Before you buy, make sure you understand how those prime reservations are doled out among owners. Take a hard look at when you and your family are likely to want to vacation. If you are a Bay Area local, the type to hit the road to Tahoe just ahead of a mid-week storm that is set to leave three feet of fresh powder on the slopes, a ski resort fractional could easily be your winter home away from home.